 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
See the pdf version at this link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378634909_Dr_John_Banks_House
Or read it in the Southern Register by clicking on this link:
https://southernstudies.olemiss.edu/southernregister/spring-summer-2024/
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
By Roscoe Barnes III  |
| Laura Jackson, seated, treasurer for the Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation, presents Ceairra Franklin with a check for $1,000 for tuition assistance. Franklin is the 2024 recipient of the foundation's annual scholarship. Standing, from left, are Eva Dunkley, Patricia Williams, Marie Love, Wilbur Johnson, and Angie Kelly. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
 |
| Ceairra Franklin is the 2024 recipient of the Hugh Green Scholarship. She was awarded $1,000 for tuition assistance at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
Foundation President Eva Dunkley presented her with a
gift bag and encouraged her to keep her faith in God. “He will never leave you
nor forsake you,” Dunkley said. “You keep that in your heart, baby, and he’ll
take care of you. We’re going to be praying for you. God bless you.”
Franklin teared up as she thanked everyone for their support.
Laura Jackson, the foundation’s treasurer, said she was proud of Franklin.
“She was the best candidate out of the five we had to choose from,” Jackson said. "She seems to be a person who’s going to make the foundation proud, and she’s a wonderful young lady and very good student. She does not have a discipline record, and she’s from a single-parent family.”
Franklin also was one of the organizers of the high school’s first volleyball team, Jackson said. “She maintained her grade point average even while she was active playing sports, and that’s important.”
The Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization that presents athletic scholarships to deserving students from all local high schools who plan to attend college or university. Jackson said the foundation was created about 10 years ago by a group of local men who wanted to help students with their education. It was organized, she said, by the late George A. Dunkley.
See more here: https://listenupyall.com/2024/07/26/ceairra-franklin-awarded-1000-scholarship-by-hugh-green-scholarship-foundation/
 |
| Copies of the newly revised edition of the "Natchez African American History Trail: A Self-Guided Tour" were recently delivered to Natchez City Hall. Mayor Dan Gibson reviewed the publication and said he was excited abut its content and its availability to the public. He is joined here by the authors and editors of the publication. From left are Carter Burns, executive director of Historic Natchez Foundation; Bobby Dennis, executive director of NAPAC Museum; Mayor Dan Gibson; and Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — A newly revised edition of the “Natchez African American History Trail: A Self-Guided Tour,” has been published and is now available as a pocket-sized resource on Natchez history.
The free 20-page booklet is a full-color product that
features 29 African American sites. In addition to presenting brief
descriptions of each site, the booklet includes photos, QR codes, and a map.
The QR codes take readers to additional information posted on the website
hosted by the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture.
“This is our second release of this publication, and I am
thrilled with the success of the first publication that generated the need for
a reprint,” said Bobby Dennis, the museum’s executive director. “Giving our
visitors a look at the sites of those who built Natchez allows them to see our
city more completely.”
The publication was sponsored by the museum, Visit
Natchez, the City of Natchez, and the Historic Natchez Foundation. Its list of
historical sites includes two new additions: the Jessie H. Winston House and
the George F. Bowles House.
“We’re excited about this new African American tour guide
and what it will mean to the Natchez community,” said Lynsey Gilbert, interim
director for Visit Natchez. “A significant amount of work went into the
creation of this publication, and we’re sure that it will be very useful to our
local residents and our visitors. Its aim is to help tell the complete history
of Natchez by highlighting the history of some of our African American sites.”
The idea for this project originated in early 2023 when
Mayor Dan Gibson and Dennis announced plans to recognize 27 African American
sites in Natchez with historical markers.
During a Black History Month ceremony on Feb. 1, 2023,
the City of Natchez unveiled the 27 markers as a joint effort between the city
and the museum. Gibson said at the time that the project was part of his
ongoing work to tell the complete history of the city.
In April 2023, Gibson announced the publication of an
eight-page booklet that provided the history of the 27 African American sites.
According to Dennis, the booklet became a hit with local residents and
tourists.
Gibson recently commented on the new publication. “We are
so grateful to finally have a full color visitors guide to go with our
self-guided African American History tour,” he said. “For the first time ever,
tourists can use this resource, full of photos, descriptions, and a map to help
them explore this amazing history. I am so grateful to our partners, NAPAC,
Visit Natchez, the Natchez Democrat, the Historic Natchez Foundation, and
Natchez Monument for making this happen.”
