VIP Guests Shoveling the hallowed grounds on the Banks of the Historic Coldwater River at the Groundbreaking of the NRBHOF & Entertainment Village Site

Blues legend Bobby Rush, Commissioner Willie Simmons, R&B legends Carla Thomas, and Eddie Floyd at the NRBHOF Site

Legendary STAX Recording Artist Carla Thomas and Diane Withers sit and share lunch at the NRBHOF Groundbreaking Reception.

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (NRBHOF) has concluded the official Groundbreaking Ceremonies for its permanent home and Entertainment Village on the hallowed grounds of the Banks of the Historic Coldwater River in the Mississippi Delta. The Coldwater River in Quitman County was one of the important sites of the ‘Battle of The Yazoo Pass Expedition’ in the U.S. Civil War, the Country’s first Campaign for American Civil Rights.

The NRBHOF will begin a series of fundraising and joint ventures in partnership with Mississippi State & County Governments. The NRBHOF Foundation is also in talks with the Music, Entertainment, & Resort Industries, including Wall Street & other Industrial Partnerships to build out the Entertainment Village. These partnerships will also support its continuing Annual Induction ceremonies, and other important operations and activities.

See more at:
https://www.soultracks.com/story-rb-hall-of-fame-groundbreaking

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/entertainment-news/rhythm-blues-hall-of-fame-11th-class-inducted-groundbreaking-new-site-marks-mississippi/522-32aa7bd2-8dd7-4b19-a1ab-d63a9b9950e7 

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The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in The Mississippi Delta

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame 
Announces the Site of its Permanent Home and Entertainment Village
By Harlington L. Hanna Jr., & DERC Editorial Staff

The establishment of a physical home for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is a monumental event in the history of the United States. It is more than the dream of any one person or group. It is a monument to the struggle for Civil Rights through the expressions of a particular genre of Music which has modeled the fight for Civil Rights in the United States and the World.

After several years of searching the United States for the right venue to build the official home of The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and its associated Museum & Entertainment Village, Founder Lamont Robinson has announced the official Site. City and County officials have reached an agreement with Robinson for the Site of the permanent home for the Hall of Fame to be the Town of Marks, Mississippi. The Town of Marks is situated in Quitman County in the heart of the historic Mississippi Delta.

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founded in 2010, and has inducted many of the most notable figures in Rhythm & Blues in annual Inaugural Ceremonies held in various Cities since its inception.

Robinson cited the tremendous history of the area related to Music and Civil Rights among several reasons for deciding to place the Hall of Fame in Marks.

Mississippi has established itself as the State that is the Birthplace of American Music, and has carefully researched and documented this history. The State has established official Historic Markers throughout the Region recognizing birthplaces and other connections to more than two hundred (200) notable artists in the genres of Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Gospel, Soul, and Country music. Most of these Markers are actually located in the famous Northwest Section of the State known as the Mississippi Delta. The number of famous artists that emanate from this area is especially noteworthy, considering the small population of the Region.

The Musical History of Quitman County includes being the home of Charlie Pride, Stephen Pride, Albert “Sunnyland Slim” Luandrew, John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, James Edward “Snooky” Pryor, Johnny Billington and other music legends.

John Lee Hooker’s song “Boogie Chillen” was in fact the first number one hit on the new Rhythm & Blues Billboard Charts in 1949, right after Billboard changed the name of its Black Music oriented “Race Records” Charts, to its new “Rhythm & Blues” Charts.

W.C. Handy “Father of the Blues” first discovered “Blues Music” just across the Quitman County Line at the Tutwiler Train Station in 1903.

Some researchers have also identified the Crossroads at Highway 6 and Highway 3 in Marks as the most likely location of a Real Blues Crossroads, representing the famed mythological “Robert Johnson Blues Crossroads”.

It was the vast Cotton Fields of Quitman County and other parts of the Mississippi Delta that first provided the environment that nurtured the Field Workers and encouraged them to sing and produce the songs and rhythms we now identify as Blues, Gospel, and Rhythm & Blues. It was this cultural and musical phenomenon that provided the basis for the prodigious economic success and profits of the U.S. Music Industry worldwide.

The City of Marks sits just east of the Blues Music Hub of Clarksdale Mississippi with its numerous Juke Joints. Other attractions include actor Morgan Freeman’s famous Ground Zero Blues Club and Restaurant, and the Delta Blues Museum, the Largest of its kind in the World. The only Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles sits on the Campus of Delta State University in Cleveland Mississippi, just a short distance southwest of Quitman County. The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) with its significant history and archives is a short distance to the east of Marks. Both Universities are located on Highway 6 (US 278) as is Marks, and easily accessible. Amtrak’s City of New Orleans Express Train service provides daily trips between New Orleans, Memphis, and Chicago, and makes daily stops conveniently in downtown Marks, providing easy access for visitors to the area.

