West Memphis, Tennessee: An Intertextual Analysis

Growing up in the small town of Pocahontas, Iowa gives appreciation to the simplicity of tight-knit communities. With a population of 1,800 people, there is single café where local farmers enjoy a morning cup of coffee while discussing the news. Rural communities are a place where children have birthday parties at the local pizza place and teenagers’ first jobs are as detasslers. As a child, your mother knows if you got in trouble at school before you return home and everyone’s name is well known throughout the area.

Because this town is somewhat isolated from more modern towns and cities, and “few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb”, the people of Holcomb are

“Nashville” by Tiana Clark was published in 2017 and details the experience of a black women through first person during present time and how her life as a black woman relates back strongly to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. The speaker is a woman who is married to a white man and that is chasing someone who said a racial slur to her on the streets. She talks about how the civil rights movement happened and how it changed but how history repeats itself in a way that racism is still around today. The poem ends with her trying to come with peace with finding out who said the racial slur so she can get over it and move on. Racism has been around a long time. This poem in a deeper sense is about death of innocent people and

Nestled in the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg has become an area that East Tennessee State University students go to visit. Gatlinburg offers something for many; however, the city has some growing pains such as traffic and limited space. Thus, the city of Gatlinburg offers many things that a traveler could need and want, provided that he or she is willing to overlook the city’s rapid growth.

African Americans went from being slaves, to being free but still getting treated like nothing. They got none to little acknowledgment, to being heard on radio stations and loved by so many people. The music that Stax Records made was the soul of Memphis. It was the voice that needed to be heard. Famous artist such as Clara Thomas, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, and many more were the people being looked up to. Their music was so eccentric and relatable that they would be legends forever. Although the Stax closed they still held on to the principles they started with. They got a chance to turn it Stax into a museum, opened up school, and still have opportunities for the local community. Memphis wouldn’t be what it is now with out Stax.

Memphis was greatly affected by the American Civil War, and the outbreak of Yellow Fever shortly thereafter. The ‘50s and ‘60s was a time of radical change for Memphis and all of America. During this time, African American and white Memphians worked together to create some of the most influential music in America’s history. Sun Studios put Memphis on the musical map, introducing new artists, and creating new genres of popular music. This included the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley

Binghampton, Memphis is a community that started as an independent and racially integrated rural Memphis town in the late 19th centuries. Fifteen years ago a woman by the name of Onie Jones opened a community center called Caritas Village. Caritas Village plays a big role as a culture group in the Binghampton community. Their mission is “to break down walls of hostility between the cultures, to build bridges of love and trust between the rich and those made poor & to provide a positive alternative to the street corners for the neighborhood children” (Jones, 2016) Caritas Village has a restaurant in it and offers a wide range of cultural and arts activities to. Caritas Village uses art, music, hospitality, theatre, classes, and connections to

Memphis suffers from every social problem at one time and in one place. One of Memphis’s biggest social problems are its ethnic tension. Ethnic tension can be seen in every aspect of life when living in Memphis. Neighborhoods, schools, restaurants, even places of worship, are few of the many places where one could note a distinct and purposeful separation between ethnic groups of people. Even with clear ethnic tension, Memphians and local organizations attempt to remove the unnecessary tension. A prime example of a community in Memphis tackling ethnic tension would be the Midtown( Cooper- Young) area. This area annually houses festivals, art events, even sport events all intended to unite the community, and it does a fairly good job of this. Speaking from experience, the Cooper-Young festival and the Southern Heritage Classic have allowed me to meet people I would typically not have the opportunity to meet. Memphis’s strides destroying the status quo of its southern heritage are not its only

Mississippi has produced hundreds of nationally and internationally known musicians Muddy Waters, David Banner, Bobby Rush and finally BB King. Those are few of the musicians that are inductees of the Mississippi musician’s hall of fame. Mississippi is known for the home of the blues. Which was developed by African-Americans in the 19th century. Folk instruments has been the development of country, gospel and folk music. Many artist came to Memphis to follow their dreams of stardom. Baking and Elvis Presley are two known and famous artist who succeeded and found stardom in Memphis, Tn.

So let me tell you about the music in Mississippi. If you like Blues, you’ll love Mississippi. I’m from Belzoni and that’s right there in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Everywhere you go just about, if people are playing music, chances are, they are playing the Blues. The Mississippi Delta is where the blues all started. Some of the Blues singers are: Sam Cooke, Marvin Sease all of these musicians are from down in the heartland, from Mississippi. Not only the Blues though, we have Rock and Roll. The greatest Rock and Roll musician to ever live as

Finally, it has already been said but bears repeating: Memphis is where Graceland is. It is the final resting place of The King. It is the single most important place in the entire world. That alone makes Memphis not only one of the greatest American cities, but one of the greatest cities in the world. Anyone who disagrees hates not only rock and roll and barbeque, but everything that makes America

     The unique art form know as Jazz, was able to thrive initially in New Orleans. The most celebrated part of New Orleans was known as Storyville because it was a melting pot for Jazz. Storyville was so celebrated because it was the only region in the city that had brothels and pubs that allowed African Americans. Unfortunately, in 1970, President Roosevelt shut down the district in fear of violence between the natives and sailors. This resulted in a dispersion of jazz. Many artists traveled directly to Chicago after the closing of Storyville to restart their music.

Why Memphis has one of the highest crime rate city in the US? Over the past decade, Memphis has become an attractive city for many tourists around the world to visit. It has historical landmarks related to famous characters such as Elvis Presley. Furthermore, Memphis has one of the top music destinations in the world and the city where many forms of music were established and still being recorded till today. Moreover, Memphis is a good place to live because it has a lot of historical places, incredible foods, cool weather, friendly population, famous characters, and lovely music. All that describe the bright side about this wonderful city. On the other hand, Memphis also has a dark side that we can’t deny or hide it that is the

     During the 1920’s which is also known as the “Roaring Twenties”, Chicago became the focal point for Jazz after clubs around New Orleans were closed. Record deals were being made there and soon Jazz was being acknowledged for the brilliant music it played. Famous musicians who received acclaim for their work in Chicago were Earl Hines, Johnny Dodds, Louis Armstrong, and King Oliver. In New York City, it

There have been many wondrous places I have visited, but none were as stunning, and breathtaking as Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I remember being overwhelmed by the sights on the drive, in particular, observing the crimson glow of the dying leaves. Once arriving at our destination, we unpacked, and then set off to explore the various shops. The sights were breathtaking! Walking, I could hear the echo of other tourists speaking, what sounded like, French, German, and Chinese. There were so many unique shops, for instance, The Village shops. These shops appearances were German inspired during construction; they were one of the most memorable parts of the trip. I thought we had visited all the town sites, yet, there was one more. The one tourist spot