Gibson offered “special thanks” to Dennis; Carter Burns,
executive director of Historic Natchez Foundation; and Dr. Roscoe Barnes
III, cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez, whom he said, “worked
tirelessly to deliver a professional product.”
The sites highlighted in the revised publication include:
Dr. John Banks House, Brumfield School, Forks of the Road, Proud to take a
Stand Monument, Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church, William Johnson House, Rhythm Night
Club, Angelety House, Richard Wright’s Grandmother’s House, Robert Smith House,
Black Business District, Henry J. and Ida Page Dumas House, Holy Family
Catholic Church, Watkins Street Cemetery, Sidney and Sarah Russell House, Site
of the Claiborne Barland House, Concord Quarters, Mazique-West House, Leon
Donnan’s Barbershop, Mackel Funeral Home, Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church,
the Bud Scott House, Professor Samuel Owen House, St. John United Methodist
Church, Site of the Louis Winston Home, Natchez College, Beulah Missionary
Baptist Church, the Jessie H. Winston House, and the George F. Bowles House.
Copies of the booklet are available at the following
locations: NAPAC Museum, 301 Main St.; Visit Natchez, 500 Main St., Suite 1;
Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St.; Natchez City Hall, 124 S.
Pearl St.; Visit Natchez at The Depot Visitor Center, 200 N. Broadway St.; and
Natchez City Sightseeing Tours (in the lobby of The Natchez Grand Hotel), 111
N. Broadway St.
The booklet may be downloaded at: https://visitnatchez.org/cultural-legacy/african-american-history-trail/
 |
| Left, Jim Kates from the 60s. Jim Kates, who served as a civil rights worker in Natchez in 1965, will return to the city on Monday, July 22, to talk about his experience in the Natchez movement. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ — Jim Kates, who served as a civil rights worker
in Natchez in 1965, will return to the city on Monday, July 22, to talk about
his experience in the Natchez movement. The film, “Black Natchez” (1967), will
be shown during his visit.
Kates’ event, “An Evening with Jim Kates: Reflections
from a Veteran of the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez,” will be held at the
NAPAC Museum at 301 Main Street. It is free and open to the public.
The program will begin with a 5:30 p.m. public showing of
“Black Natchez,” which documents the civil rights movement in Natchez. At 6:30
p.m., Kates will participate in a round table discussion with veterans of the
movement. Other participants will include Mayor Dan Gibson, NAPAC Museum
Director Bobby Dennis, Dr. Roscoe Barnes III of Visit Natchez, and others.
The event is hosted by the City of Natchez and NAPAC
Museum with assistance from Visit Natchez.
“We are so grateful that Mr. Kates is coming to Natchez,”
said Gibson. “As a young man, he encountered the worst of Mississippi, sadly
while attempting to do so much good. What a blessing to have him return to
celebrate the progress we have made while discussing ways we can all work
together to make even more progress going forward.”
Kates, now a noted author and popular speaker, said he is
looking forward to the visit. He hopes to meet old friends and acquaintances
from the movement. Kates worked with a number of prominent workers in the
movement, including the late James “Big Jack” Jackson, founding president of
the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice.
“For a long time, I’ve been wanting to return to Natchez,
but not just as a tourist,” Kates said. “Being able to connect with the past,
and to measure the distance, is a wonderful opportunity. I am sorry not to be
able to connect with more people from 1965 but look forward to picking up what
we can.
“Among other vaguer objects of my visit, I’m trying to
crystallize some essays I’ve been working on about my own involvement in the
Movement, and this upcoming visit has already helped with that, and should do
more.”
Kates said it is important for people to know about the
history of the civil rights movement and its impact on Mississippi and the
entire United States. He noted: “Most importantly, I want to remind myself and
others that the work of the 1960s Freedom Movement goes on — nationwide now —
and we’re all part of it. I hope I can serve as a small reminder of that.”
In 1964, Kates left his home in Connecticut and came to
Mississippi to make a difference. He came with a mission to help people in the
Black community who were disenfranchised and violently oppressed by white
racists.
Kates was like thousands of other young people from
northern states who came to Mississippi in 1964 for the Freedom Summer project.
Freedom Summer was an initiative that sought to increase Black voter
registrations in Mississippi. To do this, more than 700 volunteers, most of
whom were White, fanned out throughout the state and worked with Black
communities to help them overcome voter intimidation and discrimination at the
polls.