Rhythm & Blues has also had a long history and association with the fight for Civil Rights in the United States and the World. Mississippi is noted for its significant Civil Rights History with major Battles fought in the first Civil Rights Campaign-The American Civil War.  Also, the Modern Civil Rights Movement was initiated by the Lynching of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta, among numerous other Historical Civil Rights Events. The Coldwater River and the Tallahatchie River, associated with these Historic Civil Rights Events, run through Marks and Quitman County.

The Coldwater River in Marks and Quitman County was a primary Site in “The Yazoo Pass Expedition Battle” near the end of The Civil War, directed by General Ulysses Grant in his attempt to end the Civil War by capturing Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Yazoo Pass Expedition is noted for it being thwarted by the Confederates sinking “The Star of The West” in the River to block the passage of the Union’s Expedition near the point where the Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers merge. The Star of The West was the historic ship which was fired on by Cadets of the Citadel with the first shots and battle starting the Civil War. They were trying to prevent it from delivering supplies and ammunition to Fort Sumter in the Charleston S.C. harbor. This point in the River is also near the place where famed Blues Legend Robert Johnson died and is buried at The Star of The West Plantation.

The permanent location of the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and its Entertainment Village lies right next to the Coldwater River, site of the historic Yazoo Pass Expedition Battle in the Country's first Campaign for Civil Rights, the U.S. Civil War.

The Choctaw - Chickasaw Territorial Boundary established by Treaties between these important Native American Nations and the United States runs directly through Quitman County. The importance of the Native American presence in the Area is evidenced by several Indian Mounds, including a prominent one just south of Marks on the Coldwater River. The rhythms, innovations, and contributions of Native American Artists and Music are often overlooked by American Music Historians.

In addition to the Emmet Till Saga where he was killed and dumped into the River just South of Quitman County, the Tallahatchie River is also noted for its central theme in Bobbie Gentry’s blockbuster hit song “Ode to Billie Joe” and the related Movie. She sang about Billy Joe MacAllister jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge, throwing something off the Bridge into the River, and her spending a lot of time picking flowers and dropping them into the muddy water off the Bridge.

The nearby Bottomlands of the Tallahatchie River is also where famed American writer William Faulkner spent a lot of time hunting and socializing at his friend’s Hunting Lodge, and where he experienced much of what he wrote about in his books and mythological County of “Yoknapatawpha”.

The most recent History of Civil Rights notoriety associated with the area is the role that the City of Marks played in the origins and implementation of Martin Luther King’s “Poor People’s Campaign (PPC)”. The historic Mule Train Caravan also travelled from Marks to Resurrection City on the Washington Mall as part of the PPC in 1968.

The location of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, Museum, and Entertainment Village in Marks and Quitman County will provide a natural, authentic, and historic platform for the Hall of Fame. The Founders intend to showcase the origins and future of Rhythm & Blues in a variety of specifically designed Educational and Interactive Experiences and Attractions, allowing visitors and tourists to partake in a truly historic Setting. 

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See the original posting of the following article at:
https://www.miamitimesonline.com/lifestyles/arts_culture/r-b-hall-of-fame-headed-to-mississippi-delta/article_59ce9164-2947-11ed-85cf-6f4fdbdbcd25.html 

R&B Hall of Fame headed to Mississippi Delta
Michael Goldberg The Associated Press
Aug 30, 2022 Updated Aug 31, 2022

A small town in the Mississippi Delta that has ties to the civil rights movement will soon be home to the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (NRBHF).

Project planners hope to finish building the facility in the town of Marks in two or three years, Velma Wilson, director of economic tourism and development for Quitman County, told The Associated Press

LaMont Robinson, CEO of the NRBHF

The project is the culmination of a 50-year effort to build a hall of fame for R&B musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King.

“There is no other hall of fame in the world that is primarily focused and dedicated to the history of R&B music on a national scale,” LaMont Robinson, CEO of the NRBHF, said in a news release. “My vision to build a hall of fame to honor R&B and its contributions to civil rights, America and the entire world is something that I don’t take lightly.”

Robinson founded the NRBHF in 2010. Since 2013, it has inducted more than 200 artists.

Marks appealed to Robinson due to its civil rights history. Martin Luther King Jr. chose the town in 1968 as the starting point for his Poor People’s Campaign, which demanded economic justice for poor Americans of all backgrounds. On March 31, 1968, in what would be his final Sunday sermon before his assassination, King described the poverty-stricken families he encountered in Marks.

“I was in Marks, Miss., the other day, which is in Quitman County, the poorest county in the United States. And I tell you I saw hundreds of Black boys and Black girls walking the streets with no shoes to wear,” King said at the National Cathedral in Washington. “I saw their mothers and fathers ... They raised a little money here and there; trying to get a little food to feed the children; trying to teach them a little something.”

