Mississippi Blues Trail License Plate Coming Soon
The Mississippi Blues Foundation is spearheading the introduction and issuance of a new Mississippi specialty license plate to highlight The Mississippi Blues Trail. The reason for the tag is two-fold, according to Luther Brown, chairman of the Blues Foundation.
“We currently have funding for 119 markers, but our wish list has grown to more than 160 sites that we think are worthy of being designated as a stop on the Blues Trail,” Brown said. “We also want the visibility of the tags on the highway, so people will have reminders about our blues heritage.”
Rep. Willie Bailey from District 49 was instrumental in getting the tag design approved and passed in the legislature last year, and the State Tax Commission will produce the license plates once the first 200 tags are sold. The extra fee will be $31 for this special car tag with $24 going directly to the Blues Trail marker program.
Janet Webb of Indianola, one of the newer members of the Blues Foundation, said, “When Aven Whittington, a board member from Jackson, and I saw this license plate we both had the same idea. Aven began making sure it had gone through the proper channels to be a Mississippi specialty tag, and at our last meeting the support was unanimous. We all know the marker program is preserving an important part of our state’s history, and we want to make sure the funding is in place to see that it continues.”
The State Tax Commission accepts new car tag requests twice a year. The first deadline is October 15 for the tag to be available January 2009. The next deadline is May 15 with the public seeing the plate in July 2009.
The Mississippi Blues Foundation is a support organization made up of a diverse group of business and community leaders. The role of this group is to identify and secure sources of financial and programmatic support for the work of the Mississippi Blues Commission.
Approximately 52 Blues Trail markers have been unveiled to date, and the audio/video components for the markers are in the process of being developed, which will add a new level of interest. Greenwood’s Wanda Clark, Mississippi Blues Trail Project Coordinator, said, “The Foundation’s interest in taking on this project is wonderful. Besides adding funding to this program, it will be a reminder of the blues heritage our state possesses every time someone sees the license plate.”
The application for the license plate can be found on the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola’s website. Email questions to info@indianolablues.org (website: www.indianolablues.org) or call Dr. Luther Brown at 662.846.4311 at DSU’s Delta Center for Culture and Learning. The website for the Mississippi Blues Trail is: www.msbluestrail.org.