The tomato vines are thinning out as summer draws to a close. The other tell-tale sign that another season is on the way is eighth grade's open house. I enjoyed meeting new students and parents. It was also nice to visit with parents who were coming around again with the younger siblings of students past.
I had my stack of summer reading and my freshly laminated Blues Trail Map and Po' Monkey's poster to share, but I forgot my mojo and specimen jars at home tucked away in a roomy Partagas Black label cigar box.
A paper doily from The Gallery Restaurant in Merigold,MS.
A white egg shell from the Delta State University Campus in Cleveland, MS.
A silk flower petal from the Chinese Cemetery in Greenville, MS.
An admission ticket from Stax Records and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN.
An admission ticket from Po' Monkey's Juke Joint in Merigold, MS.
A flying insect from a lily pond on Highway 444 near Duncan, MS.
Soil from Dockery Farms in Cleveland, MS.
A butterscotch hard candy wrapper from the parking lot of K&W Cafeteria in Burlington, NC.
A golf tee from Waynesville, NC.
and rocks from-
Hebrew Union Temple in Greenville, MS
Little Zion Graveyard in Greenwood, MS
the site of the '27 levee break in Greenville, MS
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Gardens in Ruleville, MS
It's the last rock that I want to talk to you about today. I picked up that particular rock on the day that I forgot to bring my camera with me, so you'll have to enjoy photographs of the garden using other links.
Most of us associate Fannie Lou Hamer with the moving speech she made to the 1964 Democratic National Convention's Credentials Committee, so moving, in fact, that President Johnson felt that her words would keep him from being elected to serve a second term. He countered with an "emergency" news conference to interrupt the broadcast of Hamer's testimony, which was aired in its entirety on most evening news programs. We think of Mrs. Hamer as a brave advocate for civil rights who told of her own life's struggles in Ruleville, Mississippi.
And Ruleville is where you will find her today, laid to rest in the town she loved so much. Few of us will ever be in a position to address the nation and the world. But not all revolutions are televised. I want to talk about another aspect of Mrs. Hamer's life. Maybe you know someone like her; maybe you are someone like her. While working to change the way that America treated her citizens, Hamer wasted no time being of service to others in her community. She was a conduit for basic resources and necessities for the people of Ruleville. Mrs. Hamer was in the business of caring, being about her Father's business, she might say.
The song that's most associated with Mrs. Hamer is represented in the garden. You will find the following words spelled out in metal there: "Let Your Light Shine." Lots of people came together to work alongside Mrs. Hamer, but don't forget the power of one person who wants to bring some light into the darkness on behalf of others.
And if you are a teacher, advocating for children with a variety of needs is what you've been called to do. And sometimes you will feel like you are alone with a nub of a candle in your palm.
My favorite Delta moment, by far, was an impromptu one. We were spending the morning with a friend of Mrs. Hamer's, Dr. Edgar Smith. Standing at the front of the tour bus with a microphone, Dr. Smith read a letter from Mrs. Hamer that was written to him and his wife thanking them for their support and remarking on her own deteriorating health. Hearing the letter was like opening a portal to the past and catching a glimpse of a remarkable woman.
After we was finished, from the back of the bus came a woman's voice. Someone asked if Dr. Smith would lead us in a verse of of "This Little Light of Mine." And he did. To sing that song with Dr. Smith while travelling through Mrs. Hamer's Mississippi while surrounded by so many inspired, compassionate educators was a moment of delicious serendipity.
If you want to sing along, here's Bruuuuuuuuuce and Odetta with their versions of the classic.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mr. Charles McLaurin, a "foot soldier for justice." Mr. McLaurin met Mrs. Hamer through his affiliation with SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McLaurin and hearing his story at Delta State University. You may use the following YouTube video to see and hear him for yourself.
 |
| My Mojo |
A paper doily from The Gallery Restaurant in Merigold,MS.
A white egg shell from the Delta State University Campus in Cleveland, MS.
A silk flower petal from the Chinese Cemetery in Greenville, MS.
An admission ticket from Stax Records and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN.
An admission ticket from Po' Monkey's Juke Joint in Merigold, MS.
A flying insect from a lily pond on Highway 444 near Duncan, MS.
Soil from Dockery Farms in Cleveland, MS.
A butterscotch hard candy wrapper from the parking lot of K&W Cafeteria in Burlington, NC.
A golf tee from Waynesville, NC.
and rocks from-
Hebrew Union Temple in Greenville, MS
Little Zion Graveyard in Greenwood, MS
the site of the '27 levee break in Greenville, MS
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Gardens in Ruleville, MS
It's the last rock that I want to talk to you about today. I picked up that particular rock on the day that I forgot to bring my camera with me, so you'll have to enjoy photographs of the garden using other links.
Most of us associate Fannie Lou Hamer with the moving speech she made to the 1964 Democratic National Convention's Credentials Committee, so moving, in fact, that President Johnson felt that her words would keep him from being elected to serve a second term. He countered with an "emergency" news conference to interrupt the broadcast of Hamer's testimony, which was aired in its entirety on most evening news programs. We think of Mrs. Hamer as a brave advocate for civil rights who told of her own life's struggles in Ruleville, Mississippi.
Gil-Scott Heron's tribute to Mrs. Hamer
And Ruleville is where you will find her today, laid to rest in the town she loved so much. Few of us will ever be in a position to address the nation and the world. But not all revolutions are televised. I want to talk about another aspect of Mrs. Hamer's life. Maybe you know someone like her; maybe you are someone like her. While working to change the way that America treated her citizens, Hamer wasted no time being of service to others in her community. She was a conduit for basic resources and necessities for the people of Ruleville. Mrs. Hamer was in the business of caring, being about her Father's business, she might say.
The song that's most associated with Mrs. Hamer is represented in the garden. You will find the following words spelled out in metal there: "Let Your Light Shine." Lots of people came together to work alongside Mrs. Hamer, but don't forget the power of one person who wants to bring some light into the darkness on behalf of others.
And if you are a teacher, advocating for children with a variety of needs is what you've been called to do. And sometimes you will feel like you are alone with a nub of a candle in your palm.
My favorite Delta moment, by far, was an impromptu one. We were spending the morning with a friend of Mrs. Hamer's, Dr. Edgar Smith. Standing at the front of the tour bus with a microphone, Dr. Smith read a letter from Mrs. Hamer that was written to him and his wife thanking them for their support and remarking on her own deteriorating health. Hearing the letter was like opening a portal to the past and catching a glimpse of a remarkable woman.
After we was finished, from the back of the bus came a woman's voice. Someone asked if Dr. Smith would lead us in a verse of of "This Little Light of Mine." And he did. To sing that song with Dr. Smith while travelling through Mrs. Hamer's Mississippi while surrounded by so many inspired, compassionate educators was a moment of delicious serendipity.
If you want to sing along, here's Bruuuuuuuuuce and Odetta with their versions of the classic.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mr. Charles McLaurin, a "foot soldier for justice." Mr. McLaurin met Mrs. Hamer through his affiliation with SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McLaurin and hearing his story at Delta State University. You may use the following YouTube video to see and hear him for yourself.
