George Metcalfe |
Roscoe Reporting
Sharing news, research, stories, and other material by Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D. Research topics include F.F. Bosworth, Ernest Hemingway, Anne Moody, and Natchez, MS. Email: roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com
Thursday, September 21, 2023
My article on George Metcalfe is published by BlackPast.org
Part 2: MPB Think Radio interview of Frances Jefferson, sister of Anne Moody
#AnneMoody
Frances Jefferson, sister of Anne Moody, is interviewed by reporter Desare Frazier on Mississippi Edition MPB Think Radio.
Interview begins at 16:30.
Visit this link:
https://shows.acast.com/5d892b22719a100a4a0192bd/6509b0d83f085f00129a2662
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
MPB Think Radio interview of Frances Jefferson, sister of Anne Moody
#AnneMoody
Frances Jefferson, sister of Anne Moody, is interviewed by reporter Desare Frazier on Mississippi Edition MPB Think Radio.
Interview begins at 16:26.
Visit this link:
https://shows.acast.com/5d892b22719a100a4a0192bd/6509b0d83f085f00129a2662
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Natchez Historical Society awarded $2,400 grant by Mississippi Humanities Council
Special for The Natchez Democrat
Published 12:49 pm Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023
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Since the creation of the program, speakers have included authors, university professors, independent scholars, community leaders, and elected officials.
The society also hosts an annual dinner in January that includes a speaker and presentation of its Historic Preservation Award. The award honors individuals or organizations who have made a significant contribution to historic preservation or the study of history within the Natchez area.
Monday, September 11, 2023
Stanley Nelson to talk about ’66 murder of Ben Chester White at Sept. 26 meeting of Natchez Historical Society
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Sep 11, 2023 | 2:53 p.m.
Stanley Nelson
Author, "Devils Walking" and "Klan of Devils"
NATCHEZ, Miss. – The killing of Ben Chester White, one of the brutal murders that occurred in Natchez during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, will be discussed by Stanley Nelson at the Tuesday, Sept. 26, meeting of the Natchez Historical Society.
The meeting will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m. and
Nelson’s presentation at 6 p.m., at the Historic Natchez Foundation at 108 S.
Commerce St. The event is free to the public.
Nelson’s presentation is titled, “Murder on Pretty Creek:
New Revelations on an Old Case.” It will focus on White, the 67-year-old Black
man who was murdered in 1966 by the Ku Klux Klan. Nelson will talk about his
alleged killers, two of whom, Ernest Avants and James Lloyd Jones, were charged
but not convicted in 1967; and a third one, Claude Fuller, who was never
brought to trial.
Nelson said Avants was convicted decades later in federal
court and died in prison a short time after his conviction.
“The murder of Ben Chester White is one of the most
haunting cases I have ever worked on,” said Nelson. “One Klansman confessed his
involvement in the murder and identified the other two Klansmen involved. Yet a
jury couldn’t reach a verdict in the confessor’s case because at least two
Klansmen were on the jury.”
Nelson is the author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders
Along the Mississippi River in the 1960s (LSU Press, 2016) and “Klans of
Devils: The Murder of a black Louisiana Deputy Sheriff” (LSU, 2021). He was the
longtime editor of the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, La.
“Mr. Nelson has long held a justifiable reputation in
Natchez as being as or more effective than the FBI in sleuthing out the
terror-network here that was the Klan,” said Alan Wolf, a director of the
society and its program chair. “Mr. Nelson promises to be true to form at this
important coming presentation.”
The alleged killers reportedly drove to White’s house on
June 10, 1966, and lured him away with the promise that they would pay him two
dollars to help find a dog. White, according to Nelson, was gentle man, who was
known to be kind and even timid when it came to challenging the authority of a
white man. He was not active in politics or the civil rights movement.
Nelson reported the story as follows:
After White got into their car, they took him to the
Pretty Creek bridge in Homochitto National Forest. The men got out of the car
with Fuller grabbing an automatic carbine and Avants, a shotgun. Fuller said to
White, “All right, Pop, get out.”
White said, “Oh, Lord, what have I done to deserve this?”
