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| Yvonne Lewis Day |
NATCHEZ – Yvonne Lewis Day, a noted writer and researcher, will talk about the collision and loss of the steamboat Monmouth at the Tuesday, November 26 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society.
Day’s topic is, “Who Will Sing My Name? The Loss of the Steamboat Monmouth.” She will discuss the loss of the steamboat, which occurred on October 31, 1837, just north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of about 400 Muscogee/Creek Indians who were being forcibly transported to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
“The wreck of the steamboat Monmouth in 1837 is a tale of mystery, intrigue, and shame,” said Day. “The loss of 400 lives on that fateful night was the greatest death toll in a single incident on the Mississippi until the final days of the Civil War. Though my research has added new information, the story of the Monmouth remains without a final chapter, as of yet.”
The Trail of Tears, in this case, was by water and not land, Day noted.
Day’s presentation will be given at the Historic Natchez Foundation, at 108 S. Commerce St. It will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation at 6 p.m. The program, which is free to the public, is part of a lecture series that is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Day said her illustrated presentation incorporates her original research conducted over the last decade. She will also share copies of archival materials relating to the 1837 tragedy. Her work has received recognition by representatives of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she said.
A recognized authority in several fields, Day is a local historian and genealogist. She is also a prolific writer and editor of works in the scientific and academic fields. According to her biography, she has been a keynote speaker or workshop leader at more than 900 local, state, national, and international conferences.
Day is a native of New Orleans. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Louisiana State University, where she pursued graduate studies in linguistics. She is also author of numerous publications, including a noted series on the cemeteries in Tangipahoa Parish and multiple volumes on family, state, and local history.
[Over the years, Day has held memberships with numerous organizations, the list of which includes the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Indians Committee. In addition to having served as past president of the Baton Rouge and Louisiana genealogical and historical societies, she served as state registrar and as chapter president and chapter registrar of the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812.
Day has won state and national awards for her work. Her contribution to the field of history includes the 2022 donation of her collected publications and papers to Southeastern Louisiana University.
For more information Day’s presentation, call 281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org
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| Lance Harris speaks during a program at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (File photo) Click on image to enlarge. |
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Dr. Akinyele Umoja, author of “We Will Shot Back,” was our guest speaker. We were joined by the Natchez NAACP and the Mississippi NAACP. We’re grateful to Mississippi Humanities Council and Visit Mississippi for making this program possible.
Watch the Facebook Live video recording of the ceremony at this link:
See video recording of the unveiling ceremony at this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/15DC69MZP3/
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| Showing off t-shirts for the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument. Pictured from left are Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez; Mallory Meng, community and programs manager for Visit Natchez; and Robert Pernell, chairman of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
The shirts are available for purchase at the Historic
Natchez Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St. The cost is $20 for sizes small,
medium, and large; and $23 for sizes 2X and 3X.
The shirts are off-white and feature an image of the
proposed monument — with three members of the Colored Troops — on the back
side. The committee’s logo is displayed on the front.
“This is one of several things we’re doing to raise money
for this important monument,” said Robert Pernell, who chairs the committee for
the monument. “This is a community endeavor that will be part of the local
landscape for generations to come. We believe it will serve to educate and
inspire our local citizens and the people who come to Natchez from all over the
world.”
Pernell said he is excited about the shirts and he
believes those who purchase them will love the design.
The estimated cost of the monument is $1.09 million,
according to Pernell. Sculptor Thomas Jay Warren of Warren Sculpture Studios in
Oregon is the official designer of the project.
In addition to selling shirts, the monument committee
continues to seek donations through businesses, church groups, civil clubs, and
individuals. The committee is also researching funding opportunities through
grants, Pernell said.
The monument will be located on the north end of the
Bluff at the corner of Madison and North Broadway streets. It will feature the
names of the Colored Troops that served with six regiments. These regiments
include: 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 58th U.S. Colored Infantry, 70th
U.S. Colored Infantry, 71st U.S. Colored Infantry, 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry,
and the 64th U.S. Colored Infantry. The list of names will include those who
served in the Navy who were born in Natchez.
The selected names were provided by Dr. Frank Smith and
the African American Civil War Museum, where he serves as founding director.
For more information on this fundraising campaign, call 601-442-2500.
