‘The beginning of Black liberation’: photographs tell the real story of the Mississippi Delta

The Soil exhibition showcases the work of Justin Hardiman, center, whose photography tells the story of Black farmers in the Mississippi Delta. Photograph: Courtesy Raven Barnes

On a hot afternoon in June, four people stood in the lobby of Travelers Hotel off Third Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi, each taking in the images that lined its walls. The photographs are part of Soil, an exhibition depicting Black farmers in the Mississippi Delta.

The town’s art and culture district, where Travelers Hotel is located, serves as a living monument to the region’s history – with signs, murals and banners every few feet that immortalize famous current and former residents, such as Early Wright, the first Black disc jockey in Mississippi, and the musicians Leo Welch and “Kingfish” Ingram. If Mississippi is known as the birthplace of America’s music, Clarksdale is the home of the blues.