SHOW DESCRIPTION

The revival of Farish Street is more than just restoring a neighborhood. It's reigniting a legacy of resilience, economic power, and cultural pride in Jackson, Mississippi. Once the heartbeat of Black entrepreneurship in one of the most segregated yet vibrant districts in the South, Farish Street nearly faded into history after desegregation dispersed its vital economic threads.

Now, with the official designation as a Mississippi Main Street District, this historic district stands on the cusp of a powerful comeback. Discover how this community’s rich past, rivaling Harlem’s economic prowess, can shape its future. Dr. Robby Luckett shares the strategic vision behind the revival, highlighting the pivotal role of institutional support, local leadership, and heritage tourism in transforming Farish Street into a thriving hub once again.

You’ll learn how the Main Street initiative is not just about beautification but about restoring economic vitality, cultural touchstones, and community hope. From enduring institutions like Jackson State University to landmarks like the Big Apple Inn, the story is one of resilience against all odds.

Perfect for anyone passionate about historic preservation, economic development, or cultural tourism, this episode reveals how the deep-rooted legacy of Farish Street can inspire a new chapter of growth and pride. Get ready for stories of hope, strategy, and community resilience that prove, when support aligns, great things happen. And stay tuned: exciting developments are on the horizon, and you won’t want to miss the next chapter of Farish Street’s story

TRANSCRIPT

Note: Soul Sessions is produced as a podcast first and designed to be listened to. If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes the emotion and inflection meant to be conveyed by human voice. Our transcripts are created using AI and human transcribers, but may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting.

PAUL:

For nearly six decades, the blocks of Farish Street sat mostly quiet — a ghost of what had once been an economy so powerful it nearly rivaled Harlem. Hey, it's Paul Wolf with the front row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places, and events that make the City With Soul shine.

On today's show, my colleague Yolanda Clay-Moore sits down with Dr. Robby Luckett, historian at Jackson State University and president of the newly formed Farish Street Historic District Main Street Association Board of Directors, to talk about what a new Main Street designation means for one of the South's most significant Black business districts — and why, this time, the momentum might actually stick.

YOLANDA:

Dr. Luckett, it's such a pleasure to speak with you today. How are you doing?

ROBBY:

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.

YOLANDA:

I want you to just kind of share what the Farish Street Main Street designation, just get a little background information for those who are not familiar with this type of, this organization.

ROBBY:

Yeah, sure. So the Main Street Association is a national organization that's been around for a long time. I'm not exactly sure when it was originally founded, but it does work across the country in communities, working with them to maintain, improve, revitalize the parts of their communities that are really essential to business, but also to visitors, to anyone who is committed and engaged with the well-being of the community. And you see it often in downtown areas, especially in smaller cities and towns, but a commitment to the revitalization and the maintenance of communities through work around.

Certainly preserving buildings and physical structures, but also really engaging community in in community building kind of writ large. And so it's an exciting thing for the Farish Street part of the work in Jackson to now be officially a part of the Mississippi Main Street Association and that national Main Street organization. It means all kinds of supports to help us do the work that we hope to do and also just a real stability in kind of the future of Farish Street in Jackson.

YOLANDA:

Okay, well thank you for sharing that. Now let's dive a little bit deeper for those listeners who may not be familiar with the jewel in our city, Farish Street Historic District. Just talk about the historical significance it has to our city.

ROBBY:

Sure. So of course we are a Southern city. And if you think about the era of what we call Jim Crow and Jim Crow segregation, one of the things that we don't think about often in the context of Jim Crow, which is of course it was a terrible white supremacist regime. There was terror tied to the regime of Jim Crow. There was Black disfranchisement. Were all of these challenges that over from the late 19th century, really in through the first two thirds of the 20th century or so that white supremacists used to control the power structures. And when I think, when we talk about power structure, I think we're talking about political power, social power and economic power. But the flip side of that too was in an ultra segregated world based on race, Black communities were able to build vibrant institutions, schools, churches, businesses, and Farish Street was that community in Jackson. It was the most important Black business and residential district in a state that was majority Black. mean, Mississippi will be majority Black from the end of the Civil War all the way up through World War II.

And during World War II, the Great Migration, roughly four million African Americans will leave the South for other opportunities. But even after World War II, Mississippi is nearly half Black, and the city of Jackson is increasingly Black as a capital city. And so those African Americans concentrated in Mississippi had a real power, especially economically.

