1. 'When this thing hit': examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the blues-based cultural economy of Clarksdale, Mississippi.
- Author
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Truman, Mandy and Sarmiento, Eric
- Subjects
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SARS-CoV-2 , *BLUES music , *COVID-19 pandemic , *CULTURAL geography , *RACIAL inequality - Abstract
Often considered the 'birthplace of the blues', the Mississippi Delta hosts a vibrant cultural economy based on blues music and culture. As this economy relies on embodied social experiences in place, health and safety regulations issued to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus had dramatic effects on musicians, business owners, and other cultural workers. In this paper, we examine the impacts of the pandemic on the cultural economy of the Delta, focusing on the city of Clarksdale, a primary destination for blues tourism. Situating the Delta's cultural economy and the blues music at its foundations within a broader historical arc of racialized struggle, we explore disparities in impacts of the pandemic on differently positioned individuals and groups. We argue that, while racial inequities continue to structure the Delta's cultural economy, local communities' responses to the challenges of the pandemic also demonstrate intergroup solidarities. Approaching these solidarities through Monica White's conception of collective agency and community resilience, we conclude that collective responses to the challenges of the pandemic in the Delta illuminate the potential for people from relatively privileged and marginalized groups in the region to come together to resist oppression and potentially drive social and political economic transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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