HistoCulture

Mound Bayou, MS is not far from my new home. It is approximately 15 miles away, and as I wrote earlier, it was an all-black affluent community that thrived off of its own resources and people.

My mentor came to town, to make sure my transition was as smooth as possible, and he took me to this town unknowing that I had read about it at the museum in Jackson. As we approached the town, my excitement grew. These pictures of businesses, families, and land in the exhibit were hopeful, yet when we arrived today’s reality sunk in.

The town that was once full of life, enriched black life, is now just a mere memory. This hospital once birthed thousands of blacks around the country, serving as the only black hospital – now stands boarded up and unoccupied. These pictures not only reflect the state of businesses in this 99% black town, but they represent the entire town. There is no longer a business district, there is no longer life outside of those who walk up and down the road each day to get to and from school. Life, is in the color of the skin of the black people who occupy this town, but their lives do not extend their color – for asphalt and pebbled roads are their only means of white interface each day.

After exploring this town, we ventured to sharecroppers land in the next town over. As my mentor pointed out, the roads that we drove over were once occupied by slaves and their owners. Acres of crops, and land. Acres of history, less of a man.

Po’ Monkey, one of the last real juke-joints in Mississippi, was located on a sharecroppers land in which we came across on our informal tour.

These pictures, do not touch on the experience that is held inside of these doors. This place is said to have occupied over a 100 people every Thursday night – where you come dressed to impress and ready to dance to some soulful tunes. This juke joint, owned and operated by a black man name Po’ Monkey, is also his home. His room and kitchen is nestled inside, where he has little room and space outside of the party. His willingness and dedication extends the cultural function of this shack, and overflow in to his daily routine and life. Each day, Po’ opens his doors, goes to work, comes home, and serves up a platter of himself and a cultural experience that you can’t find anywhere else.