While living in Como, in Panola County, Mississippi,
Kates worked as a volunteer on the Freedom Summer initiative — a voter
registration project — sponsored by the Council of Federated Organizations
(COFO).
Kates recounted his work in a personal essay: “Day after
day I talked with local black citizens in their houses, tried to arrange for
the use of a church for organizational meetings, or plotted with high school
students to pressure their elders to apply to register to vote and to support
Mississippi’s own Freedom Democratic Party. It was work that often didn’t feel
like work, and one of its principal objects was simply my presence in the
community.”
In August 1965, Kates found himself in Natchez, where he
and a colleague went to work “organizing black steam-laundry workers as part of
[their] civil-rights work with the Student Nonviolent Co-ordinating Committee”
(SNCC). However, he and his colleague were both arrested after complaints from
two 11-year-old white boys. The boys, whose fathers were “notable figures in
the local White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,” accused them of chasing them with
knives.
At trial, Kates recalled, the judge dismissed the charges
against them, “saying that the prosecution had failed to make a case.” Two days
later, Kates and his colleague left Natchez and returned to their homes “before
the Klan could act out frustration or revenge.”
Monday’s visit will be Kates’ second visit to Natchez
since that arrest. His last visit was in 1984.
For more information, call the museum at 601-445-0728.
Read more at this link:
https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2024/07/18/civil-rights-veteran-jim-kates-is-returning-to-natchez-black-natchez-to-be-shown-at-napac-during-his-visit/
.jpg)
A few photos from the Natchez Julyteenth commemoration on Saturday, July 13. Photos courtesy of Professional Athletes Supporting Students – PASS.
 |
| Tylan Collins, left, Roscoe Barnes III, and Cameron Grover |
It was an honor to spend time with these re-enactors and to watch them in action.
 |
| Roscoe Barnes III, left, and Norman Fisher |
This event was organized by Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley, coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society.
 |
| Jim Kates, civil rights veteran of the 1960s |
 |
| Jim Kates is the 19-year-old in the center with his sleeves rolled up. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
 |
| Re-enactor Tylan Collins honors the U.S. Colored Troops buried at the Natchez National Cemetery. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — A group of Natchez residents and visitors rode in a procession throughout the downtown area Saturday, July 13, to commemorate the 161st Julyteenth Anniversary. The event was a recognition of July 13, 1863, when thousands of enslaved people of African descent found freedom with the arrival of the Union Army and its occupation of Natchez and Vidalia.
Juneteenth or June 19th is celebrated as a national holiday that recognizes the time in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, Texas. However, in Natchez, freedom came when the Union Army arrived nine days following the defeat of Vicksburg in July 1863.
Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley presents Bonita Welch of Hinds County with a Certificate of Appreciation during the Natchez Julyteenth commemoration on Saturday, July 13. Welch was recognized for her service to the U.S. 1st Mississippi Colored Infantry Re-enactors. (Click on image to enlarge.)
The term “Julyteenth” was coined by Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley, who organized Saturday’s event. Ser Boxley said he was pleased with the event that took place at several historical sites between 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
“I feel empowered,” Ser Boxley said after the event. “I feel wonderful. This empowered a lot of us. The people told me that they all got something out of it. They said it was educational. I can appreciate that as that is exactly what I was trying to do.”
Ser Boxley said he was also very pleased with the re-enactors and volunteers who assisted him with the program.
Forks of the Road
The people who attended the event travelled from site-to-site in their own vehicles in a “Julyteenth caravan.” At least two travelled on motorcycles. They were led by a Natchez Police Department cruiser with flashing lights. At each stop, participants recounted the history of U.S. Colored Troops. They left sprigs of rosemary, an ancient symbol of remembrance, at each site.
The day’s event began at Forks of the Road, the site of the second largest slave market in the Southwestern states between 1833 and 1863. Ser Boxley explained how Natchez became a “destination of domestic chattel slavery trafficking.” The Forks was not the beginning but the end of the trafficking of enslaved people in Natchez, he said.
Interestingly, he continued, Forks of the Road was a place of enslavement and freedom. Many thousands of enslaved people of African descent were sold at the site, he said. But in 1863, there were thousands who were self-emancipated by leaving their enslavers and fleeing to the Forks where they found freedom with the Union Army.
“There was one enslaved mother who was sold with her 12-year-old son to enslavers in Copiah County. When that son became an adult during the Civil War, he escaped from Copiah County to Vicksburg and joined the 58th regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops,” Ser Boxley said.