Fuller unloaded 17 rounds into White, and Avant finished
him off with a shotgun blast to his head. They threw his body over the bridge
and onto the bank of Pretty Creek.
Nelson said the killing was said to be a set-up for
another murder: “There also were stories that this was a murder ordered by higher
ups in the White Knights to draw Martin Luther King to Natchez in protest where
Klansmen would assassinate him. But was this really true? We’ll be sharing
never before reported information about this and on other aspects of the case
at the NHS meeting.”
The society’s program featuring Nelson is funded in part
by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information on this NHS event, call 601-492-3000
or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Zion Chapel to celebrate Hiram Revels with bust in his honor
Sep 6, 2023 | 3:56 PM
Rev. Birdon Mitchell, pastor of Zion Chapel A.M.E.
Chapel, said Hiram Revels was a man of many accomplishments. |
The Rev. Birdon Mitchell, pastor of Zion Chapel, said he was excited about the opportunity to pay homage to Revels.
“I, along with the Zion Chapel family, am ecstatic that Hiram Revels, a former pastor of our church, the first president of Alcorn College, and the first person of color to serve in the United State Senate, is being recognized in our community,” he said. “The Lord’s name be praised! I’m truly thankful to all who are involved in making this event possible.”
The unveiling is free to the public. It is, in part, a celebration of Revels’ birthday, according to Norma West, event organizer. Revels was born on Sept. 27, 1827.
A banner featuring Bishop Richard Allen and Hiram Revels
is displayed on the second floor of Zion Chapel A.M.E. Chapel. |
Sculptor Bob Willis was selected by Zion Chapel A.M.E.
Church to sculpt the bust of Hiram Revels. |
Willis is a retired pastor with a passion for telling stories through his art. His work shows a special interest in Natchez’s history. Over the years, he has sculpted several busts related to Natchez, including one of John Roy Lynch, which he donated to the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture.
Willis said he appreciates the opportunity to recognize Revels through his work. “It was my honor to sculpt a bust of Hiram Revels, recognizing his faithful service to his community, to our Country, and to our God,” he said.
For more information on the Hiram R. Revels unveiling ceremony, call 601-807-0454.
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Civil Rights Leader George Metcalfe’s Obituary
He was the president of the Natchez branch of the NAACP when he survived an attempted assassination by the KKK. His car was bombed by the Klan on Aug. 27, 1965.
George Metcalfe's obit appeared in the April 27 - May 3, 1989, issue of The Monroe Dispatch (click on image to enlarge) |
I finally have a copy of civil rights leader George Metcalfe’s obituary that appeared in the April 27 – May 3, 1989, issue of The Monroe Dispatch (Monroe, La.). I am grateful to Rebecca Wolfe of Ouachita Parish Public Library for her assistance in making this information available.
I learned of the obit’s publication through FindaGrave.com. In the interest of clarity for the readers of this page, I’m writing it out in the space below.
Homegoing Services for Bro. George Metcalfe
During the integration crisis during the ‘60s, Brother George Metcalfe marched side by side in Mississippi with the Evers Brothers Charles and the late Medgar Evers according to Dispatch sources.
Brother Metcalfe was funeralized in the Peter Rock Baptist Church on Tuesday, April 25, Rev. F. D. Nash officiated. Brother Metcalfe’s homegoing was unexpected Friday, April 21, 1989 at his residence at 2117 Evans Ave.
Bro. Metcalfe leaves to cherish his memories four daughters: Georgia Lue Miller, Lottie Arnold, Bobbie Jean Gilbert, all of Los Angeles, Beatrice Smith, Wisner, La.; one son: Jimmy Metcalfe, Los Angeles, Ca.: 5 sisters: Earnestine Metcalfe, Florence Metcalfe, Martha Harris, of Monroe, La., Bertha Brass, Wisner, La., Barbara Gibson, Los Angeles, Ca.: 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
My article on George Metcalfe is published by BlackPast.org
GEORGE METCALFE (1911-1989) Contributed by: Roscoe Barnes III Posted Sept. 20, 2023 George Metcalfe (Courtesy of Ed Pincus Film Collection,...