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Special to The Natchez Democrat
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Willie Carter displays the barber chair previously owned by James 'Big Jack' Jackson, who served as president of the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice. Carter is owner of the building that was home to Donnan's Barbershop, the meeting place for the Deacons. He moved the chair to his current barbershop. (Click on image to enlarge.) |
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This ceremony aligns with the 79th Annual Mississippi NAACP State Convention and Policy Institute taking place in Natchez November 7-9. The Rev. Dr. Robert James, president of the Mississippi NAACP, will be one of our speakers. About 150 attendees of the NAACP convention will attend the unveiling ceremony.
Dr. Shawn Lambert is an associate professor and undergraduate coordinator at Mississippi State University.
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Dr. Shawn Lambert, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator at Mississippi State University, is inviting the public to his presentation on the Prospect Hill Plantation.
Lambert’s talk will focus on the archaeology of his
enslavement project at Prospect Hill. His topic is, “Before They were Settlers:
Material Culture and Spaces of Enslavement at the Prospect Hill Plantation.”
Lambert will deliver his hour-long presentation at 12:30
p.m., Thursday, October 24, 2024, at Dumas Hall, Room 107, Alcorn State
University, Lorman Campus. He will also share his presentation at 1 p.m.
Friday, October 25, 2024, at the Natchez Museum of African American History and
Culture, 301 Main St., Natchez.
The programs are sponsored by the Southwest Mississippi
Center for Culture and learning at Alcorn. They are free and open to the
public.
“Dr. Lambert’s work is significant in many ways,” said
Teresa Busby, executive director of the Southwest MS Center for Culture and
Learning. “I especially appreciate that he developed the work at Prospect Hill
as a multidisciplinary project that involved diverse scholars from several
areas of academia to help us better understand the history of enslavement in
the South. We will all benefit from Dr. Lambert sharing their findings with
us.”
According to Lambert, the research at Prospect Hill has
global significance. “It is research that represents the collaboration with
diverse communities and descendent communities as well as researchers from
other disciplines such as archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, historians,
and biological anthropologists,” he said.
Lambert noted the “research is a multivocal and
multi-perspective attempt to not only understand the history and archaeology of
enslavement at Prospect Hill in Mississippi, but also trace this reverse
African Diaspora to Liberia where hundreds of enslaved individuals from
Prospect Hill were resettled.”
Prospect Hill is located in Jefferson County. Lambert
described it as “an early-to-mid 19th century plantation site that, until
recently, has had very little anthropological research.”
The site played a significant role with early plantation
life in the South and with the American — and Mississippi Colonization
Societies — that relocated hundreds of enslaved people to Greenville, Liberia,
Lambert said.
“In this spirit, Prospect Hill is globally connected to
the history and development of West Africa and to local communities in
Mississippi,” he added.
Lambert works in the department of Anthropology and
Middle Eastern Cultures at his university.
According to his bio, his research interests include
protohistoric and historic decolonial and community-engaged archaeology in the
U.S. South with specific focuses in pre-European Contact Native American
communities, and the archaeology of enslavement in the American South.
Lambert is recognized as an expert in remote sensing
technologies, ceramic analysis, ancient iconography, organic residue analyses,
and elemental analyses of artifacts.
Lambert said he is “committed to working with diverse
descendant communities and the public to further decolonize archaeological
practice, strengthening relationships with underrepresented communities, and
making field work more inclusive and supportive for student experiential
learning.”
For more information, send email to tbusby@alcorn.edu
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| The Nellie Jackson house, once commonly known as Nellie's Place, located at 416 N. Rankin St., is currently owned by J.T. Robinson, who is restoring the building. He plans to open it as a museum. Left, the Nellie Jackson house as Robinson purchased it in 2019. (Submitted) Click on image to enlarge. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — After years of sitting in disrepair on the corner of North Rankin and Monroe streets, the Nellie Jackson house has a new makeover. The wood-frame building has a new roof, new porch, and its original screen door that features a metal cutout of a woman wearing a hoop skirt with a man in top hat bowing in front of her.
The house is painted white with a red door and red
trimmings. Its renovation work is continuing inside with new floors and walls.
The house, which was commonly known as Nellie’s Place (or
simply Nellie’s), was owned by Nellie Jackson (1902-1990). It is located at 416
N. Rankin and is currently owned by J. T. Robinson, who is restoring the
building. Robinson said he purchased the house in 2019.
Caesar Cobb of Cobb Construction, Gloster, is doing the
renovation. Completion date is set for November 30, according to Robinson. He
plans to open the home as a museum.
Jackson was well known as a friendly madam who openly ran
a brothel from her home for about 60 years.
