Seven students majoring in Graphic Design, Biology, Psychology, Business, Music, English and History get on a bus. What happens? The 2024 Honors Juniors Tour of the Mississippi Delta.
Itinerary:
Day One (Tuesday, May 14): Little Rock Central National Historic Site, the Memphis Central Station hotel, Downtown Memphis Trolley, and Beale Street.
Lunch: Holly's Country Cookin in Conway, AR
Dinner: Blues City Cafe on Beale Street in Memphis.
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| Paige Batman at the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis. |
Day Two (Wednesday, May 15): National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel; Shiloh National Military Park.
Lunch: Central Barbecue, Memphis, TN
Dinner: Pizza Grocery, Corinth, MS.
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| At the Chickasaw Preserve, near Tupelo |
Day Three (Thursday, May 16): Elvis Birthplace Museum, Tupelo; Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center; guided tour of Chickasaw Village and Chickasaw Preserve with Chickasaw Cultural Interpreter Bill Brekeen; Bynum Mounds; Old Trace.
Lunch: Neon Pig, Tupelo, MS.
Dinner: McAlester's Deli, Greenwood, MS.
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| At the Sumner Grill in Sumner, MS |
Day Four (Friday, May 17): Robert Johnson gravesite, Greenwood, MS; Emmett Till sites: Bryant's Grocery, Money, MS; Graball Landing, Glendora, MS; Tallahatchie County Courthouse, Sumner, MS with Emmett Till Interpretive Center, with Public Engagement and Museum Education Director Ben Saulsberry.
Lunch: Sumner Grill, Sumner, MS.
Dinner: Stoby's, Russellville, AR.
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| Fraley Field, Shiloh Military Park |
Favorite experiences:
Ally: Seeing the Elvis Presley museum.
Luke: Shiloh battlefield.
Hannah: Taking the trolley to Beale St in Memphis and hiking at the Shiloh battlefield.
Elias: The Robert Johnson grave. That was probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Also: Going down Beale Street.
Paige: I definitely enjoyed a lot on this trip. I think the most memorable was the Shiloh Battlefield. It left me in awe of the size, as well as the complexity of the battle itself.
Madison: My favorite parts of the trip were hearing the live music on Beale Street and hiking through parts of the Chickasaw homelands. I loved seeing all the nature and learning about what life was like for the Chickasaw.
Cas: My favorite/most memorable part of the trip was probably the Lorraine Motel / Civil Rights museum. I liked that they have turned something that was so horrible into a way to perpetuate MLK’s message of furthering the Civil Rights movement. I think it is a very good way to continue his legacy, and bring people to an important site of American history. I also loved the chance to visit with Mr. Brekeen [a Chickasaw Cultural Interpreter], and I loved listening to information about the Chickasaw homelands. I always think of the homelands of many of the tribes that were removed as a past part of their history, but it reminded me that it doesn't have to be that way. Many tribes are attempting to reconnect with their homelands, and repair the disconnect. It was a new perspective, for sure.
Above: at the Blues City Cafe on Beale Street, Memphis
Favorite Foods:
Ally: The shrimp from the place we went to that was in Memphis [Blues City Cafe].
Luke: The comically oversized burger from the Neon Pig.
Hannah: The catfish at the Blues City Cafe on Beale St and Sumner Grill in Mississippi.
Elias: The Ribs on Beale Street.
Paige: "The Best Meal on Beale" [Combination Platter] from the Blues City Cafe. Super good.
Madison: The gumbo in Memphis [at the Blues City Cafe] and the catfish at the Sumner Grill.
Cas: The Central BBQ place right by the Lorraine Motel had the best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had. I finished every bit of that sandwich, and if I am ever in Memphis again I will for sure stop by to get it again.
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| With Ben Saulsberry at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse, Sumner, MS |
Anything you did for the first time?
Ally: Eating at McAlesters's Deli lol
Luke: Saw the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid in Memphis [from the bus window]
Hannah: This was the first time I have been east of Oklahoma.
Elias: This was first time I’ve ever been to a Civil War battle site.
Paige: Despite the fact that I've been to all of the States we visited (multiple times), I've never stopped to enjoy the history of these states, or see any sites. It was really nice.
Madison: This was my first time in Tennessee or Mississippi and my first time eating gumbo.
Cas: There are several things I did for the first time. Most notable would probably be visiting the sites we went to, as I had never been to any of them. I have never spent this much time in this part of this country, and I feel like I understand it a lot more with regards to the culture and the people who live here.
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