A portrait of the Delta: enduring hope and enduring despair

Place is an integral part of human identity. Not only does place define where people are, but it also helps determine who they are. The basic methods of answering questions concerning locational features often fail to detail the relationships between one feature and another. It has become increasingly important for researchers to define and gain a deeper understanding of such characteristics. The Mississippi Delta is a land with a rich, storied history and a slow-growing, agriculturally based economy. Over the past two decades, much attention has been focused on the Mississippi Delta with its slowed population growth, deteriorating economy, low education levels, and poor health outcomes. Understanding the relationship between location and relation is key to understanding the Mississippi Delta-a place rooted with a plantation legacy left reeling with postbellum socioeconomic challenges. Although the socio-cultural and political status of the Delta is tarnished with despair, the desire to remedy the situation remains hopeful.