Jackson’s house was built in the Queen Ann style between
1892 and 1897, according to the Historic Natchez Foundation. The house has
three bedrooms and two baths. It has undergone a number of changes.
The house was one of the filming locations in the movie,
“Get on Up” (2014).
Though mostly known for operating her brothel, Jackson
also was known for her charity.
According to news reports, she fed the hungry and
regularly provided money for people in need. She also provided transportation
for nuns. During the mid-1960s, she served as an FBI informant and provided
information on members of the Ku Klux Klan gleaned from her employees who
serviced Klan members, according to local historians. She was also known to
bail civil rights workers out of jail.
Jackson’s story is told in the documentary film,
“Mississippi Madam: The Life of Nellie Jackson” (2017).
Jackson was born into poverty on August 3, 1902, in
Possum Corner, an unincorporated community in Wilkinson County. She was the
youngest of twins. While growing up, she attended Oak Grove Church in Wilkinson
County, according to her obituary. She moved to the house on Rankin in 1921,
and a few years later, she joined the Holy Family Catholic Church, the obituary
noted.
Jackson died on July 12, 1990, from injuries received in
a fire at her home on July 5, 1990. Police said the fire was caused by Daniel
Eric Breazeale, 20, a former resident of Oxford. Newspapers reported he was a
junior at the University of Mississippi majoring in business. He stayed in
Natchez for the summer where he was working. He was living on North Rankin at
the time of the fire.
Breazeale reportedly became angry when he was denied
entrance into Jackson’s house in the early morning hours. Police said he was
told to leave because he was drunk.
Breazeale left and returned with gasoline in an ice
chest.
Police said he “poured gasoline on the front porch,
entered the brothel and poured gasoline on Jackson. In the process, he
also splashed gasoline on himself,” according to The Clarion Ledger (November
13, 2019). Former Mayor Tony Byrne told The Clarion Ledger, “”When he lit the
fire at Nellie’s, it blew him almost across the street.”
A witness told The Natchez Democrat (July 6, 1990) that
Breazeale resembled a “ball of fire shooting across the street.” The witness
said, “He came flying across the road. It looked like a cartoon.”
The Natchez fire chief at the time said the fire
destroyed the front porch and one bedroom. Jackson’s bedroom was near the
porch. She was asleep at the time of the fire, The Natchez Democrat (July 6,
1990) reported. Two of her four dogs died in the fire.
Jackson suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns
over 100 percent of her body, according to press reports. Breazeale suffered
third-degree burns to 80 percent of his body.
Breazeale and Jackson died from their injuries. Jackson
was 87. Her funeral was held on July 16, 1990, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Services were officiated by Father David O’Connor. Jackson was buried at Sunset
View Memorial Park.
Read more at:
https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2024/10/15/before-after-nellies-has-new-look/
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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NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Dr. Akinyele Umoja, a professor at Georgia State University, will be the guest speaker at the November 9 ceremony honoring the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice. The Deacons have been awarded a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker, which will be unveiled following the ceremony.
The ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church at 228 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St. The unveiling of the marker will occur at 319 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St., which is the site of the two-story building that was home to Donnan's Barbershop. The barbershop was the meeting place for the Deacons.
The event is free and open to the public.
Umoja is a leading authority on the Deacons for Defense and Justice. He is the author of “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement” (NYU Press, 2013).
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| Peter M. Wolf is the author of "The Sugar King: Leon Godchaux: A New Orleans Legend, His Creole Slave, and His Jewish Roots." (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ, Miss. – Peter M. Wolf, a respected author and biographer, said he looks forward to speaking about Leon Godchaux, the “Sugar King of Louisiana,” at the Tuesday, October 22 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. Wolf’s presentation is part of a lecture series that is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“I’m delighted to have been invited to talk about my book
in Natchez,” Wolf said. “I understand the Natchez Historical Society is filled
with experts and I’m pleased to have an opportunity to have a talk with them.”
Wolf is the author of “The Sugar King: Leon Godchaux: A
New Orleans Legend, His Creole Slave, and His Jewish Roots” (Xlibris,
2022). He is the great-great-grandson of Godchaux. His presentation is free and
open to the public. It will be held at the Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S.
Commerce St. The program will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m., followed by
Wolf’s presentation at 6 p.m.
Wolf’s book tells the compelling story of Godchaux, who
arrived in New Orleans in 1837 as a “penniless, illiterate, Jewish 13-year-old
from France.” Although he had hopes and dreams, he never learned to read or
write in English or French. However, by the end of his life, Godchaux became
the owner of 14 plantations and the largest sugar producer in the region, as
well as the top taxpayer in the state, which earned him the name, “Sugar King
of Louisiana,” according to Wolf’s website.