The conditions in the cotton fields of Quitman County and other parts of the Mississippi Delta were the environment in which early civil rights activists and field workers produced music that’s now identified as blues, gospel and R&B, project planners said.

A digital rendering of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in Marks, Miss. Organizers are aiming to complete the building in two to three years.
(A2H Engineers, Architects, Planners)

“It was this cultural and musical phenomenon that provided the basis for the prodigious economic success and profits of the U.S. music industry worldwide,” planners wrote in a document outlining the project.

“The Hall of Fame will be the catalyst to Delta tourism growth and opportunities, and a means to attract business and industry,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who represents Quitman County.

The city of Marks donated a minimum of 5 acres of land for the project.

According to an agreement reviewed by the AP, the Quitman County Economic Tourism and Development Agency secured a $500,000 appropriation from the Mississippi Legislature for infrastructure related to the project. The agency also hopes to secure an $11 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation to beef up development around the NRBHF.

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See the original posting of the following article at:
https://www.washingtoninformer.com/rb-hall-of-fame-to-be-erected-in-mississippi/

R&B Hall of Fame to be Erected in Mississippi

• City of Marks Chosen as Home for the State-of-the-Art Facility
• ' aria-hidden=true class=i-amphtml-intrinsic-sizer role=presentation v:shapes="_x0000_i1025">
  by Sarafina Wright –Washington Informer Staff Writer
  August 31, 2022 

• Courtesy of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame
• Fifty years in the making, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (NRBHF) is coming to life.
• Founded in 2010, NRBHF will now have a permanent home in a state-of-the-art facility in Marks, Mississippi, according to its founder and CEO LaMont Robinson. 
• The body has inducted 200 artists including R&B icons like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King.  
• The City of Marks-Quitman County has donated five acres of land known as Industrial Park and $500,000 from a state grant to jump-start what they call a one-of-a-kind international tourist attraction. 
• Robinson said NRBHF has additional partners to assist with funding and is currently conducting a Go Fund Me campaign to help complete this project. 
• The NRBHF’s groundbreaking ceremony will kick off the Annual Mules & Blues Fest on Sept. 30.  
• “I have been a long-time activist and advocate for preserving the history of rhythm and blues music and its legends. There is no other hall of fame in the world that is primarily focused and dedicated to the history of R&B music on a national scale,” Robinson said. 
• “This project won’t just be made up of showcases and photographs on the wall like you would find in a typical hall of fame or museum,” he said. “It will be highly interactive – virtual reality with holograms.”
• Robinson continued that his vision is to build an R&B Hall of Fame that acknowledges its contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.
• “R&B goes hand and hand with the Civil Rights Movement and one of the reasons for choosing Marks is the role that it played in Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign,” Robinson said. 
• Congressman Bennie Thompson, who represents Mississippi’s second district, said the Hall of Fame will be a catalyst to Delta tourism growth and opportunities and a means to attract businesses and industry. 
• “I am grateful to the founder and CEO LaMont Robinson and his board for having the vision to select Quitman County, which will be the “official home” of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame,” he said. 
• Velma Benson-Wilson, Quitman County’s Economic and Tourism Director, echoed Thompson about the economic boost the Hall of Fame will bring for Marks-Quitman County and the state of Mississippi. 
• According to NRBHF, Benson-Wilson is working on a congressional bill to honor rhythm and blues artists from the Jim Crow era. 
• She also hopes to make Aug. 17 “Rhythm & Blues Artists’ Day.”
• NRBHF said many National R&B Hall of Fame inductees have supported the hall of fame’s erection including Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites, blues legend Bobby Rush and Dionne Warwick, who was inducted in 2019. 
• “First, let me say that I am honored to be included amongst the incredibly talented artists that hold the distinction of being inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame,” Warwick said in a statement. 
• “It goes without saying, that the importance of this Hall of Fame being established gives recognition to the bodies of music that we as artists have been able to share with many who have and continue to support our careers,” she said.

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To
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The City of Marks
Quitman County, Mississippi
On
The Groundbreaking of the
NRBHOF Entertainment Village

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Although it is proffered by many that the Modern Civil Rights Movement began in the Mississippi Delta with the Chronicle of Emmet Till in 1955, Honest History tells us a different Story. The true, initial, and official Civil Rights Movement began many years earlier in 1860 with The War of Emancipation for Black Americans, otherwise termed, The Civil War.

Interestingly, The Mississippi Delta also played a pivotal role in this initial and official war for the Civil Rights of Black Americans.

