Day 7 : Shreveport to Austin

This will be the final day of my trip and the shortest of them all with no sites to see but the road and the landscape. On this trek back I plan to listen to most of the music I have listed in my Multimedia Tab. This drive will last 6 hours so I have plenty of time to think of the theme of "12 Million Black Voices" and what Richard Wright was trying to say about the South and the black culture there. I hope that the places I have gone to visit have established a sense of knowledge in me on what the true South really is now apart from what you only see on television and just the highway. I have gone all around the three states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and tasted many different foods by now hopefully. I expect that my horizons on music in the South has expanded greatly and I now know what many people went through during the 1920's and the 1960's Civil Rights Movements. Most of all I hope I come to respect the history that has happened and where it had led to today since I myself am a southern and it is essential to know what you represent even if you do not live or work on a farm. These are my plans for the road trip and I hope you have had as great of a time reading about it as I plan to have experiencing it.

Back in Austin I hope this trip has been of use in relating Wright's novel to what I saw. By day 7 I hope to be able to answer the question on how did growing up in Mississippi and going to school there influence his take on the American South and the struggles that many African-American people worked to overcome and eventually achieve social equality. Please take the time to answer my pool question on the right hand side of the page and let me know what you found most interesting. Thanks.

Day 6 : Lake Providence to Shreveport

At this point in my trip I am nearing an end and my days will have less sites to see as I head back to Austin. I will begin day 6 by leaving for Shreveport which was at one point the state capital of Louisiana during Civil War Times. Once in Shreveport I will head to Fannin Street to see what I can make of its past as a place of saloons and music in the South.

Later that day I will likely have lunch at Blind Tiger just to have a taste of Asian food although it doesn't relate to the South. Besides that this day I will be checking in at the Hilton Hotel and having dinner at Crawdaddy's Kitchen for some more southern style food. This day is relatively short such as day 7 will be as I head home.

Day 5 : Jackson to Lake Providence

On this day I plan on waking up at around 8 and having breakfast at the Rosswood Plantation where I slept for the night. The tours will start at around 9 and I plan on getting the most that I can out of this tour. I will think of the differences between this plantation and what the Dockery Plantation has to offer and also what here is similar to the pictures in Wright's novel. Wright talked about the psyche of African Americans being affected by life on the plantation so as I am here I wonder if a prolonged period here would change my psyche in a way such as that with prison inmates and being institutionalized.

www.rosswood.net

Lunch this day will be at the Gould Steakhouse after I check out of the Rosswood Plantation. Here I plan on having a great steak as it is a common entry in the South and I will want a good meal.

Once back in Louisiana I will think of the places I went in Mississippi, especially those in Jackson, the city with soul. Here I will be visiting the Louisiana State Cotton Museum as it is a fitting topic since I just got done spending the day at a plantation that had roots in the cotton industry. This is one of the images available at the museum and it depicts images similar to that which "12 Million Black Voices" does.

I will want to see the history of cotton and its timeline in the South as it was a crucial product for almost everyone's wealth and success. Cotton was a huge part of the southern black culture before the Civil Rights Movement and it will be interesting to see how it shaped the culture that Wright wrote so much about and their goals to overcome the social equality burdens laid before them. After the museum I will likely head to Big Danks Restaurant and Lounge for dinner and end my night checking in at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Lake Providence.

Day 4 : Tour Jackson

Once awake on day four of my journey I will begin to tour the places of Jackson in hopes to see what type of childhood Richard Wright may of had and what influenced him to say the things he did about the South. I will likely ask around the town if anyone know if his family still lives here although research has shown that his only true roots to his past are his old schools and the Rucker's Plantation where he was born. I will want to start my day by going to the grounds of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Although it will not be completed until the year 2016 and postponing my journey till then would be rather drastic; the progress on the museum and their plans for what to include will be an interesting thing to see as this will provide valuable insight to the history of Mississippi in one of its most crucial developments and will likely show things seen in Wright's novel. Wright depicted black men and women holding occupations as maids, industrial workers, sharecroppers, and working the cotton fields. The pictures illustrated in his novel will be of use to compare to what I see depicted throughout my trip.

