Katherine Parker finds beauty from above

ArtsNatchez's September Artist of the Month to exhibit her aerial photography

by Mississippi Monitor | Sep 8, 2026 | Capital/River
By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., Visit Natchez 

Photographer Katherine De'Na Parker, ArtsNatchez's Artist of the Month for September, poses with her aerial photograph of Longwood, one of her favorite pieces in the September 12 exhibit. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Katherine De’Na Parker has had a camera in her hands for as long as she can remember.
Born in New Orleans, she grew up in Slidell, Louisiana, and later Ellisville, Mississippi.
 
"My first camera was one of those little film point-and-shoot cameras we had in the 1980s," she recalls. "My mother was constantly telling me, 'Don't open that! You're going to expose the film!' Of course, I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. I just wanted to know what was inside."
 
Since then, Parker has become a professional photographer known throughout Natchez for her bright smile, creative flair, and keen eye. She moves strategically from place to place at special events, photographing scenes and capturing portraits of individuals, families and groups.
 
When she's not taking photographs professionally, she uses her camera to create art.
 
Parker is ArtsNatchez Gallery's Artist of the Month for September. Her photography will be on display Saturday, September 12, at the gallery at 425 Main St. She will greet visitors during a free reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and the event is open to the public.
 
‘Still in awe’
 
Parker says she was honored to be recognized for her photography, and she is still in awe. "There are so many extraordinarily talented artists associated with ArtsNatchez, and I am still very new to seeing myself as this kind of artist," she says.
 
Photography came naturally to her before she realized it could also become her art.
 
"To have ArtsNatchez recognize me as its September Artist of the Month, especially at this stage of that journey, is incredibly meaningful,” she says. "I am thankful to ArtsNatchez for giving me the opportunity to share work that, until now, largely existed inside my camera and my archives."
 
Although known for her work in public relations and studio photography, Parker says her specialty is aerial photography and capturing people, places and things in their most natural environments. She enjoys shooting images that depict movement while presenting candid storytelling about her subjects.
 
Most of the work represented in the ArtsNatchez exhibit comes from moments when she was either in a hot air balloon, an aircraft or on the river. “I love being in hot air balloons, helicopters, boats or aircraft and photographing the world while I am moving through it” she says. “There is nothing quite like it. People have actually asked whether some of my aerial photographs were taken with a drone. I tell them, ‘No. That was me trying not to drop my Canon out of a hot air balloon.’”

Her exhibit
 
Parker’s upcoming exhibit is titled “Reflections and Movement,” which aptly describes her body of work, some of which is already on display at ArtsNatchez. 
Much of the collection consists of aerial photography featuring architecture, wildlife, the Mississippi River and iconic Natchez landmarks. Among the featured works is an aerial view of Longwood, along with images of hot air balloons and their reflections.
 
Two of these pieces are titled "Reflection From My Balloon." They are different sizes, but they come from the same extraordinary experience, Parker says.
 
“My pilot was able to steady our balloon over a body of water long enough for me to photograph the reflection of our own hot air balloon below us,” she recalls. “You can see the balloon reflected in the water, but you can also see what appears to be the grass beneath the water. It gives the photograph an almost three-dimensional quality.”
 
Other photographs on display include inverted balloons. One of her favorites is the aerial photograph of Longwood, which allows one to see the top and sides of the structure and parts of the surrounding property.
 
“You can also see areas associated with the people who were enslaved there, and that part is difficult for me emotionally,” Parker says. “Longwood is beautiful architecture, but it is also history. History is not always comfortable. That property has stories within it that are beautiful, painful, complicated and important.”
 
Her inspiration
 
Parker was inspired by her mother to become a photographer. She says her mother pursued many creative endeavors over the years, including photography and modeling.
Parker began shooting professionally more than a decade ago while attending college. Her credentials include an associate degree in journalism from Jones County Junior College and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi. She also completed graduate courses in corporate communications at Mississippi College.
 
In Parker’s view, a photograph is a tiny piece of history, and that’s one of the things she likes about her work – and her art. As a photographer, you capture a moment that will never happen exactly that way again, she says.
 
When it comes to cameras, Parker describes herself as a “Canon girl.” Her primary camera is a Canon EOS R mirrorless camera. Thanks to this camera, and the talent behind it, her work continues to grab attention while generating compliments.
 
“I am still getting used to people's reactions,” she says. “I have heard people describe my work as phenomenal and beautiful. I have found myself thinking, 'They're talking about my photograph. Mine? Wow, God. Just, wow!' That still blows me away.”
 
ArtsNatchez Gallery is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-442-0043.

Natchez honors civil rights leader George Metcalfe

This historic event was held on the 61st anniversary of the bombing of George Metcalfe’s car by the Ku Klux Klan at the very site where the bombing occurred.

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., Visit Natchez

by Mississippi Monitor | Sep 3, 2026 | Capital/River

This marker, approved by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, was dedicated by the City of Natchez on August 27, 2026, the 61st anniversary of the Ku Klux Klan bombing of George Metcalfe's car. (Click on image to enlarge.)

 
NATCHEZ, Miss. -- The City of Natchez recently unveiled a historical marker honoring the life and legacy of civil rights leader George Metcalfe (1911-1989), whose car was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan on August 27, 1965. Metcalfe survived the attack but suffered severe injuries. No one was ever charged in connection with the bombing.

