B.B. King Museum

B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi, showing the cotton gin at which B.B. King worked.

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center is a museum in Indianola, Mississippi dedicated to the Delta blues and music legend B.B. King.

Museum history and purpose

The stated mission of the museum is to "empower, unite and heal through music, art and education and share with the world the rich cultural heritage of the Mississippi Delta."[1]

The museum was first announced in January 2004 in B.B. King's home town of Indianola, Mississippi, with a planned groundbreaking in June 2005. The plan included a $10 million facility encompassing 15,000 square feet.[2]

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008. The museum features a restored brick cotton gin building where B.B. King worked in the 1940s. The museum also contains an extensive collection of artifacts owned by King and displays exhibits about his life and the lives of other musicians of the delta region and the culture where the blues arose. The museum commemorates the famous blues artist B.B King, who was from the Mississippi Delta. The museum has multiple exhibits highlighting King's Delta Blue music using interactives, King memorabilia, and stories. Exhibits also explore the culture of the Delta birthplace of the Blues, including the troubled times of the Jim Crow era and the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement.[3] The museum seeks to help preserve Delta Blues and its culture by promoting its importance.

In 2015, shortly after his death at age 89, King was buried at the museum and center in a planned memorial garden.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, web site. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  2. ^ McGee, David. B.B. King: There is Always One More Time. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books, 2005: 328. ISBN 978-0-87930-843-8
  3. ^ Sigler, Kirk; Elliot, Debbie (March 13, 2023). "Mississippi is home of the blues and key to civil rights past. Locals tell the story". NPR. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Staff writer (May 28, 2015). "Beale Street says goodbye to B.B. King". WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  5. ^ Boger, Paul (June 1, 2015). "Blues Legend B.B. King Laid To Rest In Indianola". Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Retrieved March 31, 2017.

Further reading

33°26′58″N 90°38′44″W / 33.449582°N 90.645661°W / 33.449582; -90.645661


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