What the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will look like.

Pictures such as this is what I will mainly be looking for as they illustrate the many black people of the South working on the land. Wright shows them throughout his novel in many occupations but mostly details that of sharecroppers and cotton field workers. During this day I will think hard on how difficult it must of been to work outside in the hot sun of the South day after day in an effort to better your family's position in society. The Civil Rights Movement was an upfront era of activism that came about after the age of slavery and Queen Cotton. Although the cotton industry still existed it was not as brutal as it once was especially with the introduction of the cotton gin. Next on my trip I will visit the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center which celebrates the contributions African Americans have made to society through art, artifacts, photography, work, lifestyle, and music. The museums aim is to give the visitor a greater understanding of the African-American experience in the Deep South. This is exactly what I am looking for on my trip and I hope to find depictions there similar to this which Wright provided in his work. This picture shows the family at home sitting at the dinner table with newspapers for a tablecloth. Most interesting about this picture is the fact that all the children are reading a book and to me this shows a past education and a desire to learn more.

http://www.city.jackson.ms.us/visitors/museums For southern style cooking and live music I will go to Hal & Mals for lunch which is a hidden restaurant in Jackson.

After a satisfying lunch I plan on heading to the Farish Street Baptist Church and speaking to the staff there about its establishment in 1893 and its role towards the community during the 1920's and 1960's. I believe one of the best ways to get the truth out of a cities history is by talking to the people who live there rather than just what a tour group has to say since they are always trying to better the image of the city despite its past. The Freedom Riders comes to my mind when I think of activism and Jackson, Mississippi. One interesting but appalling fact I found out when talking to staff at the church over the phone is how during the Freedom Rider's trip to Jackson, many were arrested and put into jail. While in jail the mosquitoes were so bad that the jailers doused the Freedom Riders with DDT. As many people know today, DDT is a banned substance that is known to be a carcinogen and a cause for many animals near extinction including the bald eagle. Later on this day I will head to the Monument of Medgar Evans who was a Civil Rights activist and veteran of World War II. I see this man as a figurehead of the movement as he was a strong leader in society. He was know to investigate into the Emmett Till murder and unfortunately he was assassinated at his home by a man opposed to his activism. He was later buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

Dinner this day will be at Peaches Cafe which serves traditional Soul food. On the way I will listen to Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore as it was a predominant R&B song rooted in the South. As I drive I will look at the landscape and the buildings and compare them to that which I saw in "12 Million Black Voices", if I come across a field or a farm I will wonder if that once served as a bastion for the cotton industry or if sharecroppers worked the land there. After an early dinner at around 4 in the afternoon I will head to the Rosswood Plantation near Natchez and Vicksburg in order to spend some time at an old plantation with rich history. My other choice for a plantation would have been the Dockery Plantation near Cleveland but it was out of the way and Richard Wright's family at one point moved to Natchez which is right where this plantation is. http://www.rosswood.net/ It is a bed and breakfast so I do not need to worry about my meal in the morning or a place to sleep. My budget at this time along with money saved for gas and food is nearing $1000 so my budget is only half done. The plantation will provide me insight into the southern life especially that of a plantation that specialized in cotton which Richard Wright said ruled the land. The cotton days of this plantation are long gone but I am sure I will see plenty of artifacts to what once took place. The plantation during the Civil War was used as a hospital and was the site of a battle. Staying here for this day will bring the pictures and stories in "12 Million Black Voices" to life and enable me to place myself in their shoes in a sense.

Day 3 : Baton Rouge to Jackson, Mississippi

Day 3 will be the day I arrive in Jackson, Mississippi after a long ride north on Interstate 55. I will leave the Marriott Hotel in Baton Rouge at around 8 in the morning and take a 3 hour drive towards Jackson. Some music I will likely play will be "Jackson" by Johnny Cash as it is a song with southern influence and has roots in the city my journey is based on.

