Not to be forgotten is the artistry of the written word created by countless authors who have compiled the rich stories of the Black Belt; the many musical genres which reflect the various interests of the region’s inhabitants – from traditional classical music to bluegrass, gospel, jazz and blues; and the many photographers who capture the region’s people, nature and landscapes. The power of both the spoken and written word created a middle ground for all citizens to cross cultural boundaries and connect with one another. White Alabama folklorist Ruby Pickens Tartt and African American folksinger Dock Reed are just one example of how the power of language either in music, literature, or photography have brought people together in the Black Belt. At the death of ethnomusicologist John Lomax in January 1948, both Tartt and Reed lost a mentor and benefactor. Both had received artistic encouragement and monetary support from Lomax. In a letter to Ruby Terrill Lomax, Tartt said she and Reed stood in the middle of the road and wept over Lomax’s death. A few days later, Reed entered the public library and asked Tartt to write Lomax’s wife to ask for a picture of Lomax for him. He explained to Tartt, “I can’t say no more now, Miss Ruby. I’ve got to get pacified somehow.”(Library of Congress, RPT to RTL February 28, 1943). Looking for a way to console Reed, Tartt remembered that in his autobiography, The Adventures of a Ballad Hunter, Lomax paid tribute to Reed. The last page of the autobiography recorded a spiritual sung by Reed to Lomax. When Tartt reached Reed’s farm, she explained that she had a message from Lomax for Reed. Although Reed was first bewildered as to how Tartt could have a message from Lomax after his death, he allowed Tartt to continue speaking. Since her friend could not read, Tartt read the words of the spiritual to him: As Tartt read, Reed hummed and then sang. Angel flew from the bottom of the pit,Gathered the sun all in her fist, Gathered the moon all ‘round her waist, Gathered the stars all under her feet, Gathered the wind all ‘round her waist, Cryin, ‘Holy Lord,’ Cryin, ‘Holy Lord.' Cryin, ‘Holy my Lord,” Cryin, ‘Holy!” Weep like a willow, moan like a dove, You can’t get to Heaven ‘thout you go by love. Finally, Reed said, “I’s pacified, Miss Ruby. Glory, glory” (Library of Congress, RPT to RTL February 12, 1948). This powerful story creates a familiar theme across the Black Belt and even for visitors to the region who find a connection to the area through its music, literature and images. For it is the music of artists such as Willie King, Vera Hall, and Hank Williams that have led people to journey to the Black Belt to hear the music that has touched their soul. As a result, scholars and music lovers alike can find more than 800 songs, from spiritual to blues, housed at the United States’ Library of Congress documenting the rich musical heritage of the area. In current venues such as the Freedom Creek Festival and the live Sucarnochee Revue radio show, the music of today’s artists continues to be cultivated and enjoyed. It is not just music, however, that reaches out to both visitors and Black Belt citizens in this way. Stories from the Black Belt have stirred the imagination and the passion of many who have stopped to read the written word. As early as the 1850s, tales from writers such as James Baldwin in Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi created images of the area that peaked people’s curiosity. To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the most powerful books written in the twentieth century, was created by the Black Belt’s own Harper Lee. Thousands of visitors each year make the pilgrimage to Monroeville, the Literary Capital of Alabama, to see scenes from this book performed live each spring on the Courthouse Square as part of the annual Alabama Writers’ Symposium. In addition, an author is honored annually with the coveted Harper Lee Award. But Lee’s words are not the only ones that challenge readers to stop and think about the world in which they live. Native sons and daughters such as William Cobb, Tom Franklin, Mary Ward Brown, Marlin Barton, Donald Stone, Norman McMillan, and Martha Young discovered that the landscapes added a richness to the stories that their characters inhabited. Even visitor F. Scott Fitzgerald found his creative muse, Zelda, in the Black Belt. In the twentieth and in to the twenty-first century, photographic images from the Black Belt have made their way across the nation. The book, Let us Now Praise Famous Men, with its haunting images, continues to be familiar to a large audience. For more than 40 years, the photography of William Christenberry has documented the region with images not easily forgotten once one leaves the gallery or closes the cover of his books. It is in these images, words, and songs that these artists discover ways in which to unravel the complexities of the Black Belt and share it with the world.