The Natchez Democrat
Published 3:46 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Board members of the Natchez Historical Society display a poster of Prince Ibrahima. They approved a donation of $3,420 for a marker in the prince's honor. In the front row from left are Al King, Karen Hill, and Adam Gwin. In the back from left are Roscoe Barnes III, Daye Dearing, and Bobby Dennis. (Click on image to enlarge.)
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The Natchez Historical Society has made it possible for Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori (1762-1829) to be honored with his own historical marker.
On Monday, Oct. 14, the society’s board members approved
a donation of $3,420 that will cover the cost of the marker, which will be
acquired through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The total
cost includes $2,670 for the marker and post, plus an additional $750 for a
sign underneath that reads, “Sponsored by the Natchez Historical Society.”
Karen Hill, the society’s president, said she is very
pleased with the board’s decision.
“I am proud of the Natchez Historical Society,” she said,
adding the donation is important for many reasons. “I’m happy that our gift
will help to ensure that the legacy of Prince Ibrahima will be honored and
shared for years to come.”
Ibrahima’s story is told in Dr. Terry Alford’s book,
“Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in
the American South” (Oxford University Press, 1977). Alford welcomed the news
about the funding.
“Kudos to the Natchez Historical Society and to Dr.
Roscoe Barnes III, Visit Natchez’s cultural heritage and tourism manager, for
this exciting news,” he said. “The diverse history of our area’s exceptional
people is well-served by this worthy step.”
The marker will be a first for the Natchez-Adams County
area that pays tribute to the African prince who spent 40 years enslaved on
Thomas Foster’s plantation near Washington. His story has been widely known and
publicized for decades.
“I feel this marker will give recognition to the man and
his skills utilized in the productivity of the Natchez District, which helped
to build its wealth,” said Bobby Dennis, director of NAPAC Museum and new board
member of the society. “The knowledge of an enslaved man or woman is rarely
discussed, only the productivity of the enslaved slave who an owner led.”
In addition to Dennis and Hill, the society’s board
members who approved the donation include Daye Dearing, Al King, Virginia
Benoist, Adam Gwin, and Roscoe Barnes III.
Dr. Artemus W. Gaye, a seventh generation descendant of
the prince, said he and his family were excited to learn about the donation.
“The responsibility or obligation of the living and the
community is never to forget the past and the ancestors whose footprints we are
walking in the here and now,” he said. “After 240 years since Prince Abdul
Rahman and his trusted friend, Samba, walked the paths of their enslavement in
Natchez and Washington, the onus is now on us to always remember their legacies
and the society they built within their own constrained limitations. This
historic marker in essence is a testimonial of this great effort to reconcile
and remember!”
Gaye is the author of “Dr. Isabella Rahman and the
African Prince of Fouta Djallon” (Forte Publishing International, 2023).
Once the application for the marker is approved and
processed, it will be delivered around August 2025. An unveiling ceremony will
be planned around that time or later.
The marker will be posted near Historic Jefferson College
and Highway 61, a site that played a significant role in Ibrahima’s life. It
was in this area in Washington that Ibrahima recognized Dr. John Coats Cox in
1807 at the market place. Cox, an Irishman, had sailed to West Africa in 1781.
After going ashore, he became lost and later collapsed. He was rescued by the
Fulani people and taken to Timbo, where Ibrahima’s father cared for him until
his health was restored.
After Ibrahima and Cox recognized each other at the
market in Mississippi, the doctor tried for many years to buy his freedom.
However, Foster refused to sell him. Cox died in December 1816. The story of
their chance meeting near Natchez became widely known.
Read more at: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2024/10/16/natchez-historical-society-funds-marker-honoring-prince-ibrahima/
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