The Southern Heritage Classic | #VisitMemphis

I was literally going stir crazy at home until a friend called to invite me to dinner at a beloved Houston hotspot. I love a good meal and was definitely happy at the opportunity to see the homies and have a little girl talk, so I obliged. During dinner, my friend Erika (@BlackGirlsWhoBrunch) mentioned they were going to Memphis for the Southern Heritage Classic. It’s an annual football game against two storied HBCU’s, Jackson State and Tennessee State, with two former NFL greats and Hall of Fame head coaches - Deion Sanders and Eddie George. Before Erika could even ask if I and the other girls wanted to join, we were already looking for plane tickets. Needless to say, plane tickets and hotels were booked before we even finished our meal. Follow along as I give you the rundown of who went on the trip, what we ate, where we stayed and the experiences we’ll never forget.

Due to flight demand at the time, our tickets to Memphis were pretty cheap. I’ll put it like this, my July light bill was more expensive than my flight. Fortunately, everyone in our group was on the same 90-minute Southwest flight and at the same hotel. We booked the Sheraton Memphis-Downtown which also happened to be the Jackson State team hotel. We were able to get a discount rate by booking directly through The Southern Heritage Classic’s website. Jackson State alumni had tables throughout the hotel with free school and game day swag which was an added bonus.

Travel Tip: If you are going on a trip that is for a major event like this game, book directly through the event’s website or sponsors if applicable. If we would’ve booked the room directly through Marriott or the Sheraton, our room rate would’ve been double what we actually paid!

Once we got settled at the hotel, we went down to the bar to figure out where to go. We met all types of people who were also in town for the game and gave us some great tips on where to go and what to do. The ultimate tips came from a hotel employee named Ms. Cookie who also happens to be my sorority sister. Because we had that in common, Ms. Cookie HOOKED US UP! Instead of taking expensive ride-share services all weekend, depending on where we wanted to go, Ms. Cookie advised us of the trolley that we could take that was right behind the hotel. The trolley was $1 for each trip or $2 for a day pass and ran until midnight.

Travel Tip: Talk to the hotel employees, locals, or people you might see around your hotel or attractions and ask them about places to eat and where to go. Most people are genuinely pretty receptive to these interactions and willing to share and give tips like Ms. Cookie gave us.

The first night, we headed to the famed Beale Street. We took in the sights, sounds and stopped for food at Blues City Cafe. All I have to say is that those turnip greens and catfish were *chef’s kiss*. I’d like to think that our waiter, Patrick, was so tickled with the 6 of us in our group that he even brought us a delicious brownie and ice cream for dessert! We walked off our dinner passing the famous Orpheum Theater and headed to the new Hyatt Centric hotel on Beale Street and had drinks at their new rooftop bar, Beck and Call. The rooftop provided immaculate views of downtown with very strong drinks and a very grown-up and sexy vibe.

When we decided we were going to Memphis, we knew we wanted to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. We purchased tickets in advance via their website. It goes without saying that if you are ever in Memphis, don’t walk but run to this museum. It is curated very well and details the history of black people via the transatlantic slave trade through the Black Lives Matter movement and the racial reckoning of 2020. As heartbreaking and eerie as it was to visit the Lorraine Motel and actually see the location of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, I was reminded of the advancements, resilience and creativity of black people. Even though we have come so far as a people, I was reminded of the fight we are up against every day and the National Civil Rights Museum showed me that we must not ever take that for granted.

Travel Tip: To avoid large crowds for popular attractions, try booking or reserving tickets in advance for when the attractions open or as early as possible. We booked the first tour of the day at 9am and there were only 12 people total. After finishing the museum, multiple large tour groups began to arrive.

After spending the morning at the museum, we stopped for a snack at the popular black-owned restaurant, SAGE (another Ms. Cookie recommendation). We liked it so much that we came back the next day before the game for brunch. In Houston, we turn up for brunch so we turned up like we were at home! The owner loved our energy so much that he personally came out and chatted with us and welcomed us to Memphis. SAGE is a great establishment with great food and I’m always happy to spend my money in my community. Later in the day while stopping to eat and shop, we came across former NBA and Memphis great and current University of Memphis head basketball coach, Penny Hardaway. He was so nice! Penny talked with us for a bit and took a picture. It was definitely a nice surprise and highlight of the trip.

We finally arrive at game day and we got to see the team leave the hotel and head for the stadium. We are HUGE Deion Sanders aka “Primetime” fans and were hoping to see him before the game. My cousin is a quarterback consultant with SelectQB and happened to be with the Jackson State team because he is working with their QB, Shedeur Sanders, who is also Deion’s son, so he made an introduction for some of us in the group. The game started at 6pm so we decided to go to a late tailgate around 4pm. We had the opportunity to tailgate outside of the stadium with fans from both schools and I have to say, I was impressed at the amount of people that showed up! I’ve been to many Texas Southern and Prairie View tailgates and this tailgate was much bigger than any tailgates I have attended for either of those schools. The game was FANTASTIC with over 41,000 attendees and Jackson State won! I was impartial but some members of our group are J-State alumni so we didn’t have a choice on who to root for!

Memphis was a great weekend trip that didn’t break the bank and allowed my friends and I to experience all it had to offer and participate in some fun, Black-American cultural traditions. I can’t wait until next year because this is one classic I will definitely be back for. #VisitMemphis #SouthernHeritageClassic