Shop Our Spring Favorites
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
Safavieh Noely Coastal Writing Desk
Safavieh Noely Coastal Writing Desk
GULLAH DAYS: HILTON HEAD ISLANDERS BEFORE THE BRIDGE 1861-1956
GULLAH DAYS: HILTON HEAD ISLANDERS BEFORE THE BRIDGE 1861-1956
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
Woven Bamboo Placemats, Set of 4 By Anthropologie in Blue Size SET OF 4
Woven Bamboo Placemats, Set of 4 By Anthropologie in Blue Size SET OF 4
THE JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: MAKING GULLAH: A HISTORY OF SAPELO ISLANDERS, RACE, AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION (PAPERBACK)
THE JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: MAKING GULLAH: A HISTORY OF SAPELO ISLANDERS, RACE, AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH HOME COOKING THE DAUFUSKIE WAY: SMOKIN’ JOE BUTTER BEANS, OL’ ‘FUSKIE FRIED CRAB RICE, STICKY-BUSH BLACKBERRY DUMPLING, AND OTHER SEA ISLAND FAVORITES (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH HOME COOKING THE DAUFUSKIE WAY: SMOKIN’ JOE BUTTER BEANS, OL’ ‘FUSKIE FRIED CRAB RICE, STICKY-BUSH BLACKBERRY DUMPLING, AND OTHER SEA ISLAND FAVORITES (PAPERBACK)
Quilted Patchwork Cotton Throw Blanket – Indigo Blue Shibori Dye Indian Decorative Super Soft & Warm Blanket for Sofa and Couch 50 x 60 Inches
Quilted Patchwork Cotton Throw Blanket – Indigo Blue Shibori Dye Indian Decorative Super Soft & Warm Blanket for Sofa and Couch 50 x 60 Inches
BLACK BORDER : GULLAH STORIES OF THE CAROLINA COAST
BLACK BORDER : GULLAH STORIES OF THE CAROLINA COAST
GULLAH CUISINE: BY LAND AND BY SEA
GULLAH CUISINE: BY LAND AND BY SEA
‘Inspirations’ Note Cards by Jonathan Green
‘Inspirations’ Note Cards by Jonathan Green
ColorBird Stripe Tassel Tablecloth Cotton Linen Dust-Proof Table Cover for Kitchen Dinning Tabletop Decoration (Rectangle/Oblong, 55 x 120Inch, Blue)
ColorBird Stripe Tassel Tablecloth Cotton Linen Dust-Proof Table Cover for Kitchen Dinning Tabletop Decoration (Rectangle/Oblong, 55 x 120Inch, Blue)
GROWING UP GULLAH IN THE LOWCOUNTRY (PAPERBACK)
GROWING UP GULLAH IN THE LOWCOUNTRY (PAPERBACK)
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
Mud Pie Rattan Serving Utensils
Mud Pie Rattan Serving Utensils
Woven Wicker Rattan Wall Decor, Round Seagrass Boho Kitchen Decor, Minimalist Rattan Chargers & Placemats for Dining Table & Wall Art, Rattan Wall Decorative Basket
Woven Wicker Rattan Wall Decor, Round Seagrass Boho Kitchen Decor, Minimalist Rattan Chargers & Placemats for Dining Table & Wall Art, Rattan Wall Decorative Basket
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
Stratton Home Reddish Brown Tulum Woven Lantern Stand
Stratton Home Reddish Brown Tulum Woven Lantern Stand
Whitewash Wood Draped Bead 4 Light Chandelier by World Market
Whitewash Wood Draped Bead 4 Light Chandelier by World Market
Set of 4 Natalya Ikat Stripe Placemats Gray – Ballard Designs
Set of 4 Natalya Ikat Stripe Placemats Gray – Ballard Designs
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
Suzanne Kasler Greek Key Sham – Ballard Designs
Suzanne Kasler Greek Key Sham – Ballard Designs
Handmade Gullah Sweetgrass Drink Coasters . Traditional Hand Crafted Folk Art . Natural Woven Home Decor . Made in the USA
Handmade Gullah Sweetgrass Drink Coasters . Traditional Hand Crafted Folk Art . Natural Woven Home Decor . Made in the USA
Willow Row Multi Colored Ceramic Coastal Decorative Jar – Set of 2
Willow Row Multi Colored Ceramic Coastal Decorative Jar – Set of 2
GULLAH NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (HARDCOVER)
GULLAH NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (HARDCOVER)
G IS FOR GULLAH
G IS FOR GULLAH
‘Southern Imagery’ Notecards by Jonathan Green
‘Southern Imagery’ Notecards by Jonathan Green
TALKING TO THE DEAD : RELIGION, MUSIC, AND LIVED MEMORY AMONG GULLAH/GEECHEE WOMEN
TALKING TO THE DEAD : RELIGION, MUSIC, AND LIVED MEMORY AMONG GULLAH/GEECHEE WOMEN
Lowcountry Rice Culture Note Cards
Lowcountry Rice Culture Note Cards
Arthur Court Designs Sea Horse Twisted Seagrass Placemats – set of 4
Arthur Court Designs Sea Horse Twisted Seagrass Placemats – set of 4
Sweetgrass Kite Earring
Sweetgrass Kite Earring
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE CHASING SENSE GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE CHASING SENSE GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
Estaugh Ikat Black/Gray Indoor / Outdoor Area Rug Union Rustic Rug Size: Rectangle 8′ x 11′
Estaugh Ikat Black/Gray Indoor / Outdoor Area Rug Union Rustic Rug Size: Rectangle 8′ x 11′
carol&frank Josie Indigo Pillow
carol&frank Josie Indigo Pillow
GULLAH CULTURE IN AMERICA (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH CULTURE IN AMERICA (PAPERBACK)
Set of 4 Woven Striped Placemats – Frontgate
Set of 4 Woven Striped Placemats – Frontgate
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
Gullah Spirituals – by Eric Sean Crawford (Paperback)
Gullah Spirituals – by Eric Sean Crawford (Paperback)
Kouboo 1110141 Manhattan 2-Tier Console, Natural Rattan End Table, Brown
Kouboo 1110141 Manhattan 2-Tier Console, Natural Rattan End Table, Brown
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
‘Inspirations’ Sheer Scarf by Jonathan Green
‘Inspirations’ Sheer Scarf by Jonathan Green
Yaheetech Set of 2 Weave Arm Chair Mid-Century Metal Dining Chair Y-Shaped Backrest Hemp Seat, Black
Yaheetech Set of 2 Weave Arm Chair Mid-Century Metal Dining Chair Y-Shaped Backrest Hemp Seat, Black
Finnhomy Sideboard Buffet Cabinet, Kitchen Storage Cabinet with Rattan Decorated Doors
Finnhomy Sideboard Buffet Cabinet, Kitchen Storage Cabinet with Rattan Decorated Doors
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
Doric Upholstered Wingback Arm Chair Red Barrel Studio Body Fabric: Skylar Antique Blue
Doric Upholstered Wingback Arm Chair Red Barrel Studio Body Fabric: Skylar Antique Blue
Drew Rose Designs Ceramic Woven Trim Planter
Drew Rose Designs Ceramic Woven Trim Planter
Lenox Watercolor Horizons Microwave Safe Blue 12-Pc. Dinnerware Set, Service for 4, Created for Macy’s
Lenox Watercolor Horizons Microwave Safe Blue 12-Pc. Dinnerware Set, Service for 4, Created for Macy’s
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE GEORGIA LOWCOUNTRY: THE ATLANTIC WORLD AND THE GULLAH GEECHEE (RACE IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1700–1900 SER.)
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE GEORGIA LOWCOUNTRY: THE ATLANTIC WORLD AND THE GULLAH GEECHEE (RACE IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1700–1900 SER.)
MAMA DOONK’S GULLAH RECIPES (PAPERBACK)
MAMA DOONK’S GULLAH RECIPES (PAPERBACK)
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
Asheville’s Appalachian Food Culture
Family Travel Guide to Asheville
Celebrating Asheville’s Appalachian Folklife and Unique Culture
Black Heritage Travel in the Outer Banks
Junteenth Family Travels
Asheville’s Appalachian Food Culture
Family Travel Guide to Asheville
Celebrating Asheville’s Appalachian Folklife and Unique Culture
Black Heritage Travel in the Outer Banks
Junteenth Family Travels
Asheville’s Appalachian Food Culture
Family Travel Guide to Asheville
Celebrating Asheville’s Appalachian Folklife and Unique Culture
Black Heritage Travel in the Outer Banks
Junteenth Family Travels

