Dr. Gross presented her lecture on “Erasing Slavery” at Tuesday’s meeting (May 28, 2024) of the Natchez Historical Society at the Historic Natchez Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St.
The interview begins at 17:23. Please visit this link:
 |
| Retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith and his wife, Jackie, center, display the Quilt of Valor. It was presented to him on May 21 by the Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation. The couple is joined by Juliette Cassagne, left, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR, and Deborah Springer, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. – Retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith is a recent recipient of the Quilt of Valor awarded by the Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
The Natchez Chapter NSDAR recognized Smith for his
military service and sacrifice at a ceremony held Tuesday, May 21, at Miss-Lou
Military Museum and Veteran’s Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd.
“I am honored and grateful to receive this award from the
[Natchez Chapter] Daughters of the American Revolution,” Smith said after
the ceremony. “During my years of military service, I occasionally received the
odd medal or ribbon for this or that, but never for patriotism. They are so
very kind to consider me worthy of the distinction. I thank them from the
bottom of my heart.”
Deborah Springer, who chairs the Natchez Chapter NSDAR
Service for Veterans committee, said the award presented to Smith carries a
three-part message: “We thank you for your service, for your willingness to lay
down your life for our country. We thank you for your sacrifice in serving our
nation, [and] we hope your quilt provides healing, peace and comfort.”
Smith was nominated for the award by G. Mark LaFrancis, president of the Home with Heroes Foundation Inc., that operates the military museum. LaFrancis is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served for 27 years. His wife, Eileen, along with Smith’s wife, Jackie, attended the Tuesday afternoon ceremony.
 |
| The Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, recently honored retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith with the Quilt of Valor. Deborah Springer, left, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee, presented the quilt in a May 21 ceremony at the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veteran's Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd. She was joined by Juliette Cassagne, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR. |
The Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, recently honored retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith with the Quilt of Valor. Deborah Springer, left, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee, presented the quilt in a May 21 ceremony at the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veteran’s Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd. She was joined by Juliette Cassagne, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR.
Smith served almost three decades in the U. S. Army, from
Cold War Europe in the 1980s to the Global War on Terror in India, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Maldives.
When Smith joined the Army in 1983, he began as a private
and rose through the ranks to become a sergeant, as well as a company and field
grade officer. In addition to serving as a military policeman, he served in the
Chemical Corps, in Air Defense, and Military Intelligence. He was “assigned to
storied units like the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the
4th Infantry Division,” Smith wrote in his personal biography.
Before his retirement, he served as a foreign area
officer. He also served as chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Nepal.
He later worked with the U.S. Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo,
Sri Lanka.
A native of Savanna, Ill., Smith and his wife moved to
Natchez in 2021.
In Springer’s remarks about the award, she said the
quilts represent healing. She noted the mission of the Quilts of Valor
Foundation is to “cover service members and veterans touched by war with
comforting and healing.”
Springer said the foundation began in 2003 with a dream
by Catherine Roberts whose son was deployed in Iraq. Since then, the
organization has awarded more than 300,000 quilts, she said.
According to the foundation’s website, Roberts’ dream was
a literal dream. Roberts recalled:
“The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man
sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The
permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons
clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter.
“Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene
wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of
hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my
dream was: Quilts = Healing.”
From this dream, Roberts said, she was inspired to have
volunteers “donate their time and materials to make a quilt.”
See more at this link:
https://listenupyall.com/2024/05/29/army-veteran-larry-smith-honored-with-quilt-of-valor/
Certificate of Recognition presented for her leadership and preservation work
By Roscoe Barnes III
 |
| Mayor Dan Gibson honored Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, with a Certificate of Recognition on Friday, May 24, at City Hall. From left are Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez; Carter Burns, director of Historic Natchez Foundation; Mayor Dan Gibson; Katie Blount, MDAH director; and Valencia Hall, Ward 1 Alderwoman. |
Opal Lee, left, who is known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," is pictured with Natchez native Princess Karen Chatman at the 2023 Inspired Women's Luncheon in Arlington, Texas. In early May 2024, President Biden honored Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday in 2021.
NATCHEZ, Miss. — A full slate of Juneteenth 2024
programs will be celebrated this year throughout Natchez. The events will
include music, tours, food, museum exhibitions, local government meeting, and a
Civil War encampment, among other activities.
