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Black History
Black History

Black History

Classic Cars at Juneteenth, Douglass Park, Memphis, 2012

Juneteenth commemorates the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, where planters apparently attempted to defy it (in the remainder of the South, the proclamation took effect on May 8). What is unclear is why the Texas “Juneteenth” has become the day of celebration for African-Americans nationwide, replacing the “Ada May” celebrations that used to be held in the rest of the south. In Memphis, Juneteenth is held in Douglass Park as a three-day festival of music, food, dance and wholesome activities for children. This year there was also a classic car show in Douglass Park. 6/16/12

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The Center For Southern Folklore, Memphis

The Center For Southern Folklore is a cool blues venue and shop in downtown Memphis. It’s a great place to hear live blues, soul, jazz or gospel, enjoy a cold beverage or purchase books and CDs about Memphis music and history. 

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Last Remnants of DeSiard Street, Monroe, LA

Although I was in Louisiana for Grambling State University homecoming 2011, the nearest hotel I could get a room in was at Monroe, Louisiana, 30 miles away. When I got to Monroe, I came upon this old, seemingly-historic building at 10th and DeSiard. Signs indicated that it once housed the 10th Street Social Club, the Standard Life Insurance Company of Louisiana, the Monroe Free Press (an African-American newspaper), Eddie’s Place and Hilliard’s Cafe. A sign at the entrance to the 10th Street Social Club stated that any women with weapons would be turned over to the police! The 1965 Monroe City Directory indicated that the building was the Roy-Miller Building, and that it was the site of a number of important businesses, clubs and professional offices for the African-American community in Monroe. It is a tragedy that it has been allowed to deteriorate. 

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Moonwalking With The Klondike Dance, Drum and Bugle Corps Back in 1970

Anyone who has ever been to a majorette jamboree knows that majorettes and drummers are a big part of Memphis culture. So I was really interested when I came across this July 4, 1970 article from the Commercial Appeal about the Klondike Dance, Drum and Bugle Corps, which for one thing proves that the roots of drumming and drilling in Memphis go back at least that far (legendary drummer Willie Hall claims back to 1969). Also of interest is the reference to the dancers doing the “moon walk”, so that dance is clearly older than Michael Jackson, and might have come from Memphis!

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The Lower End, Front Street, Mason TN, Summer 1991

001 The Lower End002 The Lower End003 Chilling In Front of the Green Hut004 The Lower End005 Purple Rain Lounge006 The Black Hut007 The Black Hut008 Still The Real Deal009 Godfather Lounge, Brown Hut & Real Deal010 The Lower End

Mason, Tennessee, Front Street, The Lower End, Summer 1991. 

This was the summer that I was spending a lot of time in and around Mason and Gainesville, Tennessee. I had gotten some black and white film, and was having fun with my camera, and I was always fascinated by the “cafes” in Mason, as juke joints were called in those days. Of course, I had no idea back then that most of these buildings would be torn down and destroyed, so the pictures are maybe a little more important now than I had imagined.

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A Requiem for Cleaborn Homes

The Cleaborn Homes public housing development was built in Memphis in 1955. The Memphis Housing Authority began demolishing it in April this year. The powers that be are telling us that this is improvement, that those forced to leave will be better off, and that the new beautiful development for higher-income people that will be built will be better for Memphis.

But is there any real gain in tearing down people’s neighborhoods and communities? What good actually results? We are told the buildings are old, in which case they could have been rehabilitated or completely replaced, but with the original residents given first priority to be allowed back in when the new construction is completed. We are told the area is overcrowded, but the reconstruction could have been designed to lower density. We are told that the area has become a crime problem, without any regard for the impoverished living conditions that fuel crime. In fact, the mass displacement of these folks may trigger more crime, as their cost for housing, even with vouchers, will be far more significant.

In short, while redevelopment advocates have perhaps shown why the old buildings need to be torn down and replaced, they haven’t shown why the original residents must be uprooted and moved to other areas of the city. The reasons for THAT they’d rather not touch with a ten-foot pole. 

And so the memories of more than 50 years come crashing down at the behest of a heedless monster machine called greed and progress, banished to live only in the mind, faded photos and a couple of t-shirts. All “progress” isn’t forward.

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Many Voices: How Racism Killed Earle, Arkansas

More background history on the rather tragic town of Earle, Arkansas. Many Voices was a civil rights newspaper published in West Memphis from 1970-1972, covering events in the East Arkansas delta region. Earle was often mentioned in various issues of the newspaper, as there was always some kind of protest, conflict or boycott going on there. I suppose that’s what led to the downtown of empty and abandoned stores.

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