Mississippi Born Delta Raised

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and countless other people of color at the hands of the police, I really had to question how do we get here? Why does this keep happening? So I decided to research the origins of policing, particularly in Mississippi and the deep South. What I discovered was shocking, but not surprising. As we see protests around the country against police brutality, this history is more relevant now than it has ever been. The origins of American law enforcement, particularly in the deep South, has its roots in what is now known as slave patrols.

I guess many of you have asked what happened to the podcast. The MS Born Delta Raised team - all two of us - recorded what we thought were several solid episodes. In 2019, we were even finalists in the PRX, Google podcast creator program. Then I had an accident. It's a long story, and I'll tell you about it sometime, but for now, let's just say I broke both my ankles and my left leg. As of this recording, I'm just starting to feel almost normal. So, I decided it was time to reset this podcast.

In this week’s episode of MBDR, I spoke with Anne Martin Vetrano, an award-winning writer and journalist, who spent 30 years in broadcast news with WXVT and WABG television stations in Greenville, Mississippi.   Anne is the author of Delta Hot Tamales: History, Stories, and Recipes.  She has written for such magazines as Life in the Delta, Eat. Drink. Mississippi, The Sip, and Delta Magazine.  In our conversation, we compare our experiences as students in the public and private school systems in the Delta.  I think you’ll enjoy the discussion.   For more about Anne and a link to purchase her book, please check out our website at mississippiborndeltaraised.com or email me at daphne.robinson.jd@gmail.com and I will add you to our email list. Please join me in welcoming Anne to this week’s episode of MBDR.  

My guest on this episode of MS Born Delta Raised is Meryl Woo Rice. You are going to love Mrs Rice's story of how her family came to Lexington, a small town in Holmes County, and established several grocery stores in the heart of the black community in the 1940s and 1950's.  Do not be confused by Mrs Rice's beautiful southern accent. She is Chinese American and speaks Chinese fluently.  Welcome our MS Delta sister, Meryl Woo Rice, to the podcast. 

Doctor Paula King's presentation over six years ago to my class at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health about the the "Flint Water Crisis," made me start to think about the brown water that I drank growing up in Greenville, Mississippi, and to question whether me or my peers had been harmed by the brown water that we had been drinking for years. In this episode of Mississippi Born Delta Raised, I am here with Stephanie Showalter Otts, the Executive Director of the National Sea Grant Law Center and the Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law to discuss the possibility of lead in water in the Mississippi Delta.

When I first started the podcast, I promised that once a month we would explore the topic:  I've always wondered. In this segment, we will discuss one of those unanswered questions about the Mississippi Delta that we've always wondered about.  In this episode, I try to tackle the age old question of why the water is 'brown' in Greenville, Mississippi.  The answer why may surprise you.  Ain't nothing wrong with that water! Or is it?  

Lambert, Mississippi is a small town in Quitman County, located in the northwest quarter of the Mississippi Delta.  According to the 2010 census, Lambert had 1,638 people. 70% of the population is African American, and it is evenly divided between male and female.  Like many towns and cities in the Mississippi Delta, the population has decreased by 16% from the years 2000 to 2010.  In this episode, we talk to one of the native daughters of the Mississippi Delta, Dr. Ashley White Jones, about what it was like growing up in Lambert and some of the public health challenges that she sees in the area.  We also discuss with her an upcoming event sponsored by #HERSELF2 in Lambert for women living in this rural area.  

Once a month, an episode will be dedicated to the topic, "I’ve Always Wondered."  In this segment, we will discuss questions about the Mississippi Delta that you have always wondered.  Today, you'll learn about my neighborhood in Greenville and why it was called Brown’s Addition.  I think the answer will surprise you.  

In this episode, I wanted to share with listeners why I decided to start this podcast.  I wanted to explain my family's deep roots in the Delta and why the area is so important to me.  Like many of you, I have traveled and lived in various places throughout the country.  But, there is something about the Mississippi Delta. When I cross the Mississippi River Bridge from Lake Village, Arkansas to Greenville, I feel an inexplicable sense of relief.  It’s as if a weight lifts from my shoulders and I can breathe deeply again when I see that sign that says, ‘Welcome to Mississippi.’