Juneteenth, which is short for “June 19th,” is one of the
oldest known holidays commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
“Though the emancipation of enslaved people of African
descent in the Natchez area began in force with the arrival of Union forces in
July 1863, our national holiday to celebrate that newly found freedom is held
each year on June 19th – acknowledging when the news of the end of the Civil
War arrived in Texas,” said Jeff Mansell, Lead Historian of the Natchez
National Historical Park.
This year’s programs in Natchez will include the
following:
Melrose Through the Labor of Others: the McMurrans as Enslavers
June 10 – June 30
Beginning on June 10, and continuing throughout the month
of June, a temporary exhibit in the Melrose slave quarters will provide
additional information on the McMurran family and those people they held in
bondage. It will include the currently known names of nearly 400 people
enslaved by the McMurrans at Melrose and five plantations. This exhibit can be
viewed free of charge every day between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Aldermen Meeting at NAPAC Museum
Tuesday, June 11, 11 a.m.
In June each year, the Natchez Mayor and Board of
Aldermen Meeting is held at the NAPAC museum, which is dedicated to presenting
the history and culture of African Americans in not only Natchez but the
entirety of the southern United States. This is an annual tradition started in
June 2021. The meeting starts at 11 a.m. at 301 Main St.
Kick-Back at NAPAC
Thursday, June 13, 6 p.m.
This is a special event held by the City of Natchez and
NAPAC Museum that honors citizens and businesses for their contributions to
Natchez. The event is held at the museum. The public is encouraged to come and
see the many wonderful artifacts displayed at the museum. Refreshments will be
served. The program will be held at the museum at 301 Main St. For more
information, call Bobby Dennis, the museum’s executive director, at
601-445-0728.
Natchez Welcomes Mississippi 3rd U.S. Colored
Cavalry
Thursday, June 13, all day
Re-enactors for the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry will
ride into Natchez and set up camp on the Bluff, where they will engage the
public and talk about the Cavalry’s history. The event is organized by Ser
Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley. He said the encampment is open to the
public. It’s expected to include 200 to 300 participants. For more information,
call Ser Boxley at 601-442-4719.
Natchez Day of Unity
Friday, June 14, (location to be determined)
The City of Natchez will hold its fifth annual Day of
Unity event, the continuation of a tradition begun by former Natchez Mayor
Darryl Grennell during the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd incident. “Now
held every June to coincide with Flag Day, this tradition has now become an
integral part of the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration and is held at a
rotating location every year,” said Mayor Dan Gibson. The time and location for
this year’s event will be announced soon.
“We celebrate harmony with both song and spoken word,”
said Gibson. “One of my favorite parts of this event is when the sounding of
the bells of churches throughout the city ring out as a reminder that we are
all children of God made uniquely in His image.”
The Juneteenth Extravaganza
Friday, June 14, 7 p.m.
This special event will celebrate Juneteenth through the
music of several prominent blue artists at the Natchez City Auditorium. In
addition to Melodic Princess, from Fayette, the list of artists will include LJ
Echols, Avail Hollywood, OB Buchanan, and DJ Mario. Elias Lover III will serve
as host. Carol Smith, owner of The Postal Shoppe, is spearheading the event,
which she plans to hold each year. She said the performances offer a good mix
of current and older blues artists, such as those who played during the Tyrone
Davis era. Tickets are $40 for general admission. Presale cost is $30 until May
1. VIP tables that seat eight people are $400 per table. Doors open at 7 p.m.
and the show starts at 8 p.m. For more information, call Carol Smith at
214-551-9858 or 601-653-0490.
1st Annual Juneteenth Cheeseburger Challenge Cook-Off
Friday, June 14, 3-7 p.m.
97.7 FM and 1240 AM will kick off Juneteenth weekend with
the first ever Cheeseburger Challenge on the Bluff. Five to 10 teams will
compete head-to-head to see who makes the absolute best cheeseburger. Teams
will grill live on-site in downtown Natchez between 3 and 7 p.m. Judging will
take place at 5 p.m. WTYJ and WMIS will broadcast live on site with D.J. Buzz
providing the soundtrack for the event. The contest will take place on N.