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Black Women in Blues: Mississippi Blues Trail Women

Black Women in Blues: Mississippi Blues Trail Women

The preeminent Black journalist and educator, Bill Maxwell, wrote about being a kid counting the days until he was old enough to go to Junior’s, a juke joint in Webster, Florida. He described the backwoods establishment with vivid detail. “In the kitchen, Mrs. Junior, as we called her, cooked delicious chicken, fish, pork chops, gopher tortoise, greens and french fries,” he wrote. Junior’s had seven rooms, the largest room was the bar or place where people bought their moonshine or bootlegged liquor. They danced to live music in the living room and ate at a counter on the back porch. In his words, Junior’s “was a place to party.” 

Black women like Mrs. Junior have owned and operated juke joints and like establishments selling beer and liquor (legal and illegal), food and music, for generations. The music was the draw but devoted fans returned again and again for the perks like community, food and liquor. All of which were important to blues and jazz artists looking for venues to play and earn a dime.

In her essay, “Characteristics of Negro Expression,” Zora Neale Hurston wrote, “Musically speaking, the Jook is the most important place in America. For in its smelly, shoddy con­fines has been born the secular music known as blues, and on blues has been founded jazz.” The women who owned or co-owned businesses on the Mississippi Blues Trail were influential in the promotion of the blues and jazz. 