Metcalfe was president of the Natchez NAACP and a leading advocate for civil rights and economic opportunity. He led a voter registration drive that added over 8,000 Black residents to the local rolls. His activism made him a target of white supremacist violence during one of the most turbulent periods in Mississippi's civil rights struggle.
 
"Mr. George Metcalfe and many others sacrificed so much for our freedom," said Mayor Dan Gibson. "The best way we can honor them is by moving forward together, setting aside old divisions, and making sure our community is built on kindness and understanding."
 
About 60 people attended the ceremony on Thursday, August 27, 2026 – the 61st anniversary of the bombing. They gathered at the site of the bombing at the intersection of Kelly Avenue, Brenham Avenue, and South Concord Avenue, on the west side of the former Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company.

Metcalfe was employed at the Armstrong plant and had just gotten off work when he sat in his 1955 Chevrolet sedan. When he turned the ignition, a bomb planted inside the vehicle by members of the Klan exploded.

Community members pose beside a Mississippi historical marker honoring civil rights leader George Metcalfe at the site of the August 27, 1965, bombing that nearly claimed his life. The marker, approved by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, stands near the former Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company in Natchez. Photo by Albert L. Jones (Click on image to enlarge.)

The marker, approved by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, is posted in the triangle near the location where Metcalfe’s car was parked when the explosion occurred.
 
The ceremony drew people from across the Natchez community, including elected officials, educators, military veterans, and church leaders. Speakers included Alderman Billy Joe Frazier and Mississippi State Rep. Robert L. Johnson III. The Rev. Neddie Winters, former president of Mission Mississippi, served as the keynote speaker.
 
Stories and reflections
 
The audience heard stories and reflections from those who knew Metcalfe personally, as well as from individuals who recognize the significance of his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez and beyond.
 
Gibson and Winters discussed Metcalfe’s legacy and emphasized the power of love when facing hate.

“My prayer today is that this will be a day of healing and a day of reconciliation,” said Gibson. “Becoming reconciled not only to the challenges we face in today’s world, but also to those things from the past that happened beyond any of our own ability to control.”
 

The Rev. Neddie Winters delivers the keynote address during a ceremony honoring civil rights leader George Metcalfe. Photo by Albert L. Jones (Click on image to enlarge.)

Winters expressed his admiration for Metcalfe and the courage he demonstrated in his civil rights activities. “George recognized the moment and the opportunity he had to do something, and he had the courage in that moment to do what he could do with what he had,” Winters said. “He looked at his circumstances. He looked around, and in that moment he seized it.”

 
Frazier said it was a shame that Metcalfe, a World War II veteran, had served his country and came home where he was nearly killed. “He was in the war and didn’t get so much as a scratch on him,” he said. But he came home to fight for freedom that was denied because of the color of his skin, he added.
 
In Johnson’s view, the Klansmen did not plant the bomb in Metcalfe’s car merely because he was Black. “They stuck a bomb under it because Metcalfe and Wharlest Jackson Sr. took positions and money that they thought that an African American person should not have.”
 
Array of speakers
 
The program, which lasted just over an hour, featured an array of speakers that included Frances Bailey and Paul Bacon, eyewitnesses to the bombing; Jeremy Houston, author and local historian; Denise Jackson Ford, daughter of slain civil rights leader Wharlest Jackson Sr., and Wharlest Jackson Jr., his son; Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, president of the Natchez NAACP; and Bobby Dennis, director of the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture.
 
Houston was in the Marines when he read Jack E. Davis’ book, “Race Against Time,” and saw the stories about Metcalfe and other leaders in the Natchez movement. When he completed his military service and returned home, he began meeting with the leaders who were still around to learn more about Metcalfe and the civil rights history.
 
“I really appreciate George Metcalfe,” Houston said. “I wouldn’t be who I am, and I wouldn’t be able to stand up before a lot of people who I stood up before without him and Wharlest Jackson.”
 
Arceneaux-Mathis acknowledged the contributions of Metcalfe and others in the movement and urged the audience to keep fighting and voting. She said the NAACP is striving to add 16,000 people to the voting rolls.
 
Bailey and Bacon, who were teenagers at the time of the attack, described in detail Metcalfe’s suffering after the explosion. Both said he was conscious and calling for help.
 
‘Plea for help’
 
“This day will forever be with me,” said Bailey. “The memories of the pain of this man and his plea for help.”
 
Denise Jackson Ford said she was grateful that her father became an instrument in helping Metcalfe form the NAACP here along with others, including her mother, the late Exerlena Jackson. “My dad did not sacrifice his life for 17 cents raise here at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company,” she said. “He sacrificed his life because he had a family with five children and didn’t want my mother to work because of her illness.”
 
Her brother, Wharlest Jackson Jr., expressed fond memories of Metcalfe. “George Metcalfe was like a dad to me,” he said.
 
Dennis grew up during the time of the bombing. “Now I can recognize some of the lessons that have driven me in my life in growing up through the sacrifices that this man made,” he said.

Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson delivers opening remarks during a ceremony honoring civil rights leader George Metcalfe. Photo by Albert L. Jones (Click on image to enlarge.)

Other participants in the ceremony included the Rev. Dr. Chad Caldwell, associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church Natchez, who delivered the invocation, and the Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr., pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church, who gave the benediction. Tony Fields, minister of music at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church, sang the national anthem. Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez and immediate past president of the Mississippi Historical Society, served as the master of ceremonies.