Broadway St., in front of the Natchez Grand Hotel. Grand prizes include $400
for First Place, $200 for Second Place and “Bragging Rights.” This event is
held by New Vision Broadcasting in partnership with the City of Natchez. For
more information, contact Malcolm Innis at info@newvisionbroadcasting.com or
by calling 601-442-2522.
Juneteenth Travel in Time Spring Fling
Saturday, June 15, 10-1 p.m.
NAACP in conjunction with area businesses will host its
Community Carnival at the Concord Quarters. The event will combine fun, games
and education for area youth. “It will, among other things, look to provide a
fun and engaging environment to teach children the history of Juneteenth and
why it is important,” said organizer Malcolm Innis, owner of New Vision
Broadcasting. Community Carnival is held by New Vision Broadcasting in
partnership with the City of Natchez. For more information, contact Malcolm Innis
at info@newvisionbroadcasting.com or
by calling 601-442-2522.
1st Annual Choir Showcase
Sunday, June 16, 3-7 p.m.
The first annual Juneteenth Choir Competition featuring
five of the area’s “best choirs” will be held in recognition of Juneteenth in
the Natchez City Auditorium. The event will showcase five area churches in a
competition to see which choir will be awarded a cash prize and selected as the
1st Annual Juneteenth Choir Competition winner. Grand prizes will include
$1,000 for First Place and $250 for Second Place. The Choir Showcase is held by
97.7 FM and 1240 AM in partnership with the City of Natchez. For more
information, contact Malcolm Innis at info@newvisionbroadcasting.com or
by calling 601-442-2522.
Melrose Juneteenth Luminary
Wednesday, June 19th, 7:30 p.m.
In commemoration of the Juneteenth holiday, Natchez
National Historical Park will present a luminary on the front lawn at the
Melrose estate at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 19th, at #1 Melrose-Montebello
Parkway, Natchez. This grand illumination will be held in remembrance of the
nearly 700 enslaved people who involuntarily labored at Melrose and on the
associated cotton plantations of John and Mary Louisa McMurran.
The Melrose front gate will close at 5:00 p.m. that day
and reopen at 7:30 p.m. Visitors are asked to park in the main parking
lot and walk to the lower portion of the front lawn where an area will be set
aside specifically for solemn reflection. The public is encouraged to bring
lawn chairs and flashlights, as it will be dark. The observation will conclude
at 9:30, and the gates will close at 10:00 p.m. For more information,
visit www.nps.gov/natc
Melrose Juneteenth Tours
Wednesday, June 19th
Throughout the day on Wednesday, June 19th, the staff of
the Natchez National Historical Park will provide tours of the Melrose mansion
at #1 Melrose-Montebello Parkway, Natchez, that focus on the African American
experience. The tours will highlight what is known about the enslaved men,
women, and children who lived and labored at the estate as well as the system
of slavery in this region that made such extravagant homes possible. Melrose
house tours take place seven days a week at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2
p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. The cost for adults is $11.00 while children 15 and
under are free. Tour tickets can be purchased at Melrose or online in advance
at Recreation.gov.
For more information, visit www.nps.gov/natc
Juneteenth African American Tours
Entire month of June
Special tours focusing on African American history are
offered in June in recognition of Juneteenth. They’re led by Rev’s Country
Tours who tells the dramatic and significant stories of African Americans in
Natchez. For more information, call 601-807-5337.
 |
| Karla Brown of Downtown Karla Brown and her volunteers visit Natchez National Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor military service members by placing flowers on their graves. Flags are placed on the graves by the Natchez National Cemetery staff and volunteers. (Photo courtesy of Karla Brown) |
Commemorative programs will be held in Natchez and
Vidalia.
These programs include a fundraising dinner, patriotic
ceremonies and the placing of flags and flowers on the graves of those who died
in military service.
These events, which will start on Friday, will lead to
the 158th Annual Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade set for Monday, May 27.
Friday, May 24
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, May 24, Point Man
International Ministries will serve jambalaya plate lunches at 270 Front St.
These plates are a fundraiser for the Cost of Freedom Tribute Memorial that will be built on the Vidalia riverfront. The cost per plate is $15.
The VFW Post 9573 will provide the food preparation. The
event is organized by Army Vietnam veteran Douglas McCallister.