Wolf said that Godchaux refused to enter the sugar
business until the end of slavery.
Two Black men played vital roles in Godchaux’s success.
Joachim Tassen, who was enslaved, and Norbert Rillieux, who was a free man of
color and inventor, made significant contributions to Godchaux’s work.
Wolf is a fifth generation native of New Orleans. He
holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Master of Arts from Tulane
University, and a doctoral degree from New York University. His research has
taken him to Paris as a Fulbright scholar and to Rome as a visiting artist and
scholar at the American Academy in Rome. He currently serves on the advisory
board of the Tulane University School of Architecture, and as a trustee of the
Louisiana Landmarks Society.
Wolf’s book on Godchaux has received rave reviews from
noted scholars and historians. Henry Lewis Gates Jr. wrote, “Peter
Wolf’s The Sugar King is an absorbing ancestral journey.” Lawrence N.
Powell noted “There are eye-openers in nearly every chapter.”
Wolf is a prolific writer. His other books include “My
New Orleans, Gone Away, A Memoir of Loss and Renewal” (Delphinium Books Inc.,
2013); “Land Use and Abuse in America: A Call to Action” (Xlibris, 2010); “Hot
Towns: The Future of the Fastest Growing Communities in America” (Rutgers
University Press, 1999); and “Land in America: Its Value, Use and Control”
(Pantheon Books, 1981).
For more information on the October 22 presentation, call
281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org
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Top of the Morning
Thanks to Visit Mississippi and the Mississippi Humanities Council, a group of Black men who bravely confronted the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s, will be honored with a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker.
The group of which I’m speaking is the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice, the paramilitary organization that provided armed protection for civil rights workers and the Black community against the Klan and other White supremacy groups.
The Deacons will be honored on Saturday, November 9. They will be recognized in a special ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church at 228 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St. The ceremony will be followed by the unveiling of the marker at 319 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St., the site that was home to Donnan's Barbershop, the meeting place for the Deacons.
This event is free to the public. It is organized by the Natchez Civil Rights Trail Committee.
Speakers will include Dr. Akinyele Umoja, author of “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement” (NYU Press, 2013); Willie Carter, owner of Donnan's Barbershop; Alderwoman Felicia Bridgewater-Irving, Ward 4; Rev. Dr. Robert James, president of the Mississippi NAACP; Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, president of the Natchez NAACP; John Travis Spann, program and outreach officer for Mississippi Humanities Council; and Mayor Dan Gibson.
The Mississippi Freedom Trail markers are approved by Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council. The markers serve to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.
Stanley Nelson, author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi River in the 1960s" (LSU Press, 2016), said it best when he commented on the courage of the Deacons: “After police repeatedly refused to shield activists from physical attacks by Klansmen and segregationists, the Natchez Deacons arose to provide that vital protection. They never provoked a fight, but if activists were attacked, armed Deacons fiercely defended them.”
The Natchez Deacons organized in September 1965, following the attempted assassination of Natchez NAACP President George Metcalfe, whose car was bombed by the Klan on August 27, 1965. Metcalfe survived the bombing, but he suffered serious injuries.
James “Big Jack” Jackson, a barber, served as the founding president of the Natchez Deacons. They met at Donnan’s Barbershop, where he worked. In addition to Jackson, the original members included James Stokes, Otis Fleming, Richard “Dip” Lewis, Hugh Ransom, and Leroy Clay. Clifford M. Boxley, aka Ser Seshsh Ab Heter, assisted them with fundraising in California and in acquiring firearms. He later joined the organization.
The Deacons assisted with rallies and marches, and they helped to enforce the boycott of White-owned businesses. The boycott and other forms of protest led to Natchez city officials conceding to a list of demands presented by the Natchez NAACP.
As we reflect on the contributions of the Natchez Deacons, we would do well to remember the assessment of Dr. Umoja. He noted: “As they began to assist the establishment of other paramilitary affiliates across the state, the Natchez group helped form the Mississippi Deacons for Defense and Justice....Without a doubt, the Deacons made the Natchez and Mississippi movements more effective.”
For more information on the November 9 unveiling ceremony, call 601-492-3004.
