State #38, MIssissippi Blues Half Marathon, Jackson, MS, 1/27/18, Part 1

I arrived in Jackson really late on Thursday night and wanted nothing more than to absolutely crash in to my hotel bed. Which I did, and thankfully I had an amazing night of sleep.
Friday morning, I felt refreshed and after a nice breakfast of cheesy grits, poached eggs, sausage and fruit, I was ready to take on the city of Jackson.
At first glance, Jackson looks like a city that has gone through some hard times. There were quite a few boarded up storefronts/buildings near my hotel, bit it also looked like a city trying to make a comeback. The hotel I stayed in was a grand old hotel formerly known as the King Edward Hotel. It is now a Hilton Garden Inn, but the building has been restored to its former beauty. It is certainly a cornerstone in the city that is helping to revive that part of the area. Located not far behind the hotel is a new convention center which is located next to the art museum, making a really nice area to explore. The Jackson State University campus is also nearby with various university buildings peppered throughout the downtown area, so it is a nice mix of usefulness. A few restaurants were nearby as well, and they looked really good.
I made my way down West Capitol to the Marriott Hotel where the marathon expo was located. I easily found my number and collected my goody bag. A woman overheard me talking to the people at the bib number pick-up and asked where in Connecticut I was from. She and her husband previously lived in South Windsor. He works for Pratt and now works out of home down in Mississippi. She was a runner in the 50 States Half Marathon club and encouraged me to join them for dinner. As I had already made myself a reservation, I declined but thanked her. We had a nice chat recommending races to one another. I'm sure our paths will cross again. Thanks for the chat, Jennifer!

Historical Blues placard at race expo.

Blues backdrop at expo.

Blues musicians jamming out at the expo.

On I went through the expo, but I didn't really need to buy any supplies. I made it out with just a Blues Marathon sticker and a few freebies for my kids. In the hallway outside the expo, some Blues musicians were jamming out, getting the runners all jazzed up. It was fun, but I didn't stick around long. I was heading to the newly opened Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.
As I headed up Capitol Street,  I passed by some pretty interesting sights. First, I found the Governor's Mansion which was a beautiful building near the Old Capitol Building. Across the street from the Governor's Mansion was a really cool building with a clock tower on it. I'm not sure what it was, but I bet it had some kind of interesting history behind it.

Governor's mansion.

The end of Capitol Street intersects with State Street, and at the intersection was the Old Capitol Building. I wasn't originally planning on stopping there, but I had enough time, and I figured I'd give it a go.

Clock tower across from Governor's mansion.

Old Capitol Building

The building has been completely restored since it fell in to serious disrepair prior to the Civil War, and the results inside are beautiful. There were various rooms that gave the history of the building and its importance in the city. Some rooms showed exhibits such as the living quarters of "keeper of the capitol" (who was also the state librarian) and the former office of the governor. In the upper levels, I was able to visit the former Senate and House of Representatives chambers as well as the State Supreme Court chambers. All of these functions are now housed in the new capitol building, but it was interesting to view the old facilities. The House chambers were especially large and impressive and are now used to house a gallery of portraits of famous Mississippians.

Description of the Keeper of the Keys.

View inside dome.

Senate chambers. 

House chambers.

State Librarian job description.

Original state library.

On the third floor was the former State Library collection area along with some history of the first female state librarian. Women exclusively held the position after 1872. That was pretty cool to read.

WWI monument next to Old Capitol Building

After I finished my self-tour of the Old State Capitol, I walked a couple of blocks to the new Mississippi History/Civil Rights Museum. This museum just opened last month, so it is the newest place to check out. The two museums are connected, but each has separate exhibits. I bought my ticket and headed to the Civil Rights side of the museum, which was the side I was most interested in. 

Mississippi History and Civil Rights Museum.

