Saturday, May 05, 2012

A story about how beauty flowers from the fields of brutality


A detailed story about the birthplace of the blues appeared in an unexpected publication, one that is devoted to reporting on homelessness, poverty, human rights and related issues.

Yet, the article,"The Mississippi Delta: Birthplace of the Blues," published in the April issue of Street Spirit, makes perfect sense, according to editor Terry Messman.

"You cannot listen to blues music for long before you are confronted by the terrible and tragic history of racism, slavery, segregation and discrimination in America," he wrote.

According to Messman, the article is a "reflection on a beautiful trip through the Mississippi Delta my wife Ellen and I took last month." In it, he details his journey to "the wonderful series of blues museums, state blues markers, murals, grave sites and birthplaces of the Mississippi blues musicians that we love the most."

Street Spirit is a publication of the American Friends Service Committee in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Read the article

2 comments:

Brent said...

I love this article. So many blues musicians did come about in the worst of conditions.

I think it is sort of an extension of the Blues' history of hardship, poverty, and even roots in slavery. I think about this a lot when I listen to the Delta Blues and other early roots music. I try to put myself I the artist's position.

I think this is what roots music in the America south is all about. Roots music allows us to communicate our experiences and emotions to each other in a way that words fail to do.

B
Suited-Roots
Brentlawrencemusic.com

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