As noted in the March 3, story in The Natchez Democrat,
the memorial will “be an 80 percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., 360 feet long and 8 feet tall at the apex,
except the memorial would include the names of casualties and tributes to those
involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, World War I and World War II and Korean
wars in addition to Vietnam.”
McCallister said Memorial Day is a special time of the year: “It is a time that we might consider that you haven’t lived until you’ve almost died. And for those who fought for it – freedom – they have a flavor the protected will never know.”
The public may also visit the Miss-Lou Military Museum
and Veteran’s Welcome Center from 9 to 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The museum is located at 107 Jefferson Davis
Blvd. Admission to the museum is free to the public.
Saturday, May 25
Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 25, the Natchez National
Cemetery will honor military service members by placing flags on each of their
graves.
This is an annual tradition that is done with the help of
volunteers through the cemetery’s Pre-Memorial Day Program, said Caleb Ray,
cemetery technician.
Volunteers typically consist of groups from the Natchez
Fire Department, Girl Scouts, Natchez High School’s AF JROTC and the Adam
County Sheriff Office Trustees, all of whom are supervised by the cemetery
staff, Ray said.
Charlotte Taylor, the assistant director of the
Mississippi National Cemetery Complex at Natchez, said that after Memorial Day,
volunteers will be needed to retrieve the flags on Saturday, June 1, beginning
at 8 a.m.
Also on Saturday, at 11 a.m., a Memorial Day ceremony
will be held at 270 Front St. in Vidalia to honor the 13 U.S. service members
killed in action in Afghanistan during the United States’ pullout from the
country. Retired Army Sgt. Major Kasie King of Jonesville, La., will be the
guest speaker, according to McCallister.
Monday, May 27
For several years now, Karla Brown of Downtown Karla
Brown has visited the Natchez National Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor
military service members by placing flowers on their graves.
She will do it this year at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27
and she is looking for volunteers to assist her.
“I buy up all the flowers at Walmart and the grocery
stores,” she said. “I put them in a bucket full of water and early the next
morning, I put one flower in front of the graves. I don’t have enough flowers
to do every grave. It would be a wonderful dream to put a flower on every
grave.”
In a recent Facebook post, Brown said that each year she
would place the flowers “very randomly” on the graves until she ran out. “I
just always made sure I covered all the wars and all the branches of services,”
she wrote.
When people learned of her project, they donated “buckets
of flowers,” and some of them served as volunteers, Brown said.
One of the volunteers in 2023 included Harper Willis of
Girl Scout Troop 3745.
She noted that she and her volunteers, some of whom are
veterans, are careful to not rush through the cemetery. “We put the flowers in
front of the graves and stand back,” she said. “We look at the grave and
reflect on the person and their service to our country before we move on to the
next grave.”
For Brown, it is important to start early on Memorial Day
because of the many activities scheduled for the cemetery on that day.
“We set the flowers at the graves very early in the
morning, at 6:30am,” she said. “Yes, it might be early, but can you honestly
think of a better way to start Memorial Day off than by setting a beautiful
flower or rose in front of a veterans grave early in the morning? I
can’t.”
Anyone interested in assisting Brown as a volunteer or
who wishes to make a donation for the purchase of flowers may contact her at
907-540-0001.
The Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade will be held Monday, May
27. The lineup will begin at 8 a.m. at Zion Baptist Church at 601 Magnolia
Street in Vidalia.
At 9 a.m., the parade will start at the foot of the
Louisiana side of the bridge. It will proceed across the bridge to the Natchez
Visitor Center at 640 S. Canal St. and from there to the Natchez National
Cemetery at 41 Cemetery Road, where the 11 a.m. ceremony will be held.
Read more at: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2024/05/21/memorial-day-weekend-programs-announced-for-natchez-and-vidalia/
 |
| Mayor Dan Gibson and the staff of Visit Natchez recently celebrated the changing of the key to the historic Depot on the Bluff. The city conveyed the key to Visit Natchez for the southern part of the building that is now the new visitor center. It is officially known as Visit Natchez at the Depot. From left are Curtis Maroney, Ward 6 Alderman; Jessica Cauthen and Mallory Meng of Visit Natchez; Mayor Dan Gibson; Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez, and Jawana Lowe, also of Visit Natchez; and Valencia Hall, Ward 1 Alderwoman. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The City of Natchez and Visit Natchez kicked off National Travel and Tourism Week Monday, May 20, with a special ceremony in which Mayor Dan Gibson conveyed the keys to the historic Depot on the Bluff to the staff of Visit Natchez.
