I took a journal with me and wrote this entry July 12, 2010, my first full day in the Mississippi Delta. For confidentiality purposes, I did not use real names in this piece.
Today was a good day filled with laughter, stories, smiles, stares and humidity. Pennsylvania Eric and I drove to Indianola to check out B.B Kings' blues club for live music- but there wasn't any.
I guess I'm in awe with the landscape. I witnessed an orange setting sun so big and bright, I drove by cotton, soy bean and corn fields. Long, large, wide mileage, as far as the eye can see of land. For me, the level of vastness is overwhelming. It has a way of sucking your energy a bit. Like I wonder, what do people dream here? They must've gotten used to the quiet. I've passed a couple of people that seemed to be doing well. Dressed well...
The men speak much more to me and I wonder if that's a flirtatious thing on their part or jealously on the part of the women. I sometimes hate the way we approach others with skepticism, especially as black women. I get the sense sometimes that I'm being watched. That everyone can tell I'm an out of towner...
This trip really has me thinking of abject poverty and race. In the middle of it all, people still praise and thank God and I think it's incredibly brave but hope they're not ignoring opportunities that God has given them.