At the Time of the War of Emancipation for Black Americans, Mississippi was one of the wealthiest States in the Country based primarily on its Cotton crop and the enslaved Blacks who toiled the Cotton Fields particularly in The Mississippi Delta. Mississippi essentially financed the operations of the Civil War for the Confederate Government. Vicksburg was essentially the Capital of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis former Mississippi Senator was the first and only President of the South and Government of the Confederate States of America. Helena Arkansas a Delta Town, was a Union stronghold, a refuge for thousands of freed slaves, and the training center and base of the first Black Regiments of the Union Military Forces.

The era of Reconstruction after the Civil War was designed to afford Black Americans the Right to Vote and a role in the governance of the reconstructed Union. The only two Black United States Senators during this period were both from the State of Mississippi.

The following excerpt from the Visit Mississippi Website is instructive. https://visitmississippi.org/things-to-do/history-culture/

'……African-American history in Mississippi is older than the state itself. The earliest African-Americans were brought here as slaves before statehood in 1817.

Less than a half-century after Mississippi was granted statehood, the nation erupted in Civil War. The war brought emancipation, and the slow road to civil rights began. In 1870, Hiram Revels of Natchez became the first African-American to serve in the United States Senate — even though African-Americans had not yet gained the right to vote and continued to live in a segregated society. Years later, Mississippians such as Ida B. Wells, Medgar Evers and James Meredith would help lead the charge to a more equal society.

Other African-Americans hailing from Mississippi would make major contributions to American culture. William Grant Still of Woodville, a prolific and respected classical composer, became the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra and the first to have a symphonic composition performed by a major orchestra. Richard Wright would become one of the leading writers of his generation, and later William Raspberry and Natasha Trethewey would win Pulitzer Prizes. The imprint that these and other African-American Mississippians have made on American history and culture continues to impact and enrich our lives today.

…….When Emmett Till was murdered in 1955, the people of Mississippi found themselves at the forefront of one of the most pivotal periods of American history. This tragic event is widely considered the igniting spark of the modern Civil Rights movement. While the death of Emmett Till made national headlines, it was not the only event to set the scene for this great struggle. Only months before Till’s death, Reverend George Lee of Belzoni was assassinated after registering to vote. Other events in Mississippi, from the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963 to the killing of the three Civil Rights workers in Neshoba County the following year, rallied those involved with the Civil Rights movement and brought more people to the cause. Half a century later, Mississippi is the embodiment of changing times. Today, Mississippi has more elected African-American officials than any other state in the country, as the civil rights movement continues as a strong element of political, social and daily life.

…….In a sense, the history of Mississippi is the history of America. It begins in prehistoric times, when vast herds of buffalo trampled and “traced” out a route known as the Natchez Trace. This same path would later be traveled by Native Americans, traders, missionaries, and early pioneers. Chickasaw and Choctaw, Scotch and Irish, slaves, and settlers have all called Mississippi home. Mississippi grew up with our nation. When the Mississippi Territory became the 20th state to join the union in 1817, it was comprised largely of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations. With statehood came an influx of Europeans – largely English, Scottish, and Irish – who sought opportunity in what was then the frontier of a rapidly growing country. The Magnolia State continued to leave its imprint on America, playing a pivotal role in the Civil War and later serving as the setting for some of the landmark events in the struggle for Civil Rights. Today, Mississippi is regarded as a unique and rich intersection of history, architecture, commerce, culture, and the arts.'

The Culture of the Mississippi Delta also played a pivotal role in the War for the Civil Rights of Black Americans. This culture as we know it today is rooted in the Area’s role as the Birthplace of American Music. The Blues, Country Music, Rock & Roll and Gospel all have their roots in Mississippi. Blues Music in particular is uniquely a Civil Rights phenomena and a critical element in the progress and impact of Black Americans on the Culture, History and Economy of the United States and The World.

The State of Mississippi has consolidated and documented the contributions and important artifacts of its music, literary, and civil rights chronicles and legends in Official Trails, Tours and Festivals throughout the State, facilitating the presentation and touring of these sites for visitors, tourists and researchers. Millions of people visit Mississippi annually for these purposes.

Civil Rights, The War & The Blues is an Honest History Tour, and an important part of telling The Honest History of The Mississippi Delta, The United States, and The World. 

Helen Bartlett-Hanna
Harlington L. Hanna Jr.

Research Supported By:
Delta Ecology Research Conservancy
Hannaian Research Institute

Quitman County Mississippi situated in the heart of the famous Mississippi Yazoo Delta has a history of American Civil Rights and Music most small counties in the United States can only dream about. The Town of Marks is the County Seat and Capitol of Quitman County. Crenshaw, Sledge, Belen, Birdie, Darling, Hinchcliff, Lambert, Denton, and Vance are some of the other historic towns in the County. The county is named after John A. Quitman, Governor of Mississippi from 1835 to 1836 and from 1850 to 1851.