The facility, which will serve as the new visitor center,
is officially named, Visit Natchez at the Depot.
“We’re so excited to get into this beautiful building….,”
said Lynsey Gilbert, interim director for Visit Natchez. “We know that the
community has really wanted another central location for visitors, and we’re
really happy to provide that, and not only invite them here, but welcome them
when they get here. We’re just really thankful to everyone who was
involved in this project.”
Visit Natchez will operate the south side of the facility
as the new visitor center on the Bluff at 200 N. Broadway St., with plans to
open on Tuesday, May 28. As for the north end of the building, the mayor said
the Board of Alderman has approved a proposal to make it part of the Natchez
Convention Center.
Gibson said the Depot is a beautiful place that people have loved and cherished for many years. “We are excited that we are one step closer to having our new downtown Visitor Center right here at the Depot, thanks to a lot of hard work,” Gibson said, as he acknowledged the work of Mark Carter of Wilmar Construction and Johnny Waycaster of Waycaster Dungan Architecture and Engineering.
 |
| Visit Natchez Interim Director Lynsey Gilbert received the key to the historic Depot and a City Proclamation from Mayor Dan Gibson on Monday, May 20. The Depot is the new visitor center that is now officially known as the Visit Natchez at the Depot. |
The mayor was joined by Ward 6 Alderman Curtis Maroney and Ward 1 Alderwoman Valencia Hall. In addition to Gilbert, the Visit Natchez staff included, Jessica Cauthen, marketing manager; Mallory Meng, community and programs manager; Jawana Lowe, administrative assistant and receptionist; and Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager.
Other attendees included Bobby Dennis, director of NAPAC
museum; Ashleigh Johnson, Miss Hospitality; Kevin Miers, the new director of
Downtown Natchez Alliance; and Norma West, who serves as treasurer for the
downtown organization.
“It’s great to see what was once a vacant building now
being repurposed for such a great purpose and that is to become our new Visitor
Center right here in downtown Natchez,” Gibson said. “We will have a
ribbon-cutting soon.”
During the ceremony, Gibson presented a Proclamation for
National Travel and Tourism Week, which lasted from Sunday, May 19 to Saturday,
May 25. According to Visit Natchez, the week is a time of celebration “that
underscores travel’s essential role in driving the nation’s economy,
cultivating vibrant communities and forging connections.”
Gibson agreed, saying tourism is very important to
Natchez.
Reading from the Proclamation, he noted: “Tourism has for
many years been a driving force in the City of Natchez, keeping our economy
going even during hard times for almost 100 years.” Because of the growing
number of people who visit Natchez each year, Natchez, on a per capita basis,
is the top performing tourism destination of any small city in our region, he
said.
Gibson also made an announcement about funding approved
for the city. He said Natchez has been awarded a $362,000 grant funded by the
Mississippi Legislature. The money is being appropriated through the
Mississippi Main Street Association, he said.
“That $362,000 is going to allow us to transform this
plaza and even the property behind us, and we will therefore be making great
strides toward realizing our downtown master plans and ambitions for this
property,” Gibson said.
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge) |
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
The Natchez Historical Society is so fortunate to have Dr. Ariela Gross as the guest speaker for its May 28 meeting. She will speak about “Erasing Slavery – How Stories of Slavery and Freedom (in Natchez) Shape Battles Over the Constitution,” which is the topic of her forthcoming book.
Gross is a distinguished professor of Law at the UCLA
School of Law. Come out to hear her presentation. The program will begin with a
social at 5:30 p.m. and her presentation at 6 p.m. at the Historic Natchez
Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St., in Natchez. It is free and open to the
public. Members and Non-members are invited.
Gross is the author of the following titles:
“Becoming Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in
Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana” with Alejandro de la Fuente” (Cambridge
University Press, 2020)
“What Blood Won’t Tell: A History of Race on Trial in
America” (Harvard University Press, 2008)
“Double Character: Slavery and Mastery in the Antebellum
Southern Courtroom” (Princeton University Press, 2000).
Come and bring a friend!