Again I plan on staying at a Marriott Hotel which will likely run me another $150 but this time for two nights so I soppose around $300. For lunch after my long drive I plan on eating at Mama's Southern Traditional for a taste of the Jackson culture regarding food. I plan on striking up a conversation with any interesting characters I see there and asking them about the city in detail and what its role in the Civil Rights Movement means to most of the people today. Depending on what I find out I will walk about the city to see things one normally wouldnt come across in tour groups. Likely this will lead me by local churches and places that have been established since the time Richard Wright grew up here in Jackson. One interesting piece of history I plan on seeing this day will be the Boyd House which was occupied by General Sherman during the siege of Jackson. The Sherman's March documentary will be on my mind as he was a key figure in the Civil War and what led to the Civil Rights Movement and the tedious labors many black people underwent to become a larger part of society.

http://www.theoakshousemuseum.org/ After a long day of exploring I will likely eat at the hotel rather than a restaurant and think about the places I've already been to and how they compare to what Wright showed about the South.

Day 2 : Beaumont to Baton Rouge

On day two of my trip I will wake up at around 8 in the morning and make my way towards Port Arthur and the Sabine Pass Battleground State Park. I have never been here before but on fishing trips in the Sabine Lake area I remember my dad pointing out where the State Park was and its history.

                             Credit: http://www.visitsabinepassbattleground.com/index.aspx?page=14This historic site is significant to me and my journey as for one it is a significant part of the South's history and I think everyone should know what has happened to lead us to where we are today.
This park was once the location of a Civil War battle that had Confederate soldiers defeating four Union gunboats in an attempt to prevent the intrusion of the Texas Interior in 1863. By visiting this site I hope to better understand what happened so close to my home for better or worse eventually helped lead to the freedom of slaves and their later struggles to suceed in a society dominated by white people at the time. Thinking of "12 Million Black Voices", and Wrights depiction of the many blacks working to achieve better I can only conclude that it is a small part of what led to the freedom and struggles of many of those Wright wrote about.

After this I plan on hitting the road and heading straight for Baton Rouge on I-10 East. After 3 hours of driving I will check in at the Baton Rouge Marriott which will run me about $150 dollars for the night's stay.
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/btrmc-baton-rouge-marriott/
Once settled in I plan on heading to the Old State Capitol
Being of educational background the museum there will provide helpful background on Louisiana's history in the form of art, politics, and culture. I hope to see insight into what hardships and struggles many southerners especially blacks faced around the Civil Rights Movement. Wright depicted the black race as a group investing their lives to overcome the burdens of white society. He showed them as a strong race with large families that tirelessly worked to provide for them. Hopefully this museum will show especially though its art, pictures or portraits things similar to what Wright showed in his novel.
http://www.louisianaoldstatecapitol.org/museum

For lunch I plan on heading to the Roux House to eat which will provide southern style cooking which is an essential part of the southern culture in the past and present. Chances are I will order something I have never tried before as this journey is aimed to discover what the South has to offer that I have not realized so far.
Once my day nears its end I will head back to the hotel and watch Casablanca and think of how the South is depicted here.
I will end my night eating at Tony's Seafood and see what the menu there has to offer.

Day 1 : Austin to Beaumont

When I begin my solo journey towards Jackson, Mississippi I will be leaving Austin by way of Route 290 towards Beaumont and my home. I plan on listening at least once to Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd as it will provide an upbeat mood for my trip with a taste of southern culture. Once home in Beaumont I plan on having a crawfish boil as it is my favorite food and it has a southern background.

I will spend the night here probably watching Oh Brother Where Art Thou and thinking about how its depiction of the South and the cultures relate to what I hope to find in Louisiana, and Mississippi. The drive to Beaumont will take me about 3 and a half hours if I drive quick. Im very used to this drive as I go home on most weekends. Sometimes it is very boring. This will be a rather basic day on my journey as there will mostly be traveling and resting in preparation for my long journey ahead.