Marshall Ramsey

A Review of

JACKSON

Photographs by Ken Murphy

Foreword by John Evans

Lemuria Bookstore

Hardback $75.00, 183 pages

Murphy’s photographs create incomparable tour of capitol city

After a recent cartoon I drew about Jackson, Mississippi, a caller asked me, “Why should I care about Jackson?” I should have sent him Ken Murphy’s new book ‘Jackson’ (Lemuria Books, 2014).

For fifteen years, photographer Murphy has captured Mississippi’s beauty with his camera. In Jackson, he not only chronicles the interesting landmarks. He tells the colorful story of its people as well.

It takes you on a tour without having to start your car.

Start in the lobby of Lemuria Books. Buckle up and read the foreword by owner John Evans and the read long-time Jacksonian Leland Speed’s introduction. Then let your journey begin.

Head downtown and see Jackson’s historic City Hall. Then cruise over to the Governor’s Mansion and the Mississippi Old Capitol. By now you’ll notice how this book is different: These aren’t just postcard photos of buildings. The streets are teeming with parade goers from Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade. You not only see the city’s beauty: You feel its pulse.

Keep turning the pages. You’re taken geographically and historically through the city.  Medgar Evers home (you see the driveway where he was gunned down) sits next to the William F. Winter Archives & History building. A winding road carries you into Greenwood Cemetery where you’ll stop in front of Eudora Welty’s grave. See Eddie Cotton’s performance at Duling Hall. On the next page are legends Bobby Rush and Jesse Robinson. Jackson’s musical roots run deep. All your senses are engaged visually now. You can almost smell the magnolias in Belhaven and hear the cheers at a Jackson State football game.

Hungry? Stop at Two Sisters Kitchen, Parlor Market, The Mayflower, The Elite or one of Jackson’s other fantastic restaurants. Or just pick up some fresh vegetables at the Farmer’s Market. Thirsty? Pull up a stool at Hal & Mals.  You can almost hear writer Willie Morris holding court. Walk into the men’s room and see the tribute to Elvis. Head up State Street. See Fondren rise like a phoenix. Isn’t that Governor Winter’s home? Sure. He just happens to be standing out front of it.

Your tour continues, and you sit in Eudora Welty’s den and see her writing room. The warmth of the light in the photograph matches the power of her prose. Then you can step into one of Jackson’s art galleries to marvel at the talent that emanates from the city. See Jackson’s houses of worship and institutions of higher education. Take a stroll on a path near the Pearl River and see how close wildlife is to city life. Head to the State Capitol and see where the political sausage is made. Bored? Catch a festival. Go to a museum. Listen to a concert. Go to the Mississippi State Fair. The sun is going down? No problem. The photos and fun continue. Some of Murphy’s most compelling images are the ones taken at night.

Now you’re at the finish line—the Blues Marathon & Half Marathon finish line. Cross it and sit back, relax and read the plate details. It’s when Jackson’s history comes to life. Jackson broadened my knowledge of the city where I’ve worked in for nearly two decades.

Murphy and Lemuria Books have given us a book that deepens our knowledge and appreciation of a complex, interesting city. The City of Jackson should be celebrated. And Jackson does it well.

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Marshall Ramsey, a two-time Pulitzer Finalist, is a nationally-syndicated editorial cartoonist, author, speaker and Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio host. He has drawn cartoons in Jackson for The Clarion-Ledger since 1996.

Banjo the dog took his last breath two years ago.  But Sunday afternoon, I saw his spirit live on.

The Black Rose Youth Theatre Ensemble (BRYTE) at Black Rose Theatre Company in Brandon, Miss. performed Banjo’s Dream, a one-act musical based on my children’s book by the same name.  As the lights dimmed, my wife Amy handed me a Kleenex. After I saw Sam the Grumpy cat take the stage, I knew I would need it.

Seeing pieces of your heart come to life is very emotional.

