Do you ever wonder happened to the bread?

Many native Memphians and tourist alike have memories of driving through or even close to downtown and smelling the wonderful aroma of baking bread and pastries. For 91 years this facility and its signature smell were synomous with Memphis, almost more so than bar-b-q and blues.

So when I accepted this position on the Collabortory research project of the Edge District, my first question was, 'What happened to Wonder Bread?" Then the more I thought, the more questions arose: When did the factory close its scent-producing doors for good? How many people were employed by Wonder Bread? What were their wages? Why did the factory close?

The easy part to find was the financial resons why Wonder Bread closed. According to the Memphis Business Journal, "Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January 2012 after it emerged from a previous bankruptcy in 2009. In 2012, the company reported $1.3 billion in debt and $981.6 million in assets. The debt included back taxes totaling more than $260,000 in Shelby County." Seems like a normal day in American capitalism. However, the most disturbing fact The Memphis Business Journal reported was that, "The 91-year-old Memphis Hostess facility employed 250 people, but when the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union launched a strike Nov. 9, the Irving, Texas-based company responded by shutting down and beginning the process of liquidating its assets and facilities."

91 years of history, 91 years of flirtatious smells that molded the identity of Memphis, GONE. In 60 seconds, or however may seconds it took to realize they can just close the factory instead of respecting their workers.

Outside of a few articles about money problems online, I didn't find any real information about the workers, the people, the environment, the pay, etc. I have began asking around the city to get the unheard facts of Wonder Bread. I am on a mission now to discover what happend to wonder bread and find out how Memphians felt about it.

Far too many times in Memphis we just take the short end of the stick because a corporation tells us to. From the Coliseum becoming a ghost shell, to the Pyramid becoming a giant tackle box, to Liberty Land becoming a grass plot, we have had tons of things snacthed right from us. As a Hip Hop artist and an activist in the city, I have a responsiblity to the people, hell, to myself. I must find the traces of human identity before we forget.

I embody the voice of the unheard, the under represented and unrespected. If you can't show me 15, can you at least show me some stories of how this place provided stability for Memphis families for 91 years?

As Memphis transforms via careless gentrification, economic development, and community investment we must always look to the past and see how our former selves are doing. Many times we get to a place of privilege and forget that we were once "of the people." I won't let us forget. Or at least if you do, I can remind yo ass.

Photo Credit: Joey Miller (@iamJoeyMiller)