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
The Descendants of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori and the Elders from Timbo, Guinea, in West Africa, recently visited Hartford, Conn., the home of Thomas Gallaudet (1787-1851). Gallaudet, the developer of American Sign Language, assisted Ibrahima in raising money for his return home.
Today, (May 16, 2024), the delegation is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., where Ibrahima briefly stayed and gained the support of President John Quincy Adams.
Mayor Dan Gibson joined the group in Hartford and he plans to be with them in Washington.
A story about the Hartford visit was published Tuesday, May 14, 2024, by the Record-Journal/CT Insider. See the story at this link:
https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/guinea-princess-asd-19454790.php
File photo of the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade.
Courtesy of William Terrell/The Bluff City Post
(Click on image to enlarge.)
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Everything is on track for the
158th Annual Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade, according to Laura Ann Jackson, who
chairs the Committee for the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade. She said the
long-running event will be a memorable experience for local residents and
visitors.
“This event is an important part of Natchez and Vidalia
history,” Jackson said. “It’s part of our heritage. It’s our way of honoring
our military service members, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice
in defense of our country.”
The parade will take place on Monday, May 27. It is known for having long lines of participants – sometimes in the hundreds — marching from Vidalia, across the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, and to the Natchez National Cemetery at 41 Cemetery Road, where a ceremony is held. The site for the ceremony is on the west side of the cemetery overlooking the river front.
File photo of ceremony at the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade.
Courtesy of James Theres
(Click on image to enlarge.)
“This year, we’re going strong and we’re going to have special guests from out of town that include a church group from Chicago,” Jackson said.
Jackson noted this year’s guests will include filmmaker
James Theres, the executive producer and director of the film, “The 30th of
May” (2016). Theres described the film as the “amazing, untold story of an
African American Memorial Day tradition in the Deep South that dates back to
the end of the Civil Ward.”
“I look forward to coming back to Natchez and
participating in the 30th of May celebration, one of the longest-running,
consecutive Memorial Day observances in the country,” said Theres. “It’s a
tradition like no other dating back to the end of the civil war.”
Williams Terrell, publisher and editor of The Bluff City
Post, has covered the parade for more than 30 years. He said it is an event
that “you just have to see.”
“People come from everywhere,” he said. “Some come all
the way from Seattle, Washington, to walk over that bridge. That is really
something to see and experience.”
This year, Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten and the
Rev. Louis Banks, pastor of Union Baptist Church, Vidalia, will serve as grand
marshals. Banks is also a member of the American Legion Post 590 in Vidalia,
said Jackson.
The ceremony
The ceremony at the cemetery will start at 11 a.m. and will last for one hour. Jackson will serve as the master of ceremonies. The program will feature retired Army Sgt. Linda McClure of Alexandria as the guest speaker. She will be introduced by her husband, retired Army Lt. Col. Jeff McClure.
File photo of marching band at the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade.
Courtesy of James Theres
(Click on image to enlarge.)
The Natchez High School AF JROTC will present the colors, followed by Nolan Cubie, who will lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Charlotte Taylor, the assistant director of the Mississippi National Cemetery Complex at Natchez, will give the Welcome.
The program will include solo performances by Mayor Dan
Gibson and 2019 Cathedral High School graduate Damira McGruder. Jackson said
McGruder is a pre-med biology student at the University of Southern Mississippi
in Hattiesburg, where she plans to graduate this year.
A Memorial Day Band musical solo will be presented by
Caymond Riley of the Elnora Riley Group in Vidalia.
“The late Ms. Elnora Riley had been part of this program
since I was a child,” said Jackson. “She was a member of the Women’s Relief
Corps.”
“Taps” will be performed by Master Sgt. Wilbert
Washington, director of the AF JROTC. Taylor will give the Closing Remarks.
Parade route
Jackson outlined the parade route as follows:
The lineup will begin at 8 a.m. at Zion Baptist Church at 601 Magnolia Street in Vidalia. At 9 a.m., the parade will start at the foot of the Louisiana side of the bridge. It will proceed across the bridge to the Natchez Visitor Center at 640 S. Canal St., where the participants will stop for a 30-minute break.
File photo of the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade.
Courtesy of William Terrell/The Bluff City Post
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Shuttles will be available at the Visitor Center and cemetery.