'The county was developed for cotton cultivation. Much of the bottomlands behind the riverfront were not developed until the late 19th century, and population continued to increase as the frontier was cleared and cultivated. The county reached its peak population in 1940. Agricultural mechanization reduced the need for farm labor, and workers were recruited to northern and midwestern industrial cities. Thousands of African Americans left in the Great Migration, many going upriver to St. Louis and Chicago.' (Wikipedia)

American Civil Rights

American Music has a long history and association with the fight for Civil Rights in the United States and the World. Mississippi is noted for its significant Civil Rights History with major Battles fought in the first Civil Rights Campaign-The American Civil War. The Coldwater River in Marks and Quitman County was a primary Site in “The Yazoo Pass Expedition Battle” near the end of The Civil War, directed by General Ulysses Grant in his attempt to end the Civil War by capturing Vicksburg, Mississippi. Mississippi and its Yazoo Delta was arguably the most important part of the Confederacy due to the importance of its lucrative Cotton Fields which provided significant Export income for the Fledgling United States, and much of the funding for the Confederate Civil War Campaign. At the time before the world became dependent on Oil, the phrase ‘Cotton is King’ was truly instructive. The Confederacy could not survive without the Delta’s contribution to the Cotton Economy of the United States, and certainly not without the massive number of enslaved Blacks working the Cotton Fields.

The Yazoo Pass Expedition is noted for it being thwarted by the Confederates sinking “The Star of The West” in the River to block the passage of the Union’s Expedition near the point where the Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers merge. The Star of The West was the historic ship which was fired on by Cadets of the Citadel with the first shots and battle starting the Civil War. They were trying to prevent it from delivering supplies and ammunition to Fort Sumter in the Charleston S.C. harbor. This point in the River is also near the place where famed Blues Legend Robert Johnson died and is buried at The Star of The West Plantation.

The Modern Civil Rights Movement was initiated by the Lynching of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta, among numerous other Historical Civil Rights Events. The Coldwater River and the Tallahatchie River, associated with these Historic Civil Rights Events, run through Marks and Quitman County.

In addition to the Emmet Till Saga where he was killed and dumped into the River just South of Quitman County, the Tallahatchie River is also noted for its central theme in Bobbie Gentry’s blockbuster hit song “Ode to Billie Joe” and the related Movie. She sang about Billy Joe McAllister jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge, throwing something off the Bridge into the River, and her spending a lot of time picking flowers and dropping them into the muddy water off the Bridge.

The Poor People's Campaign

The most recent History of Civil Rights notoriety associated with the area is the role that the City of Marks played in the origins and implementation of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Poor People’s Campaign (PPC)”. The historic Mule Train Caravan which travelled from Marks to Resurrection City on the Washington Mall as part of the PPC in 1968 was the crowning event of the Campaign which got its inspiration from Dr. King’s visits to Marks. 

'Martin Luther King Jr. originally wanted the Poor People's Campaign to start in Quitman County because of the intense and visible economic disparity there. On March 18, 1968, King visited the town of Marks, Mississippi. He watched a teacher feeding black schoolchildren their lunch, consisting only of a slice of apple and some crackers, and was moved to tears.' (Wikipedia)

American Music

Mississippi has established itself as the State that is the Birthplace of American Music, and the State has carefully researched and documented this history. The State has placed official Historic Markers throughout the Region recognizing birthplaces and other connections to more than two hundred (200) notable artists in the genres of Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Gospel, Soul, and Country music. Most of these Markers are located in the famous Northwest Section of the State known as the Mississippi Delta. The number of famous artists that emanate from this area is especially noteworthy, considering the small population of the Region.

The Musical History of Quitman County includes being the home of Charlie Pride, Stephen Pride, Albert “Sunnyland Slim” Luandrew, John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, James Edward “Snooky” Pryor, Johnny Billington and other music legends.

John Lee Hooker’s song “Boogie Chillen” was in fact the first number one hit on the new Rhythm & Blues Billboard Charts in 1949, just after Billboard changed the name of its Black Music oriented “Race Records” Charts, to the new “Rhythm & Blues” Charts.

W.C. Handy “Father of the Blues” first discovered “Blues Music” just across the Quitman County Line at the Tutwiler Train Station in 1903.

Some researchers have also identified the Crossroads and Park at Highway 6 and Highway 3 in Marks as the most likely location of a Real Blues Crossroads, representing the famed mythological “Robert Johnson Blues Crossroads”.

Quitman County and its Capitol City of Marks also sits in the middle of the recently established “Americana Music Triangle” where “history made music and music made history”. The Triangle is a Gold Record Music Tourism Road Trip which connects the people, places, and stories of American Music from Memphis to Nashville, through Muscle Shoals to New Orleans, and then through the Mississippi Delta back to Memphis.

