House Concurrent Resolution 45

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DELTA BLUES MUSEUM IN CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, AND EXTENDING BEST WISHES FROM THE LEGISLATURE.

WHEREAS, located at the intersection of Highway 61 ("The Blues Highway") and Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the location where the legend Blues Musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil for the ability to play a mean guitar, and formally known as "The Crossroads," "the land where the Blues began," is where the Mississippi Delta Blues Museum sits in all its melodic and historic majesty, which celebrates the observance of its 40th anniversary in 2019; and

WHEREAS, established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees and reorganized as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum, Mississippi's oldest music museum, is dedicated to educating all who enter its hallowed halls through the preserving, interpreting and exploring the history and heritage of the American musical art form known as the Blues; and

WHEREAS, housed, since 1999, in the historic Clarksdale freight depot, which was constructed in 1918 for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad and dedicated a Mississippi Landmark by the Department of Archives and History in 1996, the museum spans 7,000 square feet of ground space devoted to permanent and traveling exhibits; and

WHEREAS, a 2013 recipient of the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal for Museum and Library Services, the nation's highest honor for museum and library service to the community and a 2014 winner of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the Delta Blues Museum is honored to be a Great River Road Interpretive Center; and

WHEREAS, the Delta Blues Museum celebrates the museum's 40th anniversary on January 31, 2019, featuring special performances from several highly acclaimed musical acts from around the state; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature that we join the Mississippi Blues community in recognizing the musical legacy which is presented in this outstanding museum:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and extend best wishes from the Legislature.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Executive Director of the Delta Blues Museum, the Delta Blues Foundation, the Mississippi Arts Commission and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.