Published by The Natchez Democrat at 2:00 pm Sunday, June
5, 2022
The Dr. John Banks House, located at 9 St. Catherine St.,
will be the site of a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker. The house once served
as the NAACP Headquarters during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
(Submitted photo)
By Roscoe Barnes III
NATCHEZ —The Dr. John Banks House, which once served as
the headquarters for the Natchez NAACP, will be the first site of a Mississippi
Freedom Trail marker in Natchez. Approval of the designation by the Mississippi
Humanities Council and Visit Mississippi, means the city will now be listed on
the state’s Freedom Trail and the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.
News of the historic landmark recognition was announced
recently by Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of MHC. In an email dated
May 23, he wrote: “I’m pleased to share the news that the Freedom Trail
Scholars Committee has approved your application to place a marker at the Banks
House in Natchez.”
Plans are underway for a dedication and unveiling
ceremony later this year.
Devin Heath, executive director of Visit Natchez, said
Natchez’s listing on the Freedom Trail highlights the important role the city
played in the civil rights movement. “It is also an opportunity to honor and
recognize those who paved the way for us,” he said.
“Seeing Natchez approved for inclusion on the Mississippi
Freedom Trail and the U.S. Civil Rights Trail is a dream come true,” said Mayor
Dan Gibson. “From day one of our administration, we have longed for this to
happen. I am so grateful to Devin Heath and Dr. Roscoe Barnes III at Visit
Natchez, and Mr. Robert Pernell, who first dropped this idea on my desk, and
our amazing committee for making our dream a reality.”
The Mississippi Freedom Trail is part of the U.S. Civil
Rights Trail. It was created in 2011 to honor the people and places that played
a major role in the civil rights movement. A total of 25 markers are now posted
on the trail, which includes Cleveland, Ruleville, Greenwood, Holly Springs,
Clarksdale, and Jackson.
Efforts to have Natchez listed on the Freedom Trail were
led by the Natchez Civil Rights Trail Committee. In addition to Heath and
Gibson, the volunteer committee members include Roscoe Barnes III, cultural
heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez; Robert Pernell, chairman of the
Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee; Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr., pastor
of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church; Carter Burns, executive
director of Historic Natchez Foundation; Kathleen McClain Bond,
superintendent of Natchez National Historical Park; Lance S. Harris, director
of Grand Village of the Natchez Indians; Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, president of
the Natchez Adams County NAACP Branch; William Terrell, editor and publisher of
The Bluff City Post; and James Ware, president of the Natchez Business and
Civic League.
Support for the project, which is in Ward 4, also came
from Alderwoman Felicia Bridgewater-Irving, and members of Rose Hill Missionary
Baptist Church, which owns the property.
In addition to serving as the NAACP Headquarters, the
Banks House was the home of NAACP President George Metcalfe. In 1964, during
Freedom Summer when a thousand volunteers converged on the state to work with
Black Mississippians to register voters and operate Freedom schools, members of
the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
resided at the house.
In January 1965, “night riders” who committed acts of
violence at night intent on inspiring terror fired shots through a window of
the house. On Aug. 27, 1965, Metcalfe suffered serious injuries when his car
was bombed at the Armstrong Tire & Rubber plant by the Ku Klux Klan.
The posting of the Freedom Trail marker in Natchez has a
price tag of $9,000. However, it is made possible through a partnership between
Visit Mississippi and MHC. The two agencies are using federal funds through the
U.S. Economic Development Administration to cover the cost of 20 Freedom Trail
markers throughout the state.
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Visit
Mississippi to preserve and promote Mississippi’s vital civil rights history,”
said Rockoff in the May 2022 issue of the MHC newsletter. “Our hope is these
markers not only attract tourists but also strengthen our communities by
helping all Mississippians appreciate our state’s vital civil rights history.”
Roscoe Barnes III is the Cultural Heritage Tourism Manager at
Visit Natchez.
#VisitNatchez #FreedomTrail #BlackHistory #CivilRights