It was the vast Cotton Fields of Quitman County and other parts of the Mississippi Delta that first provided the environment that nurtured early Civil Rights Activists, and Field Workers, motivating them to sing and produce the songs and rhythms we now identify as Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, and Country Music. It was this cultural and musical phenomenon that provided the basis for the prodigious economic success and profits of the U.S. Music Industry worldwide.

The connection between Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Country Music, and Religion is as strong a nexus as possible. It produced the Black and White Gospel Music and hymns that have permeated the Black church, and even the first and “Whitest Church” in America, the Episcopal Church, offspring of the Anglican Church, the Church of England.

Today the Gospel songs and hymns championed by the Mississippi Delta Enslaved and their Descendants can be heard in Churches of diverse Denominations throughout the United States and the World.

American Culture

The nearby Bottomlands of the Tallahatchie River on the Eastern Border of Quitman County is where famed American writer William Faulkner spent a lot of time hunting and socializing at his friend’s Hunting Lodge. It is where he experienced much of what he wrote about in his books and mythological County of “Yoknapatawpha”.

The Choctaw - Chickasaw Territorial Boundary established by Treaties between these important Native American Nations and the United States runs directly through Quitman County. The importance of the Native American presence in the Area is evidenced by several Indian Mounds, including a prominent one just south of Marks on the Coldwater River. The contributions of Native Americans to the establishment of American Civil Rights have often been overlooked. The rhythms, innovations, and contributions of Native American Artists and Musicians have also not been appropriately recognized by traditional American Music Historians.

The Town of Marks, the birthplace of Fred Smith founder of the FedEx company, sits just east of the Blues Music Hub of Clarksdale Mississippi with its numerous cultural attractions. These attractions include actor Morgan Freeman’s famous Ground Zero Blues Club and Restaurant, the Historic District of Playwright Tennessee Williams, and the Delta Blues Museum, largest of its kind in the World. The only Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles sits on the Campus of Delta State University in Cleveland Mississippi, just a short distance southwest of Quitman County. The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) with its significant history and archives is a short distance to the east of Marks. Both Universities are located on Highway 6 (US 278) as is Marks, and easily accessible. Amtrak’s City of New Orleans Express Train service provides daily trips between New Orleans, Memphis, and Chicago, and makes daily stops conveniently in downtown Marks, providing easy access for visitors to the area.

Research Supported by:
The Delta Ecology Research Conservancy (DERC)
The Hannaian Research Institute (HRI)

Since the historic election of Barack Obama in 2008, the first Black man to be elected as President of the United States, followed by the apparent Blacklash (Backlash) election of Donald Trump in 2016, there is a New America quickly arising and showing its ugly face. This New America is all about a Race War despite various connotations and cloaks one political party in particular is trying to dress it in. It is all about what happened in Mississippi in and around the first Campaign for Civil Rights for Blacks in America, The American Civil War.

Due to the large number of Blacks who had been imported into Mississippi to work America’s richest soil in the Yazoo Delta area, the volume of Blacks made it possible for Blacks in Mississippi at the time to rise up, speak out, and stand up for their rights. This resulted in the BlackLash (Backlash) by the powerful White community with lynchings and vicious physical, emotional, and economic abuses and atrocities against Blacks. The Blacks in Mississippi set the stage for Blacks standing up and fighting for their rights and their lives throughout the World. The scenario is repeating itself today in modern America where the enormous and increasing accomplishments of the Black population is causing fear, concern, and consternation among what is left of the Racist White element in the United States. 

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The real history of the United States is now being told and recognized nationwide due to the vast increase and global reach of the number of Black storytellers and historians. Not the least of this new phenomenon of Honest History is the increased number of Black elected officials, and Black correspondents and journalists in mass media. The story being told is now a much different story, and many who believe in the old status quo, do not like it.

There are a lot more new and different Cooks in the kitchen, and Corporate America is finding this new menu can be good for their bottom line.  Inadvertently or not, American Corporatism is therefore also assisting in educating and changing America by increasingly Blackening the stage.

It is sad that this is the state of our new America, because we are really all one people. America, more so than any other country is a nation molded from the brightest, best and most resilient people from every corner of the world. Europeans who fled oppression in their own countries, Africans who were snatched from their families and communities and brought here, Indians and other ethnic populations who arrived to these shores, by choice or otherwise, and of course, Native Americans whose homes were invaded and lifestyle commandeered to accommodate the needs and whims of newer settlers. 

The new Race War is being waged primarily by Republicans and Trump devotees, emboldened by States ruled by Republicans who will not acknowledge what constitutes Systemic Racism. If we want to be One People, practicing Systemic Racism and promoting Racial Division in a Country with the demographics of the United States cannot in the long run be positive, and may prove counterproductive. Their attempts to win elections by utilizing blatant Voter Suppression measures, promoting racial division and dictatorial, totalitarian, undemocratic practices is nonsensical. It is not surprising that the obvious and predictable danger of such actions has so quickly resulted in one already historic violent Coup to overthrow the U.S. government on January 6, 2021.

