blues music

Johnny Thomas, mayor of tiny Glendora, Miss., runs a small civil rights museum dedicated to the Emmett Till story.

National

Landmarks fall, memories fade. Civil rights tourism may protect Mississippi history

5:00am March 14, 2023

There's a new push to develop civil rights tourism in the Mississippi Delta where local groups are using federal dollars to preserve the stories before memories fade and landmarks are lost.

A show at Red's, a juke joint in Clarksdale, Miss., where it's advertised that you can see live blues seven nights a week.

Mississippi is home of the blues and key to civil rights past. Locals tell the story

1:10pm March 13, 2023

With pandemic restrictions lifted, tourists are returning to Mississippi's famous Blues Trail. Civil rights leaders are noticing some are now hungry for more context about the music's origins.

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Gary Clark Jr.'s latest album, This Land, is out now.

Music & Culture

Racism In American South Inspired Gary Clark Jr.'s 'This Land'

3:41am February 24, 2019

On his latest multigenre album, Clark is unapologetically angry. He tells NPR's Michel Martin what inspired it: "That's what came out as a result of ... life being black in this country."

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Cedric Burnside plays Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 1, 2018 in support of his Grammy Nominated "Benton County Relic."

Music & Culture

Grammy-Nominated Blues Musician Cedric Burnside Remembers His Roots

8:05am February 10, 2019

by Clay Masters

His album Benton County Relic was nominated for a Grammy this year in the Best Traditional Blues category and features lyrics about his poor upbringing in Mississippi.

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