From the Visitor Center, the participants will proceed
north on Canal to Franklin Street. At Franklin, they will move along to Pearl
Street and from Pearl to Oak Street. From Oak, they will proceed to Maple
Street and then travel north to Cemetery Road.
Committee members working with Jackson to organize the
procession include Douglas McCallister, Dorothy Sanders, Renard Chatman, and
Nathaniel Williams.
For more information, call Laura Ann Jackson at
601-446-9052.
See more at this link:
 |
| Dr. Ariela Gross, distinguished professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, will talk about slavery and its impact on the rule of law at the Tuesday, May 28 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. – Dr. Ariela Gross, distinguished professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, will talk about slavery and its impact on the rule of law at the Tuesday, May 28 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society.
The meeting is free to the public and will be held at the
Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., in Natchez. It will begin
with a social at 5:30 p.m. and Gross’ presentation at 6 p.m. Gross’ lecture is
titled, “Erasing Slavery – How Stories of Slavery and Freedom (in Natchez)
Shape Battles Over the Constitution.”
Gross said she has spent a significant amount of time
doing research in Natchez.
“Just as monuments and plantation tours have presented a
version of history that erased the experience of slavery and Black agency in
ending slavery — and as many legislatures are trying to erase slavery and
racism from the teaching of US history, the Supreme Court has tried to erase
slavery from the memory of the Constitution,” she said.
“By putting slavery in the deep past and portraying
freedom as a gift from white people to Black people, they deny the continuing
legacies of slavery and the responsibility to redress them,” she noted. “I’m
trying to make the connections between the way we are telling these histories
in local culture and politics in places like Natchez, and how history is
shaping our constitutional law.”
Alan Wolf, who serves as a director of the society and
its program chair, said Gross is one of the nation’s most accomplished and
respected scholars of legal history.
“Dr. Gross will describe how disputed narratives we tell
about slavery and emancipation, for example through monuments, memorials,
films, novels, and tourist sites, shape the environment in which Constitutional
law is determined,” Wolf said.
As a professor, Gross teaches Contract Law,
Constitutional Law, Enslavement and Racialization in U.S. Legal History and
other courses on race and legal history. She is “a legal historian whose
scholarship focuses on the ways race, racism, and slavery have shaped law,
politics, and culture in the Americas,” according to her online bio.
Gross is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law
School. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy at Stanford University. She has
served as a visiting professor at Stanford Law School, Tel Aviv University, and
Kyoto University, among others.
In addition to being a well-respected professor, Gross is
a prolific writer. The list of books that she has authored includes “Becoming
Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana”
with Alejandro de la Fuente” (Cambridge University Press, 2020); “What Blood
Won’t Tell: A History of Race on Trial in America” (Harvard University Press,
2008); and “Double Character: Slavery and Mastery in the Antebellum Southern
Courtroom (Princeton University Press, 2000).
This program is funded in part by a grant from the
Mississippi Humanities Council, through funding by the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
For more information, visit natchezhistoricalsociety.org or
call 601-492-3004. Emails may be sent to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org
 |
| Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley is organizing the Civil War encampment of the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry that will take place on Thursday, June 13, at the Bluff. He is pictured in this 2014 tintype photo wearing a 6th Heavy Artillery uniform at the 150th anniversary of the Fort Pillow Massacre in Tennessee that occurred on April 12, 1864. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. – Re-enactors of Mississippi 3rd U.S.
Colored Cavalry will ride into Natchez on Thursday, June 13, and set up camp on
the Bluff, announced Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley.
“They will ride into Natchez as the [cavalry] did in
October of 1864 on their way down to Woodville, where they defeated the
Confederates,” he said.
The 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry program will be held in
Natchez for the third time. It was previously held in 2014 and 2018. Boxley
said the re-enactors will engage the public and talk about the cavalry’s
history during the Civil War. He noted the event is a celebration of history
and recognition of the military contributions of African Americans.
The encampment is free and open to the public. It will
last from 9-4 p.m. Boxley said the re-enactment is all about education. “We
want people to visit the set-up and interact with the re-enactors,” he said.
“We want them to see the horses and get educated about the use of weapons,
which are replicas.”