A few months ago, my friend Shawn Rossi asked me if I would be open to BRYTE adapting Banjo’s Dream into a musical.  I never hesitated — “Sure,” I said. I just had a feeling something special would come of this.

And I was right.  Banjo’s Dream  is absolutely wonderful.

It’s set in a pet adoption shelter (a deviation from the real Banjo’s story — he lived with three families but was placed by his breeder). The cute puppies get adopted early on. But not Banjo. Or Sam the Grumpy Cat (who in real life was rescued from a box at a The Woodlands, Tx Exxon) or the members of the Barkstreet Dog Band (the unadoptables who don’t need no stinkin’ leashes.) Banjo, left alone, (played well by Garret Ramsey) sings mournfully how he’ll never have a home. He then falls into a dream-filled sleep.  That’s when the fun really begin.  Banjo’s dreams are creatively projected onto a screen using a combination of  shadow puppetry and drawings from my book.

But like Banjo showed kids in the book, dreams do come true.  He finds a little boy who wants a dog who will love music like he does.  And at the end, Banjo is adopted by his loving family.

Then a picture of the real Banjo is projected onto the screen (with my son’s Mickey Mouse.)

My wife Amy and I lost it.

Like the stage Banjo, the real dog loved all of his families.  I always said his heart was too big to just love one family.  We were so blessed to have him in ours until the end.

But it really isn’t the end.  Banjo lives on in our hearts. And in the hearts of so many children.

A hat-tip to Dixie Gray, Makenna Blough, Lori McDade, Stacy Wolfe, Abbie Macoy, Jamie Macoy, Renee Williams, Noelle Jones, Shawn Rossi, Leigh Ramsey, Stirling VanNostrand, Paris Baker, Victoria Mills, Carley Hill, Jameson Williams, Garrett Ramsey, Mary Rose Wolfe, Mason Smith, Gray Macoy, Quentin Lea, Lily Blough, Avery DeMuth, Sawyer Smith, Simon Smith, Daleigh Ramsey, Eli Ramsey, Maddie Macoy, Jameson Williams, April Smith and Chris Mills for your creativity and hard work.  You created a rich, emotionally moving piece of art. And I can tell Banjo’s spirit flowed through you when you wrote, produced and performed it.

So let me say thank you. You gave me my puppy back for one more day.

Proving that dreams do come true.

Mississippi is no stranger to tough times.  Whether man-made or natural, we’ve had our fair share of troubles.  The Civil War ripped across this land, changing it forever. Tornadoes have scarred towns all across our state.  The 1927 flood changed the Delta forever. Hurricanes Camille and Katrina altered the Gulf Coast. And we were on the front lines for the fight for racial equality during the 1960s.  Bigotry and noxious discrimination choked this state for decades until courageous Mississippians and their out-of-state allies stood up and said, “This is wrong.”

It wasn’t easy. And like all the other tough times, sacrifices were made and lives were lost.

But from thorns grew the great roses of equality.  And today, we live in a much better world for it. Do we still have progress to make? Sure. I like to say that we are no equally dysfunctional as the rest of the states I’ve lived in. But we’ve come so far.  My children live in a world that kids 50 years ago could never have imagined.

What a fascinating and beautiful history it is. It’s full of courage and strength.

I’ve heard people say, “well, we shouldn’t talk about this or that.” I completely disagree. We should sing our history from the mountaintops — even the parts that may not be Chamber of Commerce moments. Because the tough times are  the crucible that forged us.  And like heat is to iron, it made us stronger than steel.

I see the hole in the ground against the bluff next to the State Fair Grounds. Within a few short months, a building will be there. A building housing artifacts from the Civil Rights movement.  Mississippians will be able to go in and learn a little bit more about this pivotal time about our history.  And that’s a blessing.

Mississippi is a fascinating place. And I’m glad we celebrate our history.  It’s what makes us, well, us.  It is the spice that gives us flavor.