Feb 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM
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| A marker commemorating Prince Ibrahima has been approved for Silver Street by the Natchez Preservation Commission. The marker will be located near a lamp post on the west side of the street. Its precise location is indicated by the red circle on the left side of the post. Source: Image capture August 2024 (c)2025 Google (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The Natchez Preservation Commission
recently approved a site for a marker on Silver Street that will honor Prince
Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori. That approval came Wednesday, February 12 during a
regular meeting of the commission.
Visit Natchez and the City of Natchez sought approval for
the location, which is near the landing dock on the west side of Silver Street
in the grassy area near the sidewalk overlooking the river. The property is
owned by Silverland Inc., which has given its support for the project.
In his report on the requested location, Interim City
Planner Riccardo Giani shared his assessment, stating, “Prince Ibrahima is one
such figure in Natchez’s history whose captivating and important story offers a
valuable opportunity to educate future generations about his time. The
applicant has provided supporting documentation for this marker, including its
proposed location.”
Carter Burns, executive director of the Historic Natchez
Foundation, welcomed the news. “I am glad to see Prince Ibrahima recognized
with an official state historic marker in Natchez,” he said. “He was an
extraordinary man with an extraordinary life. The landing is an
appropriate location for it since he arrived and departed from Natchez at that
site.”
Ibrahima (1762-1829) was an African prince who spent 40
years enslaved on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez. When he came to
Natchez in 1788, he arrived at the landing dock, which is also the place where
he and his wife, Isabella, departed Natchez with their freedom in 1828.
Ibrahima’s marker will be acquired through the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. In keeping with the
Preservation Commission’s guidelines, the marker will be parallel with the
street and located close to the lamp post that has an existing marker nearby.
Ibrahima’s marker will be the same distance from the lamp post as the existing
marker on the opposite side.
Lynsey Gilbert, interim director at Visit Natchez, said
the location is ideal for the marker. “It will be seen by thousands of
visitors, especially those traveling on the Mississippi River cruise ships,”
she said. “Silver Street is frequented by many tourists and local residents
throughout the year.”
Mayor Dan Gibson said he was excited about the project
and the recognition it will give to Ibrahima’s legacy.
“On behalf of the City of Natchez, I want to express our
gratitude to Dr. Roscoe Barnes and all who have worked to make this happen,”
Gibson said. “Prince Ibrahima’s story has long been a source of inspiration to
so many, not only here in Natchez but all across the world.
“His is a story of both triumph in the midst of
adversity and of love overcoming hate. We have a number of the Prince’s
descendants in Natchez, and I share their excitement to see this part of our
amazing Natchez story being told. We consider him to be ‘Our Prince’.”
Once the application for the MDAH marker is submitted and
approved, it will take at least six months for the marker to be manufactured
and delivered to Natchez for installation.
The Silver Street marker will be the second one
commemorating the prince in the Natchez-Adams County area. In October 2024, the
Natchez Historical Society approved a donation for a marker off of Highway 61
North near the Historic Jefferson College.
See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2025/02/14/marker-for-prince-ibrahima-gets-green-light-for-silver-street/
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