jackson, mississippi

jackson, mississippi was a good place to stop after the natchez trace parkway and when i saw how cute the old capitol inn was, but i didn't necessarily have a big desire to explore the city.  but then i looked into it a bit more and found some cool things to do.  my only regret is that i didn't get to see the medgar evers house.  (a prominent civil rights leader active as an officer in the naacp assassinated in his driveway in 1963.  2 hung juries for the kkk killer byron delabeckwith.  many songs were written about the atrocity.  see wikipedia.  the killer was finally convicted on a retrial w/new evidence in 1994.  yes, not joking, after being FREE for more than three DECADES after the murder.)  a jackson college owns it and has it restored to what it looked like when the evers family lived there, but it is by appt. only and i couldn't get a hold of the lady.  it is probably good b/c he was shot in the driveway, and frankly i am emotionally drained after processing all of these unthinkable atrocities.  not sure how i would have done at the house.  and in these museums there are only so many times you can pretend you have allergies so as to not embarass yourself.  i have seen pictures of the son at the funeral, and learned that the family was all waiting up for him b/c he was late at an organizing meeting....it's just all too much.

ok, so here is the cool roofdeck where i hung out in the morning

some interesting downtown architecture

city hall.  (buffalo's is WAY better!)

this art museum was amazing.  and FREE.  well, except the special photography exhibit part which i think was only $5.  that photographer reminded me a lot of my personal favorite milton rogovin.  his name is oraien catledge and he did a series on people in cabbagetown in georgia.  which was an area built by a cotton textile mill to house the workers who had immigrated from appalachia.  fell into disrepair and the people were in extreme poverty after the mill closed.

 one of my favorite paintings.  sorry for the blurriness.  couldn't use flash.

this one was stunning.

these mosaics were a project for katrina victims to try to heal by making beautiful artwork out of things damaged in the hurricane.

nice outdoor garden at the museum.

downtown architect's office in an old greyhound station.

downtown was pretty deserted.  and it was a weekday.  i probably should've checked w/the hotel before i decided to go walking to all of my destinations....i got lost on the way to the smith robertson cultural center and museum.  probably should have been a bit alarmed when the sidewalks became completely overgrown w/grass and when it became impossible to step without hitting broken glass.  and the curly barbed wire fences should have been a clue.  and then i got to a corner where the only people available to ask directions from were a guy who i think was trying to purchase a bail bond and another guy outside a check cashing place.  but it was all good in the end.  another dude on the corner pointed me in the right direction.  so when i finally got there, the parking lot was totally gated in and the door wasn't open since you have to ring a special security bell.  oopsie.  well, i did find another route back which was not nearly as strange.  and did i mention it was around 86 degrees?  well, it felt really good until about 13 blocks into my walk.   and the books i got for edison and caelan at the first stop started to feel mighty heavy.

so here it is.  the smith robertson museum it is housed in the school that richard wright attended!!  and i have to say, it was such a sad little museum!  a lot of the displays were worn out and outdated.  some things were even missing.  doesn't seem right in the land of medgar evers, emmett till and james meredith that the only african american museum in the capital city needs so much help!  perhaps needless to say, i had the place to myself.

 this mural is just up the st.

the capitol building

the old capitol inn where i stayed

really good smoked turkey bbq!

and the guy working there (the owner i think?) was really nice.  he asked me if i was from iowa!!  ?!?!?! good god i think it was seth jinxing me by calling me country girl right before that.  someone looking for me at my office described me as the "cute country girl" and i made the mistake of repeating it.  anyway, once the guy found out where i was from he started telling this story about a "slider" so i think he is talking about a sandwich but i am only catching part of what he is saying b/c of his accent.  then he goes "so we fit 4 or 5 people on it...." and i realize he is most definitely not talking about a sandwich.  but i was still confused until i gleaned snow or ice and i said to him "are you talking about a SLED?" and he says "sled?!?" like he has never heard the word before.  and i say "toboggan?" and he goes "HUH?" and i go "did you ride on top of the snow on a hill?"  and he goes "YES!!  that isn't called a slider?"

next entry - a city that truly deserves its own post - SELMA, ALABAMA

be ready for some long winded civil rights facts!!!!