Your voice is needed for new community-building group

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Wednesday, May 22, 2024, page 4A)

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Top of the Morning

Your voice is needed for new community-building group

 

By Roscoe Barnes III

 
Visit Natchez is creating a new community-building group that will help us unite as a community, find common ground, and speak with a voice of healing and understanding to our citizens, as well as our visitors.
 
We’re doing this with the help of The Alluvial Collective. This group is a nonprofit, Jackson-based organization that works to end inequity that is based on difference by cultivating a sense of belonging and wholeness in a community.
 
As we announced at our 2024 Summit, Visit Natchez is working with this organization to help bridge gaps in our community by addressing some of the critical issues and challenges related to Natchez’s history.
 
Our community-building group is unlike anything we’ve had in the past. We’re meeting once a month for 90 to 120 minutes (with a preference for 90 minutes) for a period of nine months in downtown Natchez. We held our first meeting in February. Since then, we held meetings in March and April, and I must say, we’ve had some vibrant discussions about our community.
 
Because this program is designed for nine months, it will conclude in October. Our next meeting is set for 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 28, at Historic Natchez Foundation.
 
At this time, we’re inviting others in our community to come and be part of this important program. Will you join us? If so, then please reach out to a friend or family member and invite them to join as well.
 
The Alluvial Collective uses a process designed to bridge perceived fractures, differences, and inequities through a sustained engagement with a consistent group of participants who follow established guidelines. This process helps, among other things, to create relational trust, unity, teamwork, and cohesiveness in a group of community or organization members. It presents proven and effective ways to bridge differences and improve communication.
 
Through a series of monthly meetings with a group made up of our partners, we delve deeply into the controversies, misunderstandings, and vital questions about race relations, antebellum homes, and other issues in our culture and history. In other words, we aim to have the hard conversations about vital topics that make us most uncomfortable, while also building trust and recognizing our connections with one another.
 
Your voice is needed for these and other conversations.
 
This engaging, participatory approach uses deep listening, storytelling, and relationship building as prerequisites to creating more inclusive and equitable communities and working dynamics. The process fosters a space for a wide range of perspectives, without personal shaming or blaming.
 
Our goal is to work together, lifting up our different experiences and perspectives for the higher good.
 
Past participants have described the meetings as a valuable, empowering experience, with the Alluvial Collective team facilitating a supportive space like few have participated in before.
 
Please note that these meetings are the ideal place for dialogue and reflection. Participants include people from diverse backgrounds who break up into small group circles.
 
The meetings are held at 10 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St. Future meetings will be held on May 28, June 25, July 23, Aug. 27, Sept. 24, and Oct. 22.
 
Will you join us? If so, then please let me know by sending email to me at roscoe@visitnatchez.org Together we can make a difference. Let’s do it!
 
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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez.