I spent a GLORIOUS weekend in Jackson, Mississippi.
I have to admit that when I boarded the plane to my destination, I was feeling a little hostile. Well, I am working on my newest novel: Gathering of Waters, which just happens to be set in Mississippi.
Why the hostility? You wouldn't ask that question if you knew the history of slavery, reconstruction and Jim Crow in Mississippi.
I'd visited Mississippi early on in my career, when I was still young and sort of oblivious to certain things. Back then, I sailed in and out without much thought to the ugliness that had occurred there. But now, in my mid-forties, I find myself unable to claim ignorance on certain subjects.
In any case, I arrived on a warm, sunny afternoon. I would be lying if I said that I did not expect to be called a "Coon" or "Nigger" as I made my way through the small airport. On the contrary! Strangers (both black and white) offered bright smiles and cheery hello's!
My guard came down and my NY exterior softened...a bit.
I was put up at the historic
King Edward Hotel. Which from what I understand, was vacant for more than twenty years. Home to pigeons and other winged animals. Before integration came to Mississippi, The King Edward did not allow people of color to stay there. The only people of color you would find at the hotel, were the employees. One of which was
Richard Wright.
Wow...right?
The area surrounding the King Edward is steeped in history and like so many other historic neighborhoods around the country is coming back under the guise of Urban Renewal.
I had the pleasure of seeing
Eudora Welty's home, which is now a museum and the infamous
Greyhound Bus Station (now owned by an architectural firm) where
The Freedom Riders rode into half a century ago. The African American Historic District known as
Farish Street was blocked off, but I could sense the ghosts lingering there.
I find it kind of mystical that I arrived in Jackson one year to the month to when O Magazine profiled
Glorious - which if you remember, compared and contrasted GLORIOUS to the widely popular novel:
The Help.
I visited Belhaven; the wealthy neighborhood in which the story unfolds.
I was in Jackson at the bequest of two, ultra-fabulous book clubs:
Books and Beignets and
Circle of Color Book Clubs partnered to bring me to Jackson. The reception I received was A-Ma-Zing. They loved on me in a way, I had not been loved on in quite a while! It was something that I so needed.
Prior to my arrival, beginning on of all days: Mother's Day - I received some disturbing news. I was so sickened by it that I threw up. Stress can do that to ya! But, God stepped in - as he always does - and rectified the situation, hence keeping me from jumping off my roof.. which I seem to threaten to do every other week!
I was feeling a beat-up and unappreciated when I stepped off the plane in Jackson. That all changed, as I was swept into the loving arms of some very amazing women.
My only regret was that I did not get to visit Money, Mississippi - which is the center of my newest novel:
Gathering of Waters.
But I know now that it was not meant to be. My first night back, my spirit told me: Go back in August. So that is what I'm planning to do. I want to be in Money, Mississippi on August 28th - the day that
Emmett Till was murdered. I intend on filming the trip and sharing it with all of you.
I believe that I have made some life long friends in Jackson. I now understand why Mississippi is not only known as the Magnolia State, but as the Hospitality State...
Circle of Color Book Club member, Ms. Anne Lovelady (pictured above) said, "Mississippi is seductive...she gets under your skin."
No truer words have ever been spoken...
Bernice L. McFadden
