Mississippi Blues Race Revisited

Last year, I participated in a road race called the Mississippi Blues Marathon (I only ran the half marathon) and really enjoyed the unique atmosphere of the race surrounding Blues music. Runners from nearly every state and almost a dozen countries participated most likely because they similarly enjoyed the Blues atmosphere or wanted to say that they went to the birthplace of Blues music. I looked at the race website today and found a short link titled “About the Blues.” The article suggested that runners (or tourists) go to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi which is a three hour drive from the race location is Jackson. I imagine that very few tourists are willing to spend their limited time in Mississippi driving a total of six hours with no internet access most of the way (since the route is extremely rural) to see the museum that happens to be very close to Parchman or the actual birthplace of Blues music. Therefore, they could never discover the true origins of Blues music. I always associated Blues music with joy without recognizing that it was an escape from the post-Civil War slavery at Parchman Prison. I imagine that almost every other participant, running in a race that should commemorate the history of Blues music, shared my ignorance to history.