Reply #120: My recent trip to Memphis

[helleborient]

I went on a day trip to Clarksdale, Mississippi for the blues sites as well as visiting the Smithsonian's exhibit on Rock and Soul History, and the Civil Rights Museum in the motel where MLK, Jr. was shot.

The sheer complexity of race relations in that area is made incredibly obvious by these exhibits. Stax Records (and I would love to see their recently opened museum) featured mixed race bands supporting mostly black lead performers way back in the early 60's. But there is also evident plenty of the history of white performers getting the sales and preferential treatment when recording songs that originally were performed by black musicians. Sun Records (and the late great Sam Phillips) is a lesson in itself of the complication of race relations.

When my wife and I got back...one of the first things we heard from someone here in the north who had visited Memphis was "it was the most obviously racist place I've ever been."

Wow! We missed that but see a lot of obvious racism in northern cities. It is sooo complex, and the original post here seemed to try and make it sooo simple...