George Messenger grew up in the pool hall that his father owned and operated in the heart of the New World District in Clarksdale, a historically black cultural center south of the Illinois Line railroad tracks. Messenger recalls wild dice games and performances by many of the legendary blues and soul artists inside the low-slung brick building on Fourth Street. At one time, Clarksdale was the capital of the cotton trade in the North Delta and a major stop on the chitlin circuit. “They used to walk these streets,” Messenger said proudly of Clarksdale’s past music innovators and personalities. Now those same streets are barren. Across from Messenger’s Pool Hall sits a pile of brick rubble and the words “Bad boyz make money” spray-painted on the only wall left standing. Times are hard, but George Messenger is still hanging on. His pool hall is the oldest continually running business in Clarksdale.