Mississippi Delta

I Am the Blues

 February 2023

  

The Black Legacy Project will travel to the Mississippi Delta in February 2023 to celebrate the rich history of Blues music and its impact on American culture. The Mississippi Delta is widely considered to be the birthplace of the Blues. The region has been home to more legendary Blues artists than any other place in the nation – Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bessie Smith, and John Lee Hooker just to name a few. Delta Blues is the distinctly American music genre that inspired the sounds of some of today’s most popular music, including rock n' roll, soul, jazz, country music, and hip hop. In spite of the profound influence Delta Blues had in shaping the artistic and cultural landscape of America, the fruits of this influence (recognition & acknowledgment, career advancement, and financial wealth) were predominantly out of reach for the Black communities who created this art form. While the Blues would eventually go on to be performed by Black and White folks alike, it is important to honor the Black roots of the Blues, a genre that painted a humanistic picture of the trials, passions, and agency of Black Americans during the turn of the 20th century, many of which are still relevant today. It is this complex history that brings the Black LP to the region. Read more here.