anthony: some time ago something crawled, or slithered, or grew like a fungus. something that started small, got bigger, lurched like a swamp thing out of the mud and moist earth and humid nights of the delta. then, it took over the world. so next time some smart ass foreigner, horrified by our latest ham-fisted foreign policy blunder wonders out loud, what good is america? well, you can always pipe up that the blues, rock n roll, r&b, and soul all came out of this place one state mississippi. i took a walk through this beautiful world felt the cool rain on my shoulder found something good in this beautiful world i felt the rain getting colder sha la la la la sha la la la la la sha la la la la sha la la la la la la geno: right now we re in the middle of downtown jackson. farish street. anthony: it is a street with a lot of history. what did it used to be like back in the day? geno: the street was packed with folks. folks all over, they
is greenwood. a town with a lot of history. most of it of the not good variety. known unfortunately as much for byron de la beckwith, and tom brady s infamous speech after brown v. the board of education as anything else, fairly or not, it s hard to get past that. during all the years of cruelty and struggle from 1933 on, through it all and until today, this place, lusco s, was a beloved institution. once a grocery store, it turned restaurant to the moneyed class, serving them in discreet quarters in the back where one could enjoy an alcoholic beverage in what was then a dry state. still going after all these years. and unchanged. why? john t. edge: this place is like a reliquary of like indiscretions past. you know? anthony: but maybe, to really tell the story of this place, you have to start with the story of its most famous employee booker wright, who had been working at lusco s as a waiter
come back, goodnight, take care. so that s what you have to go through here. but remember, you have to keep that smile. anthony: telling the truth was still risky business in 1966 mississippi, and booker wright was not rewarded for his candor. it was not a good experience for him. it did not make him a star by, you know john t. edge: not within the white community, but even though stokely carmichael maybe first chanted black power here, that was less important to the black community here than what booker said on the nbc news. anthony: yeah. the private dining rooms at lusco s are still here. the menu, much the same. steaks, fish, the famous broiled shrimp. the lusco s special salad with the house italian vinaigrette dressing and a healthy dose of anchovy. onion rings. john t. edge: the salad makes me happy. anthony: yeah, me too. john t. edge: mostly the anchovies make me happy. anthony: yeah, yeah, love those.
that is just hard to beat. geno: isn t it good? anthony: mm-hmm. geno: it s a good sandwich. anthony: and, of course, some hot tamales. which, at this point in history, are about as mississippi as they are mexican. like the blues, they came out of mississippi in the early 20th century, as mexican migrant workers came in to replace african-americans who were headed to work in the great factories and stock yards of chicago and detroit. john t. edge: you know, sitting down here, um, eating tamales, we can sketch a history of mississippi. and that s kind of what i m most interested in doing. helping southerners understand that their foods are as african as they are western european. and anthony: if not more. john t. edge: and hopefully by way if not, oh, largely. you know music, and, you know, and all the other cultural expressions in the south. i think food is a sneaky way of getting at some of the serious stuff we ve been talking about. geno: as i told you before, i d
the red bean, oh man, that looks kinda good too. yeah, a little bit of that. neck bones floating around somewhere? woman: they are, they re right here. anthony: okay, yeah i ll have some of those. little rice and gravy on there, yeah thanks. and uh, oh i dunno, a piece of fried chicken there, if you got a thigh that would be great. john t. edge: okra s perfect. anthony: yeah it is. oh man, that s good. willie simmons: now here in the south if you want to, you can throw your fork away and just grab the neck bone. anthony: oh yeah, i ll be working on that. once willie simmons: we forgive you and don t hold it against you for doing it. anthony: i could eat this okra all day long, man. it s good. willie simmons: and i wanna know what you think about those greens and butter beans. anthony: oh man, they re nice. man, that s tasty. do you think the right people get the credit for southern cooking as we know it? willie simmons: i do. anthony: you think the right peopl