Dockery Farms, Saving Places

Some of the first “clubs” and “jukes” date back as far as the late 1890s and early 1900s, when sharecroppers working and living on the land of former plantations, created a precursor to juke joints called “plantation parties” and “all-night picnics” to entertain themselves with homemade whiskey (moonshine), food, gambling and live music. Mississippi Delta plantations like Dockery Farms are where Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf,  John Lee Hooker and Roebuck “Pop” Staples lived, worked and played the blues. It was at these types of parties that women cooked but also handled the business side and much of their savvy evolved over time into the creation of inns, clubs and juke joints that they owned or co-owned throughout the Delta and beyond. 

Black Women in Blues: Mississippi Blues Trail Women

Club Ebony, Visit Mississippi

Club Ebony in Indianola, MS was one such club. The club was founded by Josephine and John Jones in 1948. Josephine and her son operated the business after John’s death “under the ownership of James B. ‘Jimmy’ Lee, a white bootlegger from Leland who had loaned money to Jones.” Lee turned over operations to Ruby Edwards, owner of Ruby’s Nite Spot, and by 1958, she was full owner when B. B. King married her daughter, Sue Carol Hall. Edwards was considered a shrewd businesswoman. Her dealings with Lee involved bootlegging and running after-hours parties that included gambling and the sale of alcohol. The extra money funded the high costs of bringing in big name artists such as Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Jimmie Lunceford, Big Joe Turner and Arthur Prysock. Later, Edwards rented Club Ebony to Willie and Mary Shepard, who would buy it from her in the 1970s. Mary Shepard, as sole owner (before selling the club to B. B. King) presented local blues artists in showcases. 

At Ruby’s Nite Spot in Leland, MS, “Crowds of hungry revelers dined on chicken, fish, hamburgers, and hot dogs and danced to the music of the country’s top names in blues as well as an impressive array of local and regional musicians. Ready to market anything that might sell, Edwards made tamales at one time and brewed her own corn liquor at another.” Ruby Edwards retired in the 1970s to run a family-owned grocery store. Her son took over the nightclub businesses. 

Another Ruby, Ruby Patton, assisted her sons in taking over the Harlem Inn in Winstonville, MS, after her husband Hezekiah Patton, Sr. died in 1968 and a renter let the club go. With Hezekiah, Ruby and their sons built a blues club that featured entertainers like Ray Charles, Little Willie John,  B. B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Ivory Joe Hunter, T-Bone Walker, Howlin’ Wolf, The Impressions and Jackie Wilson. According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, “Jackie Wilson held an audience spellbound…when the club’s audience of five to six hundred outnumbered the population of Winstonville.” Sadly, a fire destroyed the venue in 1989. 

Black Women in Blues: Mississippi Blues Trail Women

NatalieMaynor from Jackson, Mississippi, USA – Blue Front Cafe

Advertisements

The Blue Front Café was owned by Mary and Carey Holmes from Bentonia. It was a multi-purpose operation serving as a café, down-home blues venue, grocery store, bar and barbershop. The Blue Front and their cotton crops enabled the couple to take care of 10 children and three nephews, sending most to college. Mary was the cook and managed operations while Carey worked their farm. The menu staples: fried buffalo fish, soda pop and moonshine. Musicians would pop up and perform without a formal invitation or schedule.  The Holmes’s hosted outdoor gatherings on the family farm and musicians would come to play. Those gatherings later evolved into the Bentonia Blues Festival

Two other women on the Mississippi Blues Trail were every bit as important as hotel and boarding house owners. Elma and W.J. Summers owned the Summers Hotel in Jackson, MS. The Summers Hotel was one of few places available for Black touring musicians to stay in Jackson. James Brown, Hank Ballard, andNat “King” Cole were among their guests. In a stroke of genius, the Summers’ with Jimmy King opened the Subway Lounge in the hotel’s basement, where they offered live jazz. By 1989, King and his wife Helen refashioned the Subway into a blues club. 

Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff Hill, Riverside Hotel LLC

Riverside Hotel LLC

Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff Hill opened Clarksdale’s Riverside Hotel in 1944 and operated it until her death in the 1990s. Ike Turner lived there, writing and rehearsing “Rocket 88” before recording it at Sun Records. Sam Cooke, a Clarksdale native, is believed to have referred to the nearby Sunflower River in his hit record “A Change is Gonna Come.” John F. Kennedy, Jr. stayed there in 1991. Mrs. Ratliff cooked for every guest. The hotel’s history includes the fact that it was formerly the G.T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital, where blues legend Bessie Smith died. The Riverside Hotel is the only blues hotel that is still Black-owned in Clarksdale though it hasn’t been open since 2020, awaiting renovations. Mrs. Hill’s granddaughters and daughter-in-law have continued on as owners. They have a GoFundMe account to raise money for much-needed repairs. 

Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and a public historian and researcher focusing on Black culinary traditions and foodways.

More Posts

4

Comments

comments

Follow:
Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and a public historian and researcher focusing on Black culinary traditions and foodways.

Find me on: Instagram

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Instagram
23   235
7   44
8   205
17   207
5   144

Follow on Instagram

Shop Our Favorites!
LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
HBCU’s Canvas Print
A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
Shop Now

Click to Shop!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Shares
• powered by chloédigital