The Civil Rights museum is set up in somewhat of a circular manner with curving spokes that are arranged chronologically around a central rotunda. The first spoke began with slavery; its history, horror and eventual repeal. The museum continued with different areas focusing on the Civil War, Reconstruction, White Supremacy, the fight for Civil Rights throughout the 50's, 60's and 70's. The exhibits included the stories of all the major freedom fighters and all the most significant events of the eras. So many times I was overwhelmed by the amazing struggle that has been fought in this country by people of color. So many parts of the museum were so poignant. One section had floor to ceiling panels, double sided, at least 5 in number listing the names and dates of death of all the people who had been lynched. Another area showed a movie about the senseless killing of Emmett Till, and his mother's decision to show his body in an open casket at his wake to show what his killers had done to him. All because he supposedly (no proof) whistled at a white woman in a store. He was 14 years old.  I learned about the freedom riders, the sit-ins, read-ins and wade-ins. Brown vs. Board of Ed was represented as were the Little Rock Nine. All the heroes and victims of the Civil Rights era were included. 
The culminating part of the museum was when I reached the rotunda. Throughout my tour of the exhibits, I could hear various songs coming from the rotunda, slave songs, protest songs, gospel songs, etc. It was background music to the exhibits and certainly helped set the scene. But as I entered the rotunda itself, I was blown away. A soft sculpture hangs from the ceiling, looking almost like a swirling ribbon. It pulses with light, changing colors and brightnesses along with the music. As I entered, a gospel choir's version of This Little Light of Mine was playing. The amazing thing about the area is that as more people enter the rotunda, the louder and more intense the music and lighting become. As I stood there and others came in, the music swelled, as if to symbolize the greater the numbers, the more powerful the movement. Surrounding the walls of the upper rotunda were the names and images of all the Civil Rights pioneers who lost their lives fighting for the cause. Wow. Just wow. 
I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I had to walk away to keep from crying. It was such an impressive and powerful experience. I wish everyone in this country could visit this museum. It is such an important piece of American history that, I think, now more than ever, needs revisiting. I was truly moved by all of it. If you are ever in the Jackson area, it is a must see. 

Mural on my walk back to the hotel.

As I walked back to the hotel, I realized that so many of the events I read about in the museum took place right in that area. In fact, the location of the Woothworth's lunch counter sit-in was only a few blocks from my hotel. So incredible. 
I walked back to the hotel by way of the race starting line. I was glad to find it was right behind my hotel by a few blocks, and I caught a glimpse of the city hall building, too. 

Jackson, MS City Hall.

I got back to the hotel and decided to head to the grocery store to get a few necessities before heading to dinner. I booked an early dinner reservation at a restaurant called the Parlor Market which was just a few doors down from my hotel. I headed there after my jaunt to the store and took a solo seat at the bar. I had a chat with the bartender about how amazing the museum had been. He asked if I was in town for the race, and I told him I was. At that point, two other women who were also sitting solo at the bar struck up a conversation with me, as they were also both running.

Placard recognizing the former location of Ace Records. Right next to my hotel.

One woman was from Atlanta (Laurie) and the other was from Durham, NC (Kate). The three of us traded stories of races. Kate, who actually grew up in Jackson, had run the Blues Half ten times! Laurie and I eagerly listened to her recount the race course so we knew what we had in store; however Laurie was running the full marathon, so she would have much more ground to cover. She was trying to finish 50 fulls by 50. So we connected on that, which was cool. I had a good meal of my traditional spaghetti and meatballs, and at the end of the meal, Kate and I walked back to the hotel together, as she was also staying there. 
I was thrilled to walk with her, as it was like having my own personal tour guide to the area. She grew up there and was able to tell me about the area around the hotel. The neighborhood is definitely in transition, but seemingly it looks like it is on an upswing. She pointed out various restaurants or former restaurants, a place where her grandfather had an office and the area where many black businesses were back during the 60's. I loved hearing all about it. 
We parted ways at the elevator, hoping we'd see each other in the morning. Off to bed for me after getting all my gear ready for the morning. Forecast was for rain in the morning, but I was hoping for it to hold off...