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The real message to be derived from the state of this New America for those who do not want to recognize Honest History is that we are indeed One People, and we need unification more than division. Simply because one segment of society is starting to catch up in the Race for Equality does not mean that the previously more privileged segment is being victimized, displaced, or discriminated against. Equalization and Unification should be celebrated, not feared. True and Honest History is a powerful teacher and should be encouraged.

Despite the common goal, articulated in its motto, E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), the United States remains a distinct conglomerate, a nation of survivalists, different segments pitted against another but ultimately benefiting from working together.

Mottos are used to describe a country’s intent or motivation.  A number of countries’ mottos bear the word “Unity”, embodying the intent of that nation to exist and prosper as a unified body. Sadly, mottos aside, far too many countries, including the United States, have fallen short of their original intent. In some cases, the developers of the mottos were disingenuous, crafting a motto that did not truly envision unity for its entire people, but for a select few born of privilege or some elevated station in life.

Amidst the ever evolving turmoil, the notion of unity is etched in our cortex, stamped in our DNA, as evidenced by the countless songs and books penned about togetherness, unity, one heart.

Just as in Mississippi where more than anywhere else, the increased presence of Blacks birthed the Civil Rights movement, it is indeed the Mississippi Effect all over again, arising in a New America.

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Research Supported By:
Delta Ecology Research Conservancy
Hannaian Research Institute

Crossroad Blues
Robert Johnson

Lyrics Take 1

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"

Yeoo, standin' at the crossroad, tried to flag a ride
Ooo eeee, I tried to flag a ride
Didn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by

Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' down
Standin' at the crossroad, baby, eee, eee, risin' sun goin' down
I believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin' down

You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown
That I got the crossroad blues this mornin', Lord, babe, I'm sinkin' down

And I went to the crossroad, mama, I looked east and west
I went to the crossroad, baby, I looked east and west
Lord, I didn't have no sweet woman, ooh well, babe, in my distress

Listen to Robert Johnson's Crossroad Blues Take 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gUpvllN5Q

Lyrics Take 2

Mmmmm, standin' at the crossroad,
I tried to flag a ride.
Standin' at the crossroad,
I tried to flag a ride.
Ain't nobody seem to know me,
Everybody pass me by

Mmmmm, the sun goin' down, boy
Dark gon' catch me here...
(Oooo ooee eeee...)
Boy, dark gon' catch me here...
I haven't got no lovin' sweet woman that
Love and feel my care.

You can run, you can run
Tell my friend, boy, Willie Brown...
You can run, you can run
Tell my friend, boy, Willie Brown...

Lord, that I'm standin' at the crossroad, baby
I believe I'm sinkin' down...

Listen to Robert Johnson's Crossroad Blue s Take 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

Listen to Eric Clapton's Version of Crossroads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf5EQxsXhXg

The Crossroads Marker at the Crossroads in Clarksdale Mississippi.

Perhaps no other piece of American Music Mythology has attracted more attention and interest among Music Historians than the Blues Crossroads. The mystery and search for the actual location of Robert Johnson’s Blues Crossroads where he supposedly sold his Soul to the Devil at midnight to gain the ability to perfectly play the Guitar, is enduring. The most well known version of the story claims that he disappeared from the Robinsonville Blues scene in 1930 and resurfaced months later as one of the greatest guitar players of the time. His new found prowess was attributed by fellow musicians to the selling of his Soul at midnight to the Devil at one of the Crossroads in the Mississippi Delta, later evidenced by his song “Crossroad Blues”.

Since his resurgence as one of the most influential earlier Bluesmen, the search for the actual Crossroads has been a thing of immense speculation among the World's Music Historians and Fans. The Crossroads at the intersection of Highway 61 (The Blues Highway) and Highway 49 in Clarksdale Mississippi has been the most promoted and celebrated Site by most aficionados. A Site on Highways 1 and 8 in Rosedale a few miles south of Clarksdale has also gained some attention, and is claimed to be the real Crossroads by the City. Other Sites, even out of State in Memphis and Arkansas have been mentioned by some researchers. 

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It is noteworthy that Johnson never fully addressed the Myth during his lifetime. In addition, the lyrics of his Crossroad Blues, or any of his other songs do not address the Myth, or identify the location of the Crossroads. The lyrics seem to express his fears of being alone at the Crossroads without a Sweet Woman to ease his distressed situation. He was apparently fearful of arrest, or violence for being out in the boondocks where no one recognized him. Some commenters think the fear expressed was in reference to the "Sundown Laws" in the rural South at the time which placed a curfew on Blacks being out after Sundown, and commonly referenced by signs advising "N....ger, don't let the sun set on you here". 