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Unveiling of Mississippi Freedom Trail marker set for Nov. 9
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| James "Big Jack" Jackson Founding president of the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice. Photo courtesy of Janet Herbert and Dr. Lance Hill |
NATCHEZ, Miss. -- A Mississippi Freedom Trail marker honoring the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice will be unveiled Saturday, November 9, with a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church at 228 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St.
The ceremony will be followed by the unveiling of the marker at 319 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St., which is the site of the two-story building that was home to Donnan's Barbershop, the meeting place for the Deacons. This event is free to the public. It is organized by the Natchez Civil Rights Trail Committee.
Speakers will include Dr. Akinyele Umoja, author of “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement” (NYU Press, 2013); Willie Carter, owner of Donnan's Barbershop; Alderwoman Felicia Bridgewater-Irving, Ward 4; Rev. Dr. Robert James, president of the Mississippi NAACP; Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, president of the Natchez NAACP; John Travis Spann, program and outreach officer for Mississippi Humanities Council; and Mayor Dan Gibson.
Other program participants include Dr. Neifa Hardy, community liaison to the Mayor; Rev. Birdon Mitchell, pastor of Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church; Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, culture heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez; Rev. Clifton Marvel, pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church; and Tony Fields and the Zion Chapel AME Ensemble.
The Deacons for Defense and Justice was a paramilitary organization that provided armed protection for the civil rights workers and the Black community in the 1960s.
The new Freedom Trail marker will be the second one erected in Natchez. The first one, which recognized the NAACP Headquarters at 9 St. Catherine St., was unveiled in April 2023.
The Mississippi Freedom Trail markers are approved by Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council. The markers serve to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.
For more information on the November 9 unveiling ceremony, call 601-492-3004.
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The story of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori (1762-1829) is one of the most well-known stories to come out of the Natchez-Adams County area, but surprisingly, there is no historical marker or plaque that bears his name. There's nothing in Washington (Adams County) or Natchez that shares his extraordinary life history and nothing that honors his legacy.
This is unfortunate, but I'm hopeful this will soon change. A historical marker or monument for this important figure in our history is long overdue.
As most of us well know, Ibrahima was an African prince who was captured in 1788 and sold to slave traders. He eventually wound up in Mississippi. He spent 40 years enslaved on the Thomas Foster plantation near Washington in Adams County, just outside of Natchez, before he gained his freedom.
The world learned of Ibrahima through 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). In 2008, Unity Productions Foundation produced the film, "Prince Among Slaves," which was based on Alford's book. In May 2024, the film “From Prince to Slave” was shown at the Natchez Convention Center. The film was a collaboration between the elders of Timbo, the home of Ibrahima, and the U.S. Embassy in Guinea.
Over the last few decades, much has been written about the prince, and many parts of his story have been documented. Today we know about his descendants in the Natchez area and other parts of the United States, as well as those in West Africa. His story, including his faith as a Muslim, continues to generate interest among writers, historians, and scholars of multiple disciplines.
In an effort to determine the best way to honor him and display his story for years to come, I have spent several months doing research. During this time, I have had great conversations with local historians and Ibrahima descendants, all of whom agree that something needs to be done. Alford has been especially helpful in answering questions and guiding my research. David Dreyer, local historian, graciously gave me a tour of the places visited by Ibrahima, including Thomas Foster's plantation, where Ibrahima was enslaved. I’ve also received help from Historic Natchez Foundation, the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
As I think about this topic, I am drawn to several sites that played a pivotal role in Ibrahima’s life. They are all noted in Alford’s book. They include:
* Under-the-hill. This is where Ibrahima arrived in Natchez as an enslaved man, and it’s also where he and his wife, Isabella, departed Natchez in 1828 with their freedom. It was from this location that they boarded the Neptune and waved goodbye to their children, who remained enslaved.
* Andrew Marschalk’s printing shop. Marschalk was a newspaper publisher. This building, which no longer exists, was located at North Wall and Franklin streets. It is where Ibrahima met with Marschalk and read from a book with text in Arabic. Marschalk initiated efforts that resulted in Ibrahima’s freedom.
* Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church. This church is located at M.L. K. Jr. Road and Airport Road. The original building no longer exists. Ibrahima visited the church with the Foster family.
* Area near Historic Jefferson College. It was in this area between 16 Old North St. and Highway 61 North in Washington that Ibrahima recognized Dr. John Coats Cox in 1807 at the market place. Cox tried for many years without success to buy Ibrahima’s freedom.
Obviously, there are other important sites, but the ones listed here deserve serious consideration when we think about honoring the prince.
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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez.
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| Mike Bunn (Click on link to enlarge.) |