Jackson, Mississippi to Tupelo MS

Yesterday I had no agenda other than visit Jackson, so my driving day began. Jackson was less than an hour from Vicksburg so a quick drive. I knew I would visit the Mississippi Civil Rights museum  but I was not prepared for the enormity of that visit.

The museum is only a couple of years old and it covers the history of African Americans for over 400 years. The exhibits are so intricate and woven so well together, the entire thing is so well curated and complete that you could visit it over and over and still not see everything. Audio, visual, primary source material,  video, interactive displays, there is so much that it both amazes and breaks your heart at the same time. It amazes because the amount of work and research the exhibition displays is enormous. And heartbreaking because of the documentation of the horrors, struggles and injustice the black race has had to endure.

It was, needless to say, a profound experience. And it was just Mississippi's part of this history, each state in the South its own separate but similar story to tell.

From Jackson I meandered northeast, drove up part of the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway, through some small towns, had a nice pork sandwich at a small BBQ spot in Starkville and finally pulled in to Tupelo around 5:30. By then it was raining. Two hours later it was storming: thunder, lightning, pounding rain and high winds. From my fourth floor hotel window I had a good seat for the weather's fierce show. Since my lunch had been late, I skipped dinner in favor of staying dry.

Today I think I will head northeast again back into Tennessee or maybe Alabama. I have a hotel secured for two nights in Nashville starting on Tuesday, then it will be back down south to Louisiana. Following the Mississippi River will be easier there and I will get to spend some time watching it travel to the Gulf of Mexico.

More to come, of course.