And what you saw in Farish Street was an economy that develops there and this street that runs through the middle of downtown Jackson, bisects our Capitol Street where old state capital is and where the governor's mansion is, but it bisects Capitol Street downtown. But Farish Street was the major Black business district that at one point by World War II is going to have an economic output that almost rivals Harlem.

That's how much power was concentrated. And so you think about Jim Crow segregation and you think about businesses like say a theater where kind of traditionally and stereotypically, if African-Americans were to use theaters during segregation, we think, they must've had to use the balcony or sit in the back. Or if they went to a department store that they weren't allowed to try on hats or shoes or jackets that they just had to buy things straight off the rack. Well, in Farish Street. These were Black-owned businesses, right? You could try on a jacket. You could try on a pair of shoes. You could go to a Black-owned butcher, a Black-owned pharmacy, a Black-owned restaurant, grocery stores. And so this economy was incredibly vibrant, and that community was just remarkable. And if you look at some of the images from that time, it's really striking.

Because we think of Jim Crow as this overwhelmingly oppressive regime, which it could be, but at the same time, there's incredible resilience in the Black community. And Farish Street representation of that incredible resilience.

YOLANDA

Yeah, I think that's called an oxymoron, right?

ROBBY:

Right. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you, we want to think of a place like Mississippi in at the height of Jim Crow as being almost a totalitarian regime. That's how we act. But the reality is for the Black people who lived here, they created lives of incredible, dignity and beauty and achievement.

And, know, through education, through schools like Jackson state, of course, where I'm on the faculty, a coeducational school for Black teachers and preachers its permanent location in Jackson will be settled in 1904. And when you think about 1904 and Black Mississippi, most folks would think there's no chance anything like that could ever succeed. But it did. Right. And now Jackson State's one of the largest historically Black colleges in the nation.

And so there always when I talk about this history, I think there's two sides of it, because we have to be honest about the very real oppression of Jim Crow, but also the resistance to that oppression and the determination of Black Mississippians to lead these incredible lives. And Farish Street was an incredible reflection of that at its height.

YOLANDA:

Talk about the resilience, the success of this community, which was known only to be second to Harlem and its economic prowess. So and we know that there have been many attempts to revitalize this neighborhood after the Great Migration happened. And, you know, we took all this talent and success up north.

So what does this Main Street designation, how pivotal can it be for the revitalization of this neighborhood and what do you see the future looking like?

ROBBY:

Well, first, let me just take one step back and be clear. would ultimately be the economic downfall of Farish Street was not really the great migration, but it was desegregation. Because what happened is after 1964 and the Civil Rights Act and public desegregation of accommodations, Black dollars that were focused and concentrated in these Black and districts like Farish Street, those Black dollars start getting dispersed, right?

And they're, you know, you can now eat at the white owned cafeteria or, you know, shop on Capitol street finally, right? And as those dollars disperse, those Black businesses suffer. And the story of Farish street is not unique to Jackson. That story repeats itself in every Southern city. Every Southern city sees these Black economies decline after desegregation. So that's really what we were facing with Farish Street takes time.

As someone who grew up in Jackson or in this area, the thing is it's the 80s and the 90s before you really see Farish Street kind of collapse in a shell of itself. It takes a good 20 years for that process to complete. So what does the Main Street designation do for us? Well, there's a few things. First and foremost,

the commitment of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority to the project means that there are people whose professional careers are committed to seeing this revitalization happen. And as you mentioned, there have been very serious attempts to bring Farish Street back that have ultimately not been successful, including previous attempts to be part of the Main Street Association that early in my career, I was a part of on Farish Street.

But the fact that we have the buy-in from the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, we have the support of this new administration Mayor John Horhn and his office. And now this launching and the official creation of the Farish Street Main Street Association, the Farish Street Historic District Main Street Association with a 501C3 means that you have not just like interest and not just momentum, but you have institutions and you have people with institutionalized support structures and power to see this happen. And hopefully it will be a process that begins with the first couple of blocks of Farish Street with already plans to bring in.

Vendors along Farish Street and other projects that are happening there in the first couple of blocks. But because you have this institutional buy-in and the support of an organization like Main Street, and now the Farish Street Historic District Main Street Association has its official ⁓ 501c3 status as a non-profit, you've got institutional supports within the city and a wide buy-in from a diverse group of shareholders.

There's real momentum to make this all happen and to actually see success finally on Farish Street after all these years.

