This morning - both the Rav and the humans needed some fuel (due to COVID, coffee service had been discontinued at our hotel - the cherry on top of a not-so-terrific stay). So before heading out we fixed both of those problems at a nearby gas station. After filling up we headed straight east towards Jackson, Mississippi. We got a little nostalgic as we crossed 'Ol Man River into Vicksburg, Mississippi - we had been through that very spot on an earlier family vacation. So we took a quick and unscheduled detour into the heart of town to look around at the civil war period architecture.
Although I have been to the Vicksburg battlefield twice, I have not visited downtown. (At least I don't remember visiting downtown - I was pretty young during my first visit.) So we slowly drove the marked historic scenic route through downtown and ended up near the old depot and river's edge. It was Sunday morning so everything was closed and the traffic was very light. It was also close to lunch so we decided to park next to the James Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum. We grabbed some snacks out of the back of the car and wandered around the river's edge and the model of the Mississippi River that was near the museum parking lot.
I decided to take some pictures of the area when I noticed in the camera's lens none other than the Queen of the Mississippi heading up the river and straight toward us! What you need to know is that Ross and I have started a retirement bucket list. On that list is a Mississippi riverboat cruise and the "The Queen" is one of the boats we have researched. So - like true landlocked Kansans with nowhere special to be - we hung out and over-analyzed the entire landing process trying to guess what was going to happen next. We were like kids in a candy store - or at least I was. IT WAS AWESOME. After the boat was fully docked, we decided to hit the road once again.
It was a short, green jaunt from Vicksburg over to Jackson. We got in a little more of the book and arrived just in time for the museum to open at 1:00 p.m. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum offers free admission on Sunday afternoons, so after leaving our zip code at the ticket desk - we walked on in. There were three exhibits to view. The permanent exhibits were the civil rights exhibit and an exhibit on the history of the state. On the second floor was a temporary exhibit called "Wet Mississippi." Intriguing.
Since our primary goal for the day was the civil rights exhibit, we started there. The exhibit is laid out in a circle like a donut. You enter and travel around the outside circle to the left, weaving in and out of the inner circle. The docent on duty explained that the inner circle is meant to be a respite from the heavier material around the outside. The exhibit begins with the British slave trade to the American colonies and continues through the civil war, the reconstruction period, the days of Jim Crow and White Supremacy, the world wars, the time of civil unrest through the 50s and 60s and ends with a contemplative final exhibit to help you process all you have just seen.
A trip through this exhibit is intensely personal. The presentation is thorough and immersive - containing warnings in some parts where graphic details of violent events are explored. It can easily take your entire afternoon. We realized we had been there two hours and hadn't even made it past the world wars. So we had to skim over some of the more recent history in order to see the entire museum. Much of the history and stories on the walls you have seen if you have paid any kind of attention to documentaries, movies and articles on civil rights. What this exhibit does is bring all those disparate pieces together enabling the viewer to grasp the genesis, development and importance of the entire civil rights movement.
The thematic question posed at the end of the very first room (the end of the Civil War) was:
"Where do we go from here?"
For the first time, I was able to connect the failed attempt at reconstruction to the events that followed placing everything into context in a clear and understandable way. Early attempts of politicians to help the broken nation heal contained positive rhetoric, but failed in practice. Mississippi Senator Lucius Lamar included this quote in his controversial eulogy for abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner who died of a heart attack in office in 1874:
"My countrymen! Know one another and you will love one another!"
The world wars did much to bolster the confidence of the young men of the south and sparked early organization of the civil rights movement.
"I had low self-esteem. The army built me up and made me proud of myself...And I've still got it in me." Nathan Harris, Mississippi Delta.
Isaac and I shared our thoughts as we wandered in and out of the various rooms. We spoke about abuse. We spoke about the seduction of power and greed. We spoke about bystander behavior. We sang "This Little Light of Mine" and other gospel songs with the music piped into the inner circle breaks. We ached in frustration with the mothers of murdered sons. This is exhibit is heavy. This exhibit is necessary.
After leaving, we did a little mindless shopping in the gift shop to recover from the experience. I picked up some spices and a recipe for southern chicken salad. Then we headed upstairs to the temporary exhibit which turned out to be about prohibition. And here, we learned one of our favorite new 'fun facts:'
Apparently, Mississippi holds the distinction of being called the "Wettest Dry State" in the nation during the days of prohibition. This oxymoron takes a bit of time to process, but it's helpful if you remember that during prohibition, making, selling and drinking alcohol was against the law. In Mississippi, like in all the other states, alcohol was made, sold and drunk all on the black market. But apparently, it was made, sold and drunk to such a degree that the state also managed to pass a law to collect taxes - yes I said taxes - on liquor being sold on the black market. Fascinating.
I also picked up a recipe in the exhibit speakeasy of author and Mississippi native William Faulkner's favorite toddy which can be drunk either hot or cold. Apparently Faulkner transported quite a bit of alcohol into New Orleans during prohibition. I found an article about Faulkner's activities during this period with the recipe included. Essentially his standard toddy consists of:
- 2oz of bourbon or white whiskey
- 4oz of water (cold or boiling)
- If cold, 1 lemon slice; if hot, 1/2 lemon, both juice and rind
- 1tsp of sugar
"The key to the toddy, according to Faulkner, is that the sugar must be dissolved into a small amount of water before the whiskey is added, otherwise it 'lies in a little intact swirl like sand at the bottom of the glass.'" - Robert Moor, The Paris Review
We now had one hour before the museum closed at 5:00 p.m. So we wandered at a moderate pace through the history of Mississippi exhibit comparing and contrasting the difference between Mississippi history and Kansas history. For example - there was nary a tipi in the 'early Mississippi' exhibit as the early natives in that area were farmers. We studied a nicely executed, life size comparison of the living rooms of a slave cabin, a farmer's home and landed gentry from the same time period. The exhibit pointed out how each room had common elements (fireplace, places to sit and gather, and sometimes places to sleep) allowing the viewer to notice the stark contrast in purpose, style and size of each of the rooms. We found a terrific reconstruction of an 80's living room that contained an exact replica of the record player my family had during my childhood as well as other toys and items that were part of my childhood. We sang and danced in a reconstructed juke joint that allowed you to select songs by famous Mississippi artists on a juke box. I will say there was a shocking absence of Elvis. And then it was time to go.
We grabbed some more snacks out of the back of the car, queued up the book and pointed the car south toward Mobile, Alabama. We arrived near dusk and checked into a courtyard view room in what quickly became my favorite hotel of our stay - the Malaga Inn in downtown Mobile. I found the hotel on VRBO - the place I always check when I travel. The spots I have found never disappoint. The Malaga has entered into my top 10 all-time favorites - even with reduced services due to Covid. We arrived in time to take a quick, early evening walk around downtown Mobile to enjoy the evening air. And then it was back to the hotel for bed and a terrific night's sleep.