During their solemn assembly, Ser Boxley called to “the ancestors who were sold into chattel slavery at the Forks to offer them evidence we had gathered on July 13 to remember them.” He asked for them “to rise up in their spirit and to join us in the caravan in remembrance of their stolen lives and their history.”
Before leaving the Forks, Patricia Mahammad, a volunteer, placed sprigs of rosemary in the shape of a triangle on top of the chain monument at the site.
On the Natchez Bluff at the Silver Street intersection, the audience heard from re-enactor Mandi Toy of Tupelo who portrayed Mary Conway Shields Dunbar, the daughter of Francis Surget. Toy read an account of the arrival of the Union soldiers in July 1863 and the later account of the U.S. Colored Troops presence in Natchez.
Toy shared excepts from Elizabeth Dunbar Murray’s book, “My Mother Used to Say: Memories of Mary Conway Shields Dunbar” (The Christopher Publishing House, 1959).
Speaking after the program, Toy said she appreciated the day’s commemoration. “Hearing a more holistic story, standing in the place it occurred, was profound,” she said. “I am grateful to have been part of the day of remembrance and learning. It was a powerful day.”
From the Bluff, the attendees traveled to the Under the Hill site of the U.S. Colored Troops barracks and contraband camps near the Devil’s Punch Bowl. It was there that Ser Boxley gave a presentation on the history of the sites. He also refuted claims about the area known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl being a concentration camp for Blacks and the site where they were tortured and buried under fruit trees.
During Ser Boxley’s presentation, re-enactors Norman Fisher, Tylan Collins, and Cameron Grover made appearances as members of the U.S. Colored Troops.
Certificate of Appreciation
Following his talk, Ser Boxley paused to recognize one of his many volunteers. He called up Bonita Welch of Hinds County and presented her with a Certificate of Appreciation. He said she was being honored for her service to the U.S. 1st Mississippi Colored Infantry Re-enactors.
“Her generosity [has] made a significant impact, and we are grateful [for] her dedication and support,” Ser Boxley said, reading from the certificate.
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
At the Natchez National Cemetery, Ser Boxley and the Julyteenth audience paid respect to both the known and unknown members of the U.S. Colored Troops. Jacqueline Marsaw, a volunteer, placed rosemary on their graves. She included the grave of Civil War Navy Landsman Wilson Brown (1841-1900), a Medal of Honor recipient.
The final presentation of the day’s program occurred at Watkins Street Cemetery, where Ser Boxley shared the history of the African American cemetery. He was followed by Fisher, a resident of Jackson, who delivered a passionate message about a U.S. Colored Trooper Frederick Caldwell, who is buried at the cemetery. Fisher also shared the history of his great-grandfather, Dennis Fisher, a member of the 51st USCT who fought at Milliken’s Bend, La., and Fort Blakey, Ala.
Norman Fisher also spoke about the contributions of Caldwell, who served in Dennis Fisher’s unit.
Additionally, Norman Fisher shared his thoughts about the song, “Dixie,” which became popular with minstrel shows in the 1850s where White actors wore blackface. The song became an unofficial anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War and is generally considered offensive to African Americans.
Daniel Decatur Emmett of Ohio, a white man, is credited with writing the song. However, said Norman Fisher, the song was actually written by two Black men from Ohio, who were brothers: Ben Snowden and Lou Snowden. The Snowdens were born to parents who were enslaved.
Norman Fisher said he used to wonder why his feet would tap at the sound of “Dixie.” He said he eventually learned of the song’s Black roots.
Re-enactor Norman Fisher of Jackson delivers presentation about a U.S. Colored Trooper at Watkins Street Cemetery. He told the history of his great-grandfather, a member of the 51st USCT who fought at Milliken's Bend, La., and Fort Blakey, Ala. (Click on image to enlarge.)
The Julyteenth program ended with a
black-powder gun salute by Norman Fisher, Collins, and Grover.
Re-enactor Norman Fisher of Jackson is pictured in the foreground on the right. He is joined by Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley. They are participating in a history program in Jackson. Fisher will participate in the Julyteenth commemoration set for Saturday, July 13, in Natchez. The event was organized by Ser Boxley.
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The summer of 1863 in Natchez was anything but an ordinary summer, according to Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley. Among other things, he said, it was a summer of freedom from 144 years of chattel enslavement from 1719 to 1863.
On July 13, 1863, thousands of enslaved people became
self-emancipated when they fled plantations — and other places of bondage —
when the Union Army took over Natchez and Vidalia, he said.