YOLANDA:

You know, I just hope that I can tell my children about this process one day. you know, when you think about all the things that are being done that we're trying to reimagine, if the walls of Farish Street could speak, what do you think they would want this generation to remember? And what would they ask us to rebuild?

ROBBY:

Well, you know, ultimately I think of Farish Street as a place of hope and hope in terms of joy and celebration also, know, like hope in terms of communal power, the people who live there. I mean, Farish Street also had, you know, the incredible churches, the historic churches that are in the district. I think about Collins Funeral Home. I think about the bookstore, Marshall's Bookstore that's still there and you know.

YOLANDA:

I used to actually go get sheet music from that bookstore.

ROBBY:

Yeah, the Big Apple Inn, the Smith Robertson Museum. I think about all of these institutions that have survived and have been there on Farish Street and what Farish Street the walls could talk and if the historical actors that made up Farish Street in its heyday could come back. I think they would say, remember us, remember the joy that was here.

You know, remember the power and the strength of this community to support itself at a time when most people didn't think anything like that was possible for Black Mississippians, And we're in an era right now in this moment where there's a lot of tension, There's seemingly a ton of conflict and sometimes that feels like intractable that we just have gone somehow backwards.

But the reality is we have a roadmap. We have examples of people who experienced a much more difficult time, a much more problematic and troubling era in Mississippi history. And they've shown us what can happen if a community supports itself and if a community has the institutional power to support itself. And hopefully we can remember that as Farish Street now finally comes back and starts to revitalize itself.

YOLANDA:

I mean, this is such an exciting time for us. I can't help but think with the tourism hat how this can be a part of a heritage tourism.

ROBBY:

100%. You know, the thing that I said Yolanda Owens, is our, she's the executive director on the JRA staff, the Jackson Re-Development Authority for the Farish Street Main Street Association, the thing I said to Yolanda, was like, all the visitors who are coming to Jackson for the two Mississippi museums, who are coming to Jackson to see Medgar Evers' home who are coming to Jackson to visit the COFO Center which I run at JSU, which is the headquarters for Freedom Summer. We just had a group of us from California just pull in today. All of those people are coming to Jackson because they want the experience of being in Jackson. They want the cultural experience of being here, of seeing and doing these things. And fair street fits perfectly within that puzzle. Cause you spent two hours at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and you want to get lunch? Great, stay there if you want to and eat lunch in the amazing Nissan Cafe or pop out, head two blocks down the road and you're on Farish Street and you're having a real experience in one of these original places on Farish Street. And so I think it fits perfectly within the very real cultural heritage tourism we have now coming into our city. And it only will benefit all of us who are doing this work across the city and benefit the entire city and benefit downtown Jackson. Because again, when we talk about Farish Street…

YOLANDA:

Yes.

ROBBY:

Farish Street is a part of Downtown Jackson. It bisects Capitol Street, the main thoroughfare through Downtown Jackson. And so what happens for Farish Street is good for the entire city. And it's good for our entire state as the capital city, especially.

YOLANDA:

Yeah, I have to go back to that phrase, a rising tide lifts all boats. And we believe that Farish Street is definitely a rising tide. And we can't wait to see what other boats it lifts.

ROBBY:

Absolutely, 100%. And we're in this moment, we have this momentum, and we've got these institutional supports in place to try and make it happen this time. And I'm committed to it, and I know everyone who's involved in this project on the Main Street Association side is absolutely committed to it as well.

YOLANDA

Well, Dr. Luckett, certainly appreciate your contribution to this effort and we're excited to see the results that we know are coming forth and we look forward to just diving into all that Main Street has to offer Farish Street.

ROBBY:

Yeah, I'm really excited about it too. And keep your ears peeled because there's going to be some really exciting news and developments coming pretty quickly. think we're going to be amazed to see this transformation that's coming.

PAUL:

That is the formidable Dr. Robby Luckett, in conversation with my colleague Yolanda Clay-Moore. This story is about what happens when historical knowledge becomes actionable — when knowing exactly why a community collapsed becomes the blueprint for rebuilding it. He was clear-eyed about something that often gets glossed over: it wasn't the Great Migration that hollowed out Farish Street. It was desegregation. And understanding that distinction changes how you approach revitalization. The Farish Street Historic District Main Street Association now has its 501(c)3, the support of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, and the backing of Mayor John Horhn's office. We'll have links in our show notes to the Farish Street Historic District Main Street Association at visitjackson.com/soulsessions.

This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. There's always something great going on in Jackson, and we keep up with it at visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf, and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

Listen to previous episodes of Soul Sessions