Soulsville. Encompassing all ages, races, religions, ethnicities, belief systems, and music genres. From ages 15 to 71, students of the Civil Rights Movement and of life came on this trip to find answers. Perhaps to even do a bit of soul searching. And in Memphis I daresay, many may have found, if not answers, at least some peace. I know that’s true in my case at least.
Eleven months ago, I embarked on a similar journey to the Mississippi Delta and the Memphis area, again with other educators and scholars who were seeking answers and understanding, in order to find ways to make the future better than the past has proven our attempts to be thus far. During that trip, as with this one, we sought purpose, felt a mixture of anger and sadness, needed answers to so. many. questions., and soon began to feel overwhelmed and exhausted in our Civil Rights quest.
And that’s when we got to Memphis. Memphis provided more sorrow in places such as at the Center for Human Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel and the 22 exhibits on display, detailing how crucial the foot soldiers of the South were in the fight for Civil Rights, even at the cost of so many lives. Sorrow in the lynching tree depicted beside the Ida B. Wells statue at the intersection of Ida B. Wells and Beale Streets at what is to become the Ida B. Wells Memorial Park. Sorrow in the amount of homeless people we saw and interacted with in our travels throughout the south, from Atlanta through Nashville, and I dare to assume, all the way home to Pittsburgh.
However, Memphis also provided what I always refer to with my students as “pockets of joy amid the pockets of suck.” These pockets of joy appeared at dinner Friday night at South of Beale as we sat beside people in our cohort – some of us with someone new, some of us with the same person for the dozenth time – and talked and relaxed and laughed throughout the entire evening. These pockets of joy have appeared throughout the past seven days as Dr. Naragon will purposely point out items of interest or will refer back to something that has been said, in order to make our experience on this trip even more purposeful and impactful; these pockets of joy appear also as the rest of us have picked up on this habit and have begun to do the same with and for one another as we move through each city. Huge pockets of joy appear around our student scholars who have shown to be outstanding in “all the ways” – most especially how much they have taken in on this trip, how they have processed it all in such a short amount of time, and how impactful it appears to be on them already.
And finally, pockets of joy such as the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Stax Records was founded in 1957 by siblings Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart (STewart/AXton = STAX). They were known for signing any artist who made music that moved people and sounded different than the mainstream, and that created a mix of races, cultures, etc. within staff, musicians, writers, and producers. ”It was a movement; a cultural movement and a spiritual movement,” stated Al Bell, Stax’ owner. Throughout the years, Stax produced stars like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas, and Booker T and the MGs, until the studio was forced into bankruptcy in 1975 and closed its doors forever.
Even with a sad ending, this stop in our itinerary truly comes at the perfect time: we were all in need of a mental health pick-me-up after the past few days’ content. And after a few short hours of soul music, it was easy to see a marked difference within the group. There was a light-hearted aura surrounding us as we readied ourselves for the six-hour trek across Tennessee toward Louisville, KY.
And just as quickly as Stax disbanded, our group will also be leaving one another in just two short days. As indelible and priceless an impression Stax made on the world, this trip and these extraordinary human beings I’ve been gifted with inviting into my space over this past week have left a similar impression on me, and I will be forever grateful.
**As a show of gratitude, as well as just another way to remember our trip, I’ve put together a Spotify playlist of songs that remind me of our discussions, the cities we visited, the experiences we had, or even of songs that have played as we’ve spent time together. I hope you all enjoy!** https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5p3RnXYq8tUafggo2b0ZkY?si=8e6d917b017f4da5&pt=926c292ff0601cfa2219062c51b2d01e