Delta Memories follows the life of Joe T. Harper, as he stands in the shadow of a terminal illness;this delightful book revisits Joe's remarkable life and his "can do" attitude. Born in a rural, poor, black family, Joe overcomes the many obstacles that he faced - poverty, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence of the 1960s era. He, the son of a Mississippi sharecropper, was able to attend college thanks to a generous benefactor. This is a remarkable story of grinding poverty, perseverance, and redemption. Written in a graphically visual style, Joe keeps the reader right beside him and provides a bird's eye view as he describes his mothers' tragedy; watches his brother recover from hernia surgery; and endures the family's status which is viewed an object of humor. Come, travel with Joe back in the pages of time as he relives the early years of life in the Mississippi Delta.

The son of black sharecroppers, John Oliver Hodges attended segregated schools in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the 1950s and ’60s, worked in plantation cotton fields, and eventually left the region to earn multiple degrees and become a tenured university professor. Both poignant and thought provoking, Delta Fragments is Hodges’s autobiographical journey back to the land of his birth. Brimming with vivid memories of family life, childhood friendships, the quest for knowledge, and the often brutal injustices of the Jim Crow South, it also offers an insightful meditation on the present state of race relations in America. Hodges has structured the book as a series of brief but revealing vignettes grouped into two main sections. In part 1, “Learning,” he introduces us to the town of Greenwood and to his parents, sister, and myriad aunts, uncles, cousins, teachers, and schoolmates. He tells stories of growing up on a plantation, dancing in smoky juke joints, playing sandlot football and baseball, journeying to the West Coast as a nineteen-year-old to meet the biological father he never knew while growing up, and leaving family and friends to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta. In part 2, “Reflecting,” he connects his firsthand experience with broader themes: the civil rights movement, Delta blues, black folkways, gambling in Mississippi, the vital role of religion in the African American community, and the perplexing problems of poverty, crime, and an underfunded educational system that still challenge black and white citizens of the Delta. Whether recalling the assassination of Medgar Evers (whom he knew personally), the dynamism of an African American church service, or the joys of reconnecting with old friends at a biennial class reunion, Hodges writes with a rare combination of humor, compassion, and—when describing the injustices that were all too frequently inflicted on him and his contemporaries—righteous anger. But his ultimate goal, he contends, is not to close doors but to open them: to inspire dialogue, to start a conversation, “to be provocative without being insistent or definitive.”

I grew up on a farm during the Great Depression and WWII. When I was sixteen, I decided that a sharecropper's life would not be my future. I quit school and joined my siblings in California. On my eighteenth birthday, I joined the Navy and served thirty years.

Inspired by memories of her beloved grandmother, photographer and author Alysia Burton Steele -- picture editor on a Pulitzer Prize-winning team -- combines heart-wrenching narrative with poignant photographs of more than 50 female church elders in the Mississippi Delta. These ordinary women lived extraordinary lives under the harshest conditions of the Jim Crow era and during the courageous changes of the Civil Rights Movement. With the help of local pastors, Steele recorded these living witnesses to history and folk ways, and shares the significance of being a Black woman -- child, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother in Mississippi -- a Jewel of the Delta. From the stand Mrs. Tennie Self took for her marriage to be acknowledged in the phone book, to the life-threatening sacrifice required to vote for the first time, these 50 inspiring portraits are the faces of love and triumph that will teach readers faith and courage in difficult times.

From the author of South's Best Butts and A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen, an all-around grilling cookbook showcasing different methods and diverse cuisines, as well as sought-after stories and recipes from America's all-star grillers Matt Moore confesses: He is a serial griller. He can't help it--if there's food and flame, he'll grill it. In his newest book, he shares his indiscriminate appetite for smoky perfection with a broad collection of recipes varied in method, technique, and cuisine. After a review of the basics--the Maillard reaction, which grill is best for you, and more--he takes the reader on a tour across America to round up authentic stories, coveted recipes, and indispensable tips from grill masters of the South and beyond, including stops at unexpected but distinguished chefs' spots like Michael Solomonov's Zahav and Ashley Christensen's Death & Taxes. Moore offers his own tried-and-true grilling recipes for every part of the meal, from starters and salads to handhelds (Tacos al Pastor, Pork Gyros) and big plates (Country-Style Ribs with Peach Salsa) to desserts (Grilled-Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwiches). Serial Griller is a serious and delicious exploration of how grilling is done all around America.

The son of black sharecroppers, John Oliver Hodges attended segregated schools in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the 1950s and ’60s, worked in plantation cotton fields, and eventually left the region to earn multiple degrees and become a tenured university professor. Both poignant and thought provoking, Delta Fragments is Hodges’s autobiographical journey back to the land of his birth. Brimming with vivid memories of family life, childhood friendships, the quest for knowledge, and the often brutal injustices of the Jim Crow South, it also offers an insightful meditation on the present state of race relations in America. Hodges has structured the book as a series of brief but revealing vignettes grouped into two main sections. In part 1, “Learning,” he introduces us to the town of Greenwood and to his parents, sister, and myriad aunts, uncles, cousins, teachers, and schoolmates. He tells stories of growing up on a plantation, dancing in smoky juke joints, playing sandlot football and baseball, journeying to the West Coast as a nineteen-year-old to meet the biological father he never knew while growing up, and leaving family and friends to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta. In part 2, “Reflecting,” he connects his firsthand experience with broader themes: the civil rights movement, Delta blues, black folkways, gambling in Mississippi, the vital role of religion in the African American community, and the perplexing problems of poverty, crime, and an underfunded educational system that still challenge black and white citizens of the Delta. Whether recalling the assassination of Medgar Evers (whom he knew personally), the dynamism of an African American church service, or the joys of reconnecting with old friends at a biennial class reunion, Hodges writes with a rare combination of humor, compassion, and—when describing the injustices that were all too frequently inflicted on him and his contemporaries—righteous anger. But his ultimate goal, he contends, is not to close doors but to open them: to inspire dialogue, to start a conversation, “to be provocative without being insistent or definitive.”

Terrorism, black poverty, and economic exploitation produced a condition of collective trauma and social suffering for thousands of black Deltans in the Twentieth Century. Based on oral histories with African American activists and community leaders, this work reveals the impact of that oppression.