Delta Blues Museum gets $1.6 million for exhibits

The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Miss., will benefit to the tune of $1.6 million from a $7.2 million commitment to projects announced Wednesday by the Delta Regional Authority along with federal and state partners.

The museum, celebrating the musical art form closely associated with the Mississippi Delta, will use the money to upgrade and improve permanent exhibits and expand offerings at its home in the historic Clarksdale freight depot. Delta Regional Authority (DRA) will provide $163,903, with federal and state contributions funding the bulk of the work. The total DRA portion of the contribution to eight projects unveiled Wednesday is more than $3 million.

Shelley Ritter, the museum’s executive director, said the money will help make exhibits more interactive.

“It will allow us to tell an even deeper story,” Ritter said. “We need to perpetuate the experience of the blues for younger generations that didn’t grow up with this music. They may have a family member who was a part of the blues experience, but they didn’t know about it except through stories. So we want to make it as immersive as possible so they’ll really appreciate the story.”

Ritter said since the blues is such a personal and home-grown experience, it’s important to cater to those local visitors and make them understand this is their music.

“There’s a bit of disconnect sometimes,” she said. “We get visitors from all over the world — it’s not uncommon to have more visitors from out of town on any given week than local — but we need to make it relevant to everyone.”

Clarksdale is about 75 miles from Memphis down U.S. 61.

In announcing the awards Wednesday in Itta Bena, Miss., DRA Chairman Chris Masingill said the $7.2 million total investment is designed to strengthen Mississippi’s workforce, infrastructure and economy. The projects aided by the money, in addition to the blues museum, include everything from construction of a levee in Natchez, to water system improvements in Yazoo City and Leland, to installation of an Amtrak platform in Quitman County.

“These projects will address vital needs in our Delta communities,” Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “They will upgrade infrastructure, improve quality of life and promote economic development.”

Masingill said the selected projects help the DRA accomplish its core mission of creating jobs and building communities. The DRA was established by Congress in 2000 to improve life, through strategic investments, in 252 counties and parishes in eight states.

Ritter believes the blues museum plays a role in fulfilling DRA’s economic mission by attracting tourist dollars.

“We bring in people from all over the world,” she said. “It’s an effort to get to Clarksdale — people often fly into Memphis and drive down — but they still come for the experience.”

She said she thinks the museum also helps fulfill DRA’s mission of improving lives.

“We can help the youth understand how people who had nothing used art to improve their lives,” she said. “That gives hope to everyone.”

The museum was established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees. In 1999 the museum was reorganized as a standalone museum, and it is now Mississippi’s oldest music museum. A five-member board appointed by the mayor and Clarksdale Board of Commissioners governs the museum. The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Miss., is about 75 miles from Memphis down U.S. 61. Established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees, the museum is Mississippi's oldest music museum.