“I call this day, ‘Julyteenth,’” Ser Boxley said. “It was on this day that the Union Army offloaded at Natchez Under the
Hill, and the U. S. 11th Illinois Regiment Infantry marched up Silver Street
and began the occupation of Natchez. This is when those who were enslaved in the old Natchez district obtained their
Emancipation Proclamation freedom behind Union Army lines.
In commemoration of this day, the 161st Julyteenth Anniversary will be observed on Saturday, July 13, from 7 to 9 a.m. The free event is organized by Ser Boxley, who is coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society.
The program will include a caravan that will travel to
several historical sites where re-enactors will share the history of the
freedom event that occurred in Natchez in July 1863. The theme for the program
is, “From Julyteenth Freedom Summer of 1863 in Natchez, Mississippi, to
Juneteenth Freedom Summer of 1865 in Galveston, Texas.”
“This event is important,” said Ser Boxley. “During
Freedom Summer of 1863, our ancestors ran away to become freedom fighters. They
joined the U.S. Colored Troops and fought for freedom. They became Union Army
freedom fighting soldiers and sailors.”
Strictly speaking, the “Union Army’s occupation of
Natchez turned the city into a freedom city destination,” Ser Boxley said.
Unfortunately, he said, about 400 enslaved people in
Natchez were shipped out to Texas on July 1, 1863, and were prevented from
gaining their freedom. Many did not gain their freedom until they returned to
Natchez in 1866, he said.
Saturday’s commemoration will start at the Forks of the
Road and end at Watkins Street Cemetery. It is organized as follows:
1. Forks of the Road
The program will begin with a solemn assembly at Forks of
the Road, which is a fitting location, said Ser Boxley. “You have slavery and
freedom at this site. Burl Lewis and several others fled from Browns Sawmill
and ran to the Forks, where they found freedom. There was an enrollment and
recruitment station at the Forks. We will tell that story and leave a wreath.”
2. Broadway and Silver Street
The caravan will travel to Broadway and Silver streets
where the Union Army arrived by boat. The landing and disbarment occurred July
13, 1863.
3. Under the Hill near Magnolia Vale
The caravan will travel to Magnolia Vale by way of
Learned Hill. This is the site of the U.S. Colored Troops and contraband camp
near the Devil’s Punch Bowl.
4. Natchez National Cemetery
Attendees will be invited to visit the graves of Edward
Turner, a member of the U.S. 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry, in Section G; and Cary
Blanchard, a member of the 70th U.S. Colored Infantry in Section A.
5. Watkins Street Cemetery
The story of Fredrick Caldwell will be told at Watkins Street Cemetery. Caldwell was member of the 51st U.S. Colored Infantry. Ser Boxley said that Sgt. Maj. Norman Fisher of 1st U. S. Mississippi Colored Infantry Re-enactors will tell the story of his great-grandfather of the 51st USCT who fought at Milliken’s Bend, La., Fort Blakey, Ala. “He was sent out to Texas with thousands of Union troops to force Texas Confederate Army to Surrender,” Ser Boxley said. “This is how Juneteenth happened.” The program will end with a black-powder gun salute.
For more information, call Ser Boxley at 601-334-6488.
See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2024/07/11/natchez-julyteenth-commemoration-set-for-saturday-july-13/
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
Today (July 11, 2024), I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on "Freedom Summer in Natchez" to an audience of teachers from across the country. We met at the McComb Public Library. The program was part of the project, “Freedom Summer: 60 Years Later -- A Landmarks of American History Teacher Workshop," organized by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
 |
The 161st Julyteenth Anniversary that recognizes the freedom of the enslaved in Natchez will be observed from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, July 13. The program will include a caravan that will travel to five historic sites where re-enactors will share the history of the freedom event that occurred on July 13, 1863, when the Union Army occupied Natchez and made the Emancipation Proclamation freedom possible.
Saturday’s commemoration will start at the Forks of the Road and end at Watkins Street Cemetery. The theme for the program is, “From Julyteenth Freedom Summer of 1863 in Natchez, Mississippi, to Juneteenth Freedom Summer of 1865 in Galveston, Texas.”
The event is free and open to the public. It is organized by Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley, coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society.
For more information, call Ser Boxley at 601-334-6488.
 |
| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
I’m happy to report that two women from Natchez, MS, were members of the Six Triple Eight. Their names are Gwendolyn F. Johnson (1924 – 20...