He sings that being at the Crossroads gave him the Blues, and wanted to let his friend Willie Brown know that he was at the Crossroads and possibly in trouble. It implies that Willie Brown may be somewhere in the vicinity, familiar with the particular Crossroads, and able to provide some assistance. Willie Brown was a mentor of his, and lived in the Lake Cormorant, Robinsonville area in the Northwest corner of the Delta where Highway 3 merges with Highway 61 just south of Memphis.

Our research reveals that the Story about the Robert Johnson Crossroads is probably more fable than fact. Johnson may have used a fictional place to describe the crossroads he sang about, imaging one from his frequent travels in the area. An actual Site would probably involve not only the heavily traveled highways, but those which were associated with Railroad facilities where itinerant travelers could ride the trains legally, or conveniently hop on an available passenger or freight train to facilitate their travels. Bluesman Johnny Shines who played many small towns and travelled with Johnson told stories of how he and Johnson frequently hopped freight trains, and rode on the back of trucks to get from place to place. Some commenters have also observed that the term "Crossroads" may technically refer to the crossing of a rural highway by railroad tracks.

Traveling musicians also used bridges and river banks as resting and fishing spots while moving from town to town. The association of Crossroads with Graveyards in Southern folklore may have also played some part with the notion and location where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at midnight.

It is widely reported by myth that Johnson met a large Black man at the Crossroads at midnight who helped him tune his Guitar and taught him to play it. Other versions of the story claimed he met the man at a graveyard, and not at a crossroad. 

There are credible reports that Johnson and a mentor named Isaiah (Ike) Zimmerman liked to practice their craft sitting on tombstones in graveyards at night because of the serenity, quietness, and lack of disturbance. He apparently met Zimmerman in Itta Bena, and studied his guitar techniques with him in Beauregard Mississippi.

If there is an actual Blues or Devil’s Crossroad related to Robert Johnson, such Sites in the Delta would probably include the noted Clarksdale Site, the Highway 49 and 3 intersections at Tutwiler, and the Highway 6 and 3 intersections at Marks. Interestingly, these three locations form a perfect triangle in the area of the Delta where many Musicians would have to travel.

The Tutwiler Train Depot was actually the location where W.C. Handy, “Father of the Blues” first heard what he described as the weird music played by a loose limbed unnamed bluesman in 1903. He later named and promoted this music as “The Blues”, which led to the notion that the Blues was first discovered at the Tutwiler Train Depot.

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The Crossroads at the City of Marks in Quitman County MS showing from left to right the graveyard to the west with the small stream running in front of it, the park and stream, and the Crossroads of Highways 6 (278) and 3, the railroad tracks just east of the Intersection, and the Bridge and historic Coldwater River to the east. 

The Crossroads at Marks perhaps best fits most of these credentials since it was a crossroad to many important Delta towns, located right next to the Delta’s historic Coldwater River, a prominent graveyard, a park, a large bridge running over the river, and train tracks connecting many Mississippi Delta towns, and Memphis Tennessee.

Based on our research, considering all of the circumstances of Robert Johnson's stories and travels, and all of these facilities conveniently located in one place at one of the most heavily travelled Intersections in the heart of the Delta, the Crossroads at Marks is one of the most likely locations of the Blues Crossroads.

Highway 3 was also a heavily traveled Highway since it cuts right through the center of the Delta, with a more direct North South route, linking many towns all the way from Jackson to Memphis. Hwy 3 is itself a crossroad, connecting with Hwy 51 at Jackson in the South, and Highway 61 in the Northern Delta at Robinsonville and Lake Cormorant, just South of Memphis. Willie Brown a musical mentor of Johnson, and who he mentions in his Crossroad Blues song lived in this area, as did Johnson in his early years. It is therefore likely that Johnson frequently travelled Highway 3 to go between Memphis, Robinsonville, the Greenwood area, Jackson, and the Hazelhurst area where he was born.

Highway 6 is perhaps the Delta’s most historic and heavily traveled East West highway. It connects Tupelo, Elvis Presley’s Hometown in the East, Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Writer William Faulkner, Batesville, Marks, and Clarksdale in the West.

It is reported that Son House, an important Blues legend himself, claimed that Johnson returned to the Robinsonville scene with a Guitar Style that no one else could match. Son House apparently stated, “He must have sold his soul to the Devil to be able to play like that”. This statement is believed to have started the Myth of the Devil’s Crossroads and Robert Johnson.

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“The myth of the “crossroads” comes from Africa and some of its traditions brought to the U.S. and Mississippi with its slave population. The story goes that if you need something bad enough, you can make a deal with “Elegba”, or Satan. You go to a crossroads at midnight and wait until he shows up.” by kim October 28, 2014 - https://www.supertalk.fm/spooky-mississippi-story-crossroads-mythology-robert-johnson/