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Southern Heritage Classic Parade
Southern Heritage Classic Parade

Memphis Manassas High School Band in the Southern Heritage Classic Parade 2012

Manassas High School in North Memphis is the second-oldest Black high school in Memphis (it was originally a county school, as it was outside the city limits of Memphis). It has a long tradition of excellent music which began when Jimmie Lunceford was hired to be the band director of the school. Lunceford would go on to fame and fortune in the world of big band jazz, along with one of his former students, drummer Jimmy Crawford. Great Memphis musicians such as Emerson Able, Isaac Hayes and Howard Grimes attended Manassas High, and although the school has suffered from low enrollment in recent years, its football program was recently featured in a documentary called Undefeated. Here the Manassas High band marches in the Southern Heritage Classic Parade in Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12

The Michigan City Soul Steppers Drill Team and Drumline, Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12

The Michigan City Soul Steppers Drill Team and Drumline, Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12

The Michigan City Soul Steppers Drill Team and Drumline, Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12

Memphis’ Love Affair With The Steelers

The preponderance of Pittsburgh Steelers fans in Memphis has always amazed me, given the great distance between the two cities. Perhaps the Steelers had a gritty image that appealed to a rough, working-class town like Memphis. Whatever the reason, Steelers fans are everywhere. Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12