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Memphis

Memphis

Remembering Mahalia Jackson’s Fried Chicken in Tallahassee

Also on Adams Street was this building that I immediately recognized as a former location of Mahalia Jackson’s Fried Chicken. Note the similarity to the former location in Orange Mound in Memphis, where the words “Orange Mound” have been spray-painted on the upward swing of the roof. Mahalia Jackson’s Chicken System Inc. was an African-American fast-food venture launched by a group of Memphis businessmen led by A. W. Willis and Ben Hooks. Mahalia Jackson contributed her name and at least a portion of the chicken recipe. Locations were opened in predominantly-Black neighborhoods across America, but unfortunately, the Memphis businessmen decided to partner with former Tennessee gubernatorial candidate John Jay Hooker, who was seeming to have great success with Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken. Hooker’s Performance Systems Inc. bought 50% of the Mahalia Jackson system, and found rough going when they ran out of regions of the country to sell franchises. Ultimately all of the Minnie Pearl’s and Mahalia Jackson’s locations closed except for the Nashville franchise. That store was eventually purchased by E. W. Mayo, and became more famous for fried pies than chicken. I have heard that it now has closed as well. But this Tallahassee location, which I didn’t know about, is remarkably well-preserved.

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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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