Zandra McDonald delivers message of hope at 85th commemoration of the Rhythm Night Club fire

Octavious Saul Jr. of Natchez High is awarded $1,000 scholarship

By Roscoe Barnes III 

Zandra McDonald, superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District, speaks at the 85th commemoration of the 1940 Rhythm Night Club fire held Saturday, April 26, at the Rhythm Night Club (on site) Memorial Museum. Soloist Tony Fields is in the background. Photo by William Terrell and The Bluff City Post

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Zandra McDonald delivered a message of hope and inspiration at the 85th commemoration of the 1940 Rhythm Night Club fire held Saturday, April 26, at the Rhythm Night Club (on site) Memorial Museum.

“The Rhythm Night Club fire took so much from this community, but it could not take the spirit of this community,” said McDonald, who serves as the superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District. “It could not take the hope of this community and it could not take the future of this community. Yesterday shaped us, today strengthens us, and tomorrow awaits us. Education is the way we climb.  Education is the way we honor. Education is the way we rise.” 
 
Betty Sago, who co-owns the museum with her husband, Monroe Sago, said McDonald’s message came from the heart. “It was so beautiful and inspiring,” she said. “As superintendent, she’s working with the present and future generations. Her message was dynamic.”
 
McDonald’s message underscored the program’s theme, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: Education the Way Up.” The program included music by several soloists and remarks by Mayor Dan Gibson.
 
“Every year we come here to a site that is so important to the history of Natchez and also to the history of our country,” said Gibson. “Because of this site, countless lives have been actually saved across our country and all of the years since because valuable lessons were learned here.”
 
Gibson said those who perished in the fire did not die in vain. “They are to this day remembered and appreciated,” he said. “But that does not come without a sacrifice and that sacrifice has been made by the Sagos.”
 
Octavius Saul Jr. was this year’s recipient of a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Sagos for writing the winning essay about the Rhythm Night Club fire. Saul, a senior at Natchez High School, plans to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge where he will major in photography, said Betty Sago.
 
Saul is the son of Octavius Sr. and Quantonya Saul, both of whom were present for the scholarship award.

Octavius Saul Jr., a senior at Natchez High School, is the 2025 recipient of the $1,000 Rhythm Night Club Memorial Museum scholarship. Monroe and Betty Sago, the museum's co-owners, presented Saul with the scholarship Saturday, April 26, during the 85th commemoration of the Rhythm Night Club fire. From left are Monroe Sago, Octavius Saul, Quantonya Saul, Octavius Saul Sr., and Betty Sago. Photo by William Terrell and The Bluff City Post (Click on image to enlarge.)

McDonald began her presentation by acknowledging the contributions of the Sagos through the museum. “Thank you for creating this sacred space — a place where memory lives, where history breathes, and where our community can come together to honor, to heal, and to dream forward,” she said. “Your vision and dedication ensure that the lives we lost are never forgotten, and that the hope they carried lives on through all of us.”

 
She said the program’s theme is one “that not only speaks to our dreams for the future but also calls us to remember the echoes of the past.”
 
In keeping with the theme, McDonald said “Yesterday” is about remembering, especially those who lost their lives. She noted the fire of April 23, 1940, changed Natchez forever. “Over 200 lives were taken in the blink of an eye — mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, musicians, and dreamers. A tragedy that left a scar on our hearts but also taught us the power of resilience. It reminds us that every breath we take today is a gift paid for by those who came before us — those who, though gone, still sing in the spirit of this city.”
 
“Today” is about reflection, McDonald said. “We recognize that education is not merely about books and tests,” she said. “It is about freedom — the kind of freedom that allows a child to dream beyond circumstances, to envision a life untouched by tragedy, limited only by the size of their imagination. Today, we gather as proof that the seeds of progress planted generations ago are still growing — that from ashes and sorrow, hope can rise.”
 
McDonald said, “Tomorrow” is about rising. “Tomorrow belongs to the students we nurture, the leaders we inspire, the dreams we dare to believe,” she said. “Education is — and has always been — the way up. It is the bridge from despair to destiny, from loss to legacy, from brokenness to brilliance. When we teach a child, we don’t just change their life — we change the very future of our communities, our cities, our world.”
 
The Rhythm Night Club commemoration is held each year to honor the 200-plus victims who died in the club’s 1940 fire. It also pays homage to the survivors.