“Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Peter Dunne, an American journalist and humorist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, made that statement. It was meant for journalists, but it also applies to many other areas of our lives.
When it comes to Clarksdale and Coahoma County, at this time, we need to focus on being able to “comfort the afflicted.”
Every community has assets and liabilities. No place is all good or bad. There is a gray area anywhere we live.
The problem with our community is, too often, people focus on the problems we face and do so in a manner that is counterproductive. Yes, we have economic and educational challenges and need to lower crime, but when we address those issues, we need to look for meaningful solutions.
But some media outlets and the people who have not been to Clarksdale and Coahoma County treated the community unfairly in the past.
We were glad to see CNN rank Clarksdale No. 9 as one of America’s Top 10 towns to visit in 2025. CNN is “comforting the afflicted” and showing Clarksdale is a great place.
CNN’s article talks about the Ground Zero Blues Club, co-owned by Academy Award-winning actor and local Morgan Freeman; musicians from the area such as Christone “Kingfish” Ingram; the Delta Blues Museum; the Juke Joint Festival; the new Son House Tribute Festival; the new movie “Sinners” being based on Clarksdale; the deep blues history; and much, much more.
We need to continue promoting Clarksdale in such a manner.
The new Clarksdale Day celebration will also be highlighting the great things in our community. Clarksdale Day will be Aug. 29 to 31 and is coming to fruition thanks to efforts of Dave Houston, Jaleesa Collins and others. Houston and Collins grew up in Clarksdale and chose to make a difference in their hometown as adults.
Most of the people in Clarksdale and Coahoma County are good and down-to-earth. It’s not just one part of the community. We have good people of all ages, races, income brackets and religious backgrounds. Whether our residents are liberal, conservative or have some other political affiliation, we all have the same common goal – to make life in Clarksdale and Coahoma County better.
If we recognize the good things about the community by taking some time to “comfort the afflicted,” it will make it easier to tackle the serious issues we face.
We do need a larger grocery store in Coahoma County, our schools need better funding, our community needs to be cleaned up and we need to fill the vacant buildings with more businesses.
Recognizing our assets and realizing we are living in a good place will make it easier to come together and find meaningful solutions to our problems. We know our problems will not be solved overnight, but as long as we make progress with each passing day, we can take pride in knowing Clarksdale and Coahoma County are headed in the right direction.
