mississippi flood of 1927.

so i have begun. i have spent the large chunk of this weekend absorbed in a new series of books & ideas & vocab. one of my classes, understanding katrina: theology, ethics & praxis has launched with a reading of rising tide: how the 1927 flood of the missississippi changed america by john m. barry. really, a fantastic book about a natural disaster i don't think i'd even heard of before.

in reading it, i can't help but think of nina simone's mississippi goddam as i read about the emergence of the kkk, the efforts of white folks to fight for dignity of blacks for their economic interest, the role of ministers in leadership of the black community. its focus is on greenville, ms--one of the places hardest hit by the flooding. its a messy tale of fathers & sons, herbert hoover & politics, power dynamics & race relations. kind of seems to whisper of a scary post-katrina u.s.

okay, enough foreboding! here's what i'm taking this semester:

1. understanding katrina
2. justice & love
3. the catholic sixties
4. psychoanalysis & character ethics

i'm off to read more of the amazing martha nussbaum on the role of emotions in our ethical & moral lives.

peaceout, k.

oh...the lyrics to mississippi goddam:

The name of this tune is mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it

Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam

Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam

Cant you see it
Cant you feel it
Its all in the air
I cant stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddam

This is a show tune
But the show hasnt been written for it, yet

Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every days gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I dont belong here
I dont belong there
Ive even stopped believing in prayer

Dont tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
Ive been there so I know
They keep on saying go slow!

But thats just the trouble
Do it slow
Washing the windows
Do it slow
Picking the cotton
Do it slow
Youre just plain rotten
Do it slow
Youre too damn lazy
Do it slow
The thinkings crazy
Do it slow
Where am I going
What am I doing
I dont know
I dont know

Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about mississippi goddam

I made you thought I was kiddin didnt we

Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say its a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me

Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And youd stop calling me sister sadie

Oh but this whole country is full of lies
Youre all gonna die and die like flies
I dont trust you any more
You keep on saying go slow!
Go slow!

But thats just the trouble
Do it slow
Desegregation
Do it slow
Mass participation
Do it slow
Reunification
Do it slow
Do things gradually
Do it slow
But bring more tragedy
Do it slow
Why dont you see it
Why dont you feel it
I dont know
I dont know

You dont have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about mississippi
Everybody knows about alabama
Everybody knows about mississippi goddam