My skin is black
My arms are long
My hair is woolly
My back is strongStrong enough to take the pain
It’s been inflicted again and again
--“Four Women” (Nina Simone)
This is Day Three of my sojourn in Jackson. Though I’ve been mostly stuck in the hotel, I have managed to get my walk on.
While there’s not much to see in the Farish Street Historic District, I nevertheless enjoyed walking in the footsteps of blues giants like Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Milton, who used to perform at the Alamo Theater.
From there, it was a hop, skip and jump to the Smith Robertson Museum. The museum is housed in the former Smith Robertson Elementary School, the first public school for black children in Jackson. Its alumni include Richard Wright.
The museum’s depository includes artifacts related to black Mississippians’ experiences and contributions in the field, and in the fields of literature, art and politics.
The walls are lined with photographs of black women whose backs don’t bend. Women like Ida B. Wells, Unita Blackwell and Myrlie Evers.
Before heading back to the hotel, I had lunch on Farish Street at a café that’s been serving soul food since 1961. And, yes, the proprietor’s name is Peaches. You can find her sitting at the register by the door.
