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Delta
Blues Museum
Director's
Note
March 21,
2019
DELTA
BLUES MUSEUM
Clarksdale, Mississippi
History
of the Delta Blues Museum
As we celebrate our 40th year and Spring begins, I thought it was important to reflect on how far we�ve come and where we are going. As we reflect on our history, former DBM Band member Christone �Kingfish� Ingram - who is about to go on tour with Buddy Guy - has just landed a record deal, signaling the birth of a new generation of blues artists from Mississippi. I hope you enjoy this overview of the history of the museum and will come for a visit very soon.
January 30,
1979
Carnegie Library Board of Trustees creates
the Delta Blues Museum in the Myrtle Hall Branch of the
library. Sid Graves is the founding director. The Delta
Blues Museum is the world's first museum devoted entirely
to blues.
1981
Delta Blues Museum moves from Myrtle Hall to 114 Delta Avenue, inside the main library branch.
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1996
Muddy Waters' cabin from Stovall Plantation is moved by House of Blues to begin a world tour.
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| 1988
ZZTop unveils the Muddywood Guitar at Carnegie Public
Library for its Hard Rock Caf� world tour. |
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1999
Delta Blues Museum moves from the Carnegie Public Library to its current location in the renovated freight depot at #1 Blues Alley Lane. Recognized with a National Governors Association Award for Distinguished Service.
2000
Delta Blues Museum Band under the Direction of Mr. Johnnie Billington travels to the White House to perform for President Bill Clinton. President Clinton later met privately with each person in the DBM White House delegation.
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2001
Muddy Waters' Cabin returns to Clarksdale and is installed in the Delta Blues Museum.
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2003
Congress declares Year of the Blues. Delta Blues Museum is part of the celebration committee. Governor Ronnie Musgrove creates the Mississippi Blues Commission.
2009
DBM receives a Gold Award from the Southeastern Museums Conference for outstanding design and content on DBM website and an Honorable Mention for the design of the "Rhythm & Roots" exhibit invitation.
2012
The Delta Blues Museum completes a
7,300 square foot
addition to the depot,
the "Muddy Waters' Wing".
"Delta Best" award in recognition of outstanding
contributions in tourism.
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2013
Delta Blues Museum is one of five museums in the nation
selected to receive a National Medal for Museum and
Library Service, our nation's highest honor for museums.
First Lady Michelle Obama presented the award in the
East Wing of the White House.
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Delta Blues Museum receives a Mississippi Blues Trail
Marker.
DBM receives international acclaim and is added to
the Best in Heritage Excellence Club, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
DBM receives a Partnership Award from the Mississippi
Delta Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
DBM receives Partnership Award from W.A. Higgins Academy
of Arts & International Studies.
DBM receives a Citation
from AIA Mississippi for the Muddy Waters Addition.
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2014
Delta Blues Museum's Arts & Education Program is one
of twelve youth programs recognized with a National
Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award and one of two
programs selected to perform at the ceremony in the
East Wing of the White House. First Lady Michelle
Obama presented the award.
Delta Blues Museum is recognized
as a Great River Road Interpretive Center. |
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2015
Awarded a Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor
2019
Delta Blues Museum celebrates its 40th Anniversary.
Drop by and check out
the progress on the new permanent exhibits. We still have
a ways to go, but we are getting there thanks to the generous
support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Be
a part of the celebration and help us complete the exhibits
by making a tax-deductible
donation online; attending our fundraiser
on April 14, 2019 at the Shack Up Inn, purchasing
a blues brick; or becoming
a member.
Hope to see you in the gallery soon!
Shelley
Ritter, Executive Director
About
the Delta Blues Museum
Established in 1979
by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees and re-organized
as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum
is Mississippi's oldest music museum and the nation's first
museum dedicated to the American art form known as the Blues.
A 2013 recipient of the IMLS 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 & Humanities Youth Program Award, the
Delta Blues Museum is dedicated to creating a welcoming
place where visitors find meaning, value and perspective
by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American
musical art form, the Blues. The Museum is honored to be
a Great River Road Interpretive Center.
The "Delta Blues Foundation"
is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that supports
the work of Delta Blues Museum. All funds solicited through
the Delta Blues Foundation are raised to benefit the Delta
Blues Museum. On-line tax deductible contributions to the
Delta Blues Foundation include the Deeper Roots program
and the General Fund (a monetarily unrestricted contribution
made to the foundation in support of the museum). Memberships
and the Buy a Brick program are funded directly to the Delta
Blues Museum and are not considered tax deductible.
For more
information on events or programs, please call (662) 627-6820,
or visit the Museum web site at www.deltabluesmuseum.org.
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This newsletter is supported
in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission,
a state agency, and,
in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal
agency.
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