The Room

• Rental Hall Events and Concert Facility
• Johnny “Bootsie” Morrow’s Museum
• 421 W. Woodrow Wilson Boulevard Jackson MS 39213     

If you traveled one block west of what is known as Five Points in Jackson, Mississippi, you would have seen a building that once served as an industrial uniform operation with “swinging doors that never closed.” When the facility was in operation, approximately 126 women worked around the clock on any given day. The operation was known as a “slave ship.” An incredible history lived in the hallows of this building reflecting the plight of washerwomen and schoolchildren who would work to get the job done. The history of washerwomen dating back to 1866 across the United States represented low wages and long hours. The working conditions in industrial uniform laundries were such that it led to disease and mistreatment, leaving the women in Jackson and other places no other recourse than to form labor unions to fight against the oppression. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/black-women-in-the-labor-movement.  Driving west on Woodrow Wilson Boulevard, one might easily pass by what is no longer known as the washer women’s laundry workplace. A reference to the laundry service on the front of the building is a sign that reads “The Room.” The building does not look like a public facility, and it is not! It was a compound that housed an incredible number of collectibles. Even though some of the most well-known individuals have graced the facility, it was a well-kept secret. You saw two warehouse buildings on the compound once you parked your car inside the gate. The museum was housed in those buildings. The owner was Johnny Morrow. 

   Who was Johnny Morrow? He was the first African American car wholesaler in the state of Mississippi. He appraised cars. Morrow drove an old “raggedy” Cadillac, and he was once known as the #1 car wholesaler in the state (black or white). He “took over”! Morrow’s antique vehicles have been seen in films such as – Selma, The Help, and Mississippi Burning. Most recently, his vehicles were used in a new movie called Jacob’s Wife. Filmmakers knew Morrow and enjoyed using his building for after-parties as well.

   Morrow obtained a bus instrumental in policing activities during the Civil Rights era. When the Smithsonian Institute found out he had it, they wanted it. The bus was “the greatest bus in the history of Mississippi,” according to Morrow. People got it confused with the Thompson Tank. The state’s governors controlled his bus, Mobile Unit 735, which served under five governors. When James Meredith tried to attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), this bus blocked the gates. This was the bus that went to Jackson State University (JSU) when students were killed during the Civil Rights Movement and the bus that took Stokely Carmichael to jail in Greenwood. It has a deep, dark history. According to the folks wanting to get it back from Morrow, the bus’s history included being used during hurricanes and storms, catching escaped prisoners, and other emergency support activities. Ross Barnett had a lot to do with the bus that traveled all over the state during the Civil Rights Movement. When Martin Luther King spoke at Tougaloo College, the 1950 bus was parked out in the field and had an antenna that rose 100 feet in the air. The Mississippi Highway Patrol archives house a large area reflecting on that history and paperwork documenting the activities of the bus. Morrow said he would do almost anything to get his hands on that paperwork, which tells the story of the “movement” in Mississippi. Someone broke into Morrow’s museum a few years ago and set the bus on fire. He believes they set it on fire because of the Smithsonian’s desire to acquire the bus. He thinks they knew about the new Civil Rights Museum building and must have figured that the bus would probably go on display at the new museum. They did not want that history explored and used gasoline to ignite a fire to destroy the bus. However, because it was made of iron, it was not destroyed.  Still, the surveillance equipment, which was way ahead of its time, burned inside the bus. Congressman Bennie Thompson tried to get Morrow to donate the bus to the Civil Rights Museum. To this date, most whites do not know that the bus even exists.

  Morrow’s office housed sports player memorabilia. He knew every basketball and football player he displayed on his wall’s ‘hall of fame.’ He knew many NFL and NBA ball players and worked with the chapter of Mississippi’s former and retired players. 

   When the museum opened, you could walk into the warehouse to the right and immediately engage in an experiential tour rivaling any public museum, noticing first thing the nightclub atmosphere. The room is the size of a half football field with 10-15 two-seater leather recliners on one side of the room and tables painted with well-known Civil Rights activists on the other side. Those tables were painted by “a homeless man who stopped by one day in hopes of securing gainful employment.” This talented folk artist painted Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Stokely Carmichael, James Meredith, and others. 

   James Meredith visited the facility, and Morgan Freeman was a “dear” friend. A wet bar and casino machines were jingling and ready for monetary consumption, but they were collectibles. In the far corner, hanging on the wall, were authentic African face masks. The owner, Johnny “Bootsie” Morrow, was always ready to take you on a tour. The facility was well-curated, and each area was thematic. When he met you, he’d say, “Hello. What you see right now is a sampling of all we have here. You ain’t seen nothing yet!” The facility was impressive! A film projection on the west wall was the size of a movie theatre screen. The word “Bootsie” lit up in red capital letters along another wall. The sign was large, close to the size of a four-door sedan car. Johnny Morrow would always have a film running throughout the tour. He could be seen on the screen narrating the history of Jackson, Mississippi. 

   During his garage sale hunting journeys, Morrow had been fortunate enough to stumble onto some incredible “finds.” He was clear about the recipe that made his collection successful: going to garage sales. He said that when an older adult dies, the family sells everything at estate or garage sales, and Morrow comes around and purchases all the good stuff. He would find great treasures that way. There is a section with posters from every major Mississippi festival. Although he inventoried his collection, he was not an accurate historian. 

   Morrow was an entrepreneur. He offered a VIP pickup with his antique cars: B.B. King, Morgan Freeman, Mohammed Ali, Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton (when he spoke at Tougaloo College), and others have hired his cars for limousine service for the film industry (in Canton). When the movie The Help was being filmed, the industry contacted Morrow to see if his cars could be used in the film. Dan Ackroyd has been to his place to chill out with filmmaker Tate Taylor. They called it a “cool out” spot. When the movie “Get On Up” (a film about the life of James Brown) was being filmed, the film industry used Morrow’s cars. He was always fortunate that the industry would call on him when a film was being produced in Mississippi that reflected the period of one of his antique cars. 

   Morrow also had the car that was used in the movie Caddy Shack. Some of Morrow’s cars included a 1968 Silver Shadow, a rare vehicle. 1966 Corniche Rolls Royce Convertible, 944 Porsche, SL450 Jaguar, 560 Mercedes. Morrow even had a car that was part of the motorcade for President Kennedy when he was assassinated. It was found at a service station going out of business in Texas. His cousin saw it and called to see if he wanted to buy it. When they checked the VIN, they learned that the president formerly owned the car, and the VIN was registered in Texas. He also had a 1901 Oldsmobile. Morrow had many of his vehicles for at least 20-25 years. 

   The privately owned museum had the first McDonald’s statue in the state. A section displayed gospel music and gospel musicians dating back to the 1800s. He had an elevator that came out of the King Edward Hotel. The 930 Blues Club, which is now closed, found a home for its’ signage at the museum. There was a section celebrating the history of the blues in Jackson. There was a picture of the young Jackson Five and Michael Jackson when he was five years old taken when they came to Jackson, Mississippi.

   In another section of the museum, you could find old cotton sacks and a representative display of times gone by. There was a collection of old-fashioned latrine toilets and room displays with lanterns, chests, pictures, wash buckets, an old-fashioned icebox, ice cream makers, slave shackles, cotton sacks, and brown cotton from African seeds. There was an incredible 8-track and album collection, reel to reel, a section of cowboy/western memorabilia, and an entire collection of jet magazines.

   Johnny Morrow’s vast collection of antiques and memorabilia was auctioned after his death.