In recent weeks, I’ve seen many, many disturbing trends in media reportage on New Orleans–notably, facile discussions of race, misrepresentation of neighborhood demographics, and wanton usage of every gumbo and Mardi Gras cliche in the book. But by far the worst offense is some reporters’ belief that New Orleans is part of the Delta.
Quick geography lesson, folks: when people talk about “the Delta,” they’re talking about an area in Mississippi, north of Vicksburg, south of Memphis, and west of I-55. If you’ve ever heard of people talking about “Delta Blues,” that’s the delta they’re talking about.
“The Delta,” however, is a long way away from the Mississippi River delta, which is located a couple of hundred miles south–oddly enough, in Louisiana, below New Orleans, at the mouth of the river. Like the Delta, the Mississippi River delta is a floodplain, but that’s about the only similarity between the two regions.
The Delta is home to Mississippi’s once-thriving, now-lackluster cotton industry. It’s reasonably well populated, but the folks who live there are generally poor and black, many descended from slaves and sharecroppers. It’s flat and featureless terrain, the logical birthplace place for a musical genre as woeful as the blues.
The Mississippi River delta, on the other hand, is home to very little. There are a handful of shrimpers and fishermen, maybe a refinery here and there, but not much else. The population is minimal, not least because global warming and coastal erosion have gradually washed away the few shreds of land that people can live on. As a result, it lacks the well-defined, celebrated culture of its sister to the north.
So I beg of you, despite what dreamboat Andy Cooper and his cronies may suggest, please don’t come to New Orleans thinking you can pop over to the Delta for an afternoon of authentic Delta Blues (unless, of course, you’re up for a fairly lengthy drive). I mean, yes, please, come to the city–I’ll take you out for drinks!–but you’ll have to make due with New Orleans Blues–which is just as good, if you ask me.
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