By Robert Pernell
Chairman, Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee
Chairman, Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee
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| Chairman Robert Pernell Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee |
On behalf of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument
Committee, I want to thank the community for its participation in our public
meeting that was held Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Natchez Convention
Center.
We are especially grateful to Mayor Dan Gibson, a
committee member, and Kathleen Bond, superintendent of Natchez National
Historical Park, who gave generous donations at the meeting. We offer thanks to
the members of the Natchez Board of Aldermen and the Adams County Board of
Supervisors who attended the meeting, and to the management team of the Natchez
Convention Center.
A special debt of gratitude is owed to our local and
regional news media for their coverage of the meeting. Additionally, I should note
that I am deeply proud of the contributions of our committee and the staff of
the city of Natchez who worked diligently to make this meeting a success.
As noted in press reports, the committee is working to
create a monument that will honor and bear the names of more than 3,000 African
American men who served with the U.S. Colored Troops at Fort McPherson in
Natchez. The names will include the Navy servicemen who were born in Natchez.
The meeting, which was held to gather public input on the
monument project, drew 80 people in attendance. This number includes 60 people
who came in person and 20 who attended virtually. The attendees provided
suggestions and ideas that are invaluable to our cause, and for that we are
grateful.
This monument, we believe, will be a place of reverence,
pride, and honor that will help to tell many untold stories about Natchez's
past.
As we move forward with this historic project, we aim to
be transparent and informative as we share updates about our efforts.
Even though the meeting is now past, we are still
collecting feedback via email and on Facebook. To this end, we have created a
Facebook page that we encourage you to follow. It is "Natchez U.S. Colored
Troops (USCT) Monument Committee -- Natchez, MS." You may visit the page at this link:
Sincerely,
Robert Pernell, Chairman
The Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee
The Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee
#NatchezUSCT #VisitNatchez #NatchezColoredTroops
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