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
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 wince he was 14 years old. booker: thanks to y all. we don t have a real menu. i d be glad to tell you what we re gonna serve tonight. anthony: in 1965, nbc news came to town, making a documentary on race relations. booker s entertaining recitation of the menu at lusco s was famous around town, so they asked him to do his usual routine for the camera. booker: we have fresh shrimp cocktail, lusco s shrimp, fresh oysters on a half shell, baked oysters, oyster rockefeller, oyster almadine. anthony: but at the end of his usual litany is where he dropped the truth bomb that nobody was ready for, right here. booker: now as with my customers, i say my customers, be respecting of me. some people nice, some is not
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 since he was 14 years old. booker: thanks to y all. we don t have a real menu. i d be glad to tell you what we re gonna serve tonight. anthony: in 1965, nbc news came to town, making a documentary on race relations. booker s entertaining recitation of the menu at lusco s was famous around town, so they asked him to do his usual routine for the camera. booker: we have fresh shrimp cocktail, lusco s shrimp, fresh oysters on a half shell, baked oysters, oyster rockefeller, oyster almadine. anthony: but at the end of his usual litany is where he dropped the truth bomb that nobody was ready for, right here. booker: now as with my customers, i say my customers, be respecting of me. some people nice
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 wince he was 14 years old. booker: thanks to y all. we don t have a real menu. i d be glad to tell you what we re gonna serve tonight. anthony: in 1965, nbc news came to town, making a documentary on race relations. booker s entertaining recitation of the menu at lusco s was famous around town, so they asked him to do his usual routine for the camera. booker: we have fresh shrimp cocktail, lusco s shrimp, fresh oysters on a half shell, baked oysters, oyster rockefeller, oyster almadine. anthony: but at the endf his usl litany is where he dropped the truth bomb that nobo was ready for, right here. booker: now as with my customers, i say my customers, be respecting of me. some people nice, some is not. some call me booker, some call me john, s