These rhythms followed the migrants north, weaving into the cultural fabric of industrial cities, a reminder of the Delta’s influence even as its population dwindled.
By the mid-20th century, cotton, the crop that had once been the lifeblood of the global economy, became an afterthought. Oil had taken its place as the new king, and the world moved on.
Image: In the late 90s the six row cotton picker
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But in the Delta, the past lingered, heavy as the summer air. But in the Delta, the past lingered, heavy as the summer air. It was a region shaped by cotton and race, by migration and mechanization, by struggle and survival. Its people carried its story with them, whether they stayed in the fields or sought new lives in distant cities.
Image: Black American cotton plantation workers, hired as day laborers, walking next to cotton field, Clarksdale, August 1940.. Wolcott, Marion Post.
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