Richard Wilder, president of Buffalo Soldiers Florida
Inc., said he looks forward to participating in the program.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “Our mission statement
says that we are lecturers of history. We try to share that history as
realistically and accurately as possible. Not much is being said or is known
about the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry. It is an honor for us to represent this
regiment and to be in the same places as our ancestors.”
Boxley believes the colored cavalry, who were also called
“Black Horse Soldiers,” have not received the credit that is due to them. The
unit came to Natchez on Oct. 3, 1864 before traveling to Woodville, which they
reached on Oct. 5, 1864. There, they captured prisoners and supply wagons, and
with assistance from the 5th Illinois Cavalry Regiment, they attacked the
Confederates who were camping at Bowling Green Plantation, which was owned by
Judge Edward McGehee, and forced them to retreat, according to historians.
The cavalry burned the plantation, seized cannons, and
captured 41 Confederate soldiers, before heading back to Natchez, according to
William A. Dobak, author of “Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops
1862-1867.”
Role-play actors
As for the participants in the Natchez encampment, Boxley
said they will include a representative of the Natchez-based 6th Heavy
Artillery who joined the cavalry at Kingston, after they defeated the
Confederates in Woodville.
In addition to Boxley, the coordinator of Friends of the
Forks of the Road Society Inc., participants in the program will include
Darrell White, Royal Hill, Danielle Terrell, Jamall McCullen, Jackie Marsaw,
all of whom were role-play actors of the Black and Blue Civil War Living
History program. For the upcoming program, they will portray important figures
of various regiments who accompanied the cavalry.
Boxley said he will portray “the old, enslaved man who
showed Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant where to cross over the Mississippi
River from the Louisiana side to Bruinsberg where there were good roads to get
up behind Vicksburg.”
Wilder will portray Alfred Woods, a former slave who ran
away. “When the 3rd U.S. Colored cavalry was formed, he was one of the first to
join and he became a spy for the Union Army,” Wilder said.
White will serve as a Union sailor who worked as a
crewman on the Union Navy Boat that transported the 3rd U. S. Colored
Cavalry and other white Union regiments on their way to Wilkinson County after
camping in Natchez.
Hill will portray a Mississippi Marines Brigade fireman on the boat Queen of the West, the flagship of the brigade; Terrell will portray Margaret Wood, wife of the 3rd U. S. Colored Cavalry Scout Alfred Wood; McCullen will portray Carey Blanchard of the 70th Infantry USCT; and Marsaw will appear as Ellen Anderson of Warren County whose property as seized by the Union Cavalry on May 1864.
Re-enactors with Buffalo Soldiers Florida Inc. will ride into Natchez at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 13, as members of the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry. The riders pictured represent A Troop 10th Cavalry regiment. They rode into Bartow, Fla., in 2021, where they honored the May 20, 1865, emancipation of the enslaved in Florida. Three of them will participate in the Natchez event. From left are Corporal Arthur Battles, Trooper Joel Wilder, Trooper Richard Wilder, and First Sergeant H.L. Williams.
Beginning at 8 a.m., on June 13, nine re-enactors, which
include seven Black soldiers and two White officers, will ride from the Forks
of the Road to the Natchez Bluff.
The troops will ride on St. Catherine Street to N. Dr.
M.L.K. Street, where they will turn left and ride to Main Street and turn
right. From there, they will ride down Main to Broadway Street and turn right
to the encampment site on the Bluff.
The program will begin with the bugle call for reveille
at 9 a.m., at which time the flag will be raised. The troops will be inspected
and then they will fall out for breakfast.
A re-enactor portraying Colonel Embury D. Osband will
demonstrate the loading and firing of civil war era weapons. The program will
end with the sound of retreat at 4 p.m., which signals the end of the day.
Boxley said he’s hopeful that local residents and
visitors alike will come out for the day’s program. “We invite everyone to come
right in. We think they will enjoy the experience and learn a lot about
Natchez’s history,” he said.
Boxley said the Civil War re-enactment in Natchez is one
of four he initiated that will be held this year. The other sites include
Vicksburg National Military Park from June 7-8; the Old Capitol Museum in
Jackson from June 10-12; and Claiborne County Fair Grounds in Port Gibson on
June 12.
For more information, call Ser Boxley at 601-442-4719.
See more here or by following this link: https://listenupyall.com/2024/05/02/mississippi-3rd-u-s-colored-cavalry-returning-to-natchez/