Oct 26, 2023 | 7:48 AM
 |
Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley created the
poster, “This No. 9 St. Catherine Street Yellow House” to tell the story of the
civil rights movement in Natchez. His image as seen here was provided by
Kathleen Bond, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park. Photo by
Ben Hillyer |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley
says the poster he created earlier this year provides critical details about the
civil rights movement in Natchez, where much of the history springs from the
“yellow house” at 9 St. Catherine St.
During the 1960s, the house served as the home of NAACP
President George Metcalfe and the headquarters for the local NAACP. Today, the
house is known as the Dr. John Banks House or the Dr. John Bowman Banks Museum.
It is also the site of Natchez’s first Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker.
Boxley’s poster is titled, “This No. 9 St. Catherine
Street Yellow House.” It is designed on one side of a 12×18 cardstock with two
black-and-white, historic photos and a colored photo of the yellow house. The
written content, presented like an essay, is about 1,900 words.
The idea for the poster grew out of a concern about “the
whole truth” being told about African American history in Natchez, Boxley said.
For too long, he added, “only the White, European, segregated history was being
promoted.”
Boxley said the public needs to know that the history of
the modern civil rights movement in Natchez came out of the house on St.
Catherine. His poster, he said, is “designed to arm people with what really
happened in the civil rights movement and not just the story of Dr. John Banks”
and his work as a physician. “This is all in the interest of wholistic
history,” he said.
The historical narrative presented on the poster is based
on Boxley’s research and his personal experience in the civil rights movement.
In 1965, when Boxley returned to Natchez to visit his mother, he attended a
meeting with the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice, a paramilitary group
that provided armed protection for the civil rights workers and the Black
community.
Boxley said he became a member of the Deacons, and he assisted them with fundraising and acquiring firearms.
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Boxley’s poster essay opens with a reference to NAACP President George Metcalfe living at the yellow house and operating a boarding house on the site. He notes the use of the house by many in the civil rights movement.
He writes: “On July 21, 1964, as part of the state-wide
Freedom Summer Project, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee )
workers returned to Natchez and attempted to organize a Freedom Ballot and
begin a small COFO (Council of Federated Organizations) voter registration
project, with the help of Goerge Metcalfe and the Natchez NAACP at this yellow
house.”
The SNCC members included Dorie Ladner, Chuck McDew and
Charles “Chico” Neblett, Boxley writes, adding Bill Ware, George Greene, and
Burt Watkins also came to Natchez to assist in the movement.
Boxley notes that when members of the Ku Klux Klan tried
to assassinate Ladner and other SNCC members by bombing Freedom House No. 1 at
Jake Fisher’s place in the 600 block of South Wall Street, the ladies stayed at
Metcalfe’s boarding house.
Boxley writes that Metcalfe and his friend, Wharlest
Jackson Sr., were “two strong leaders” who emerged from the house. Both of them
worked at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company and both were active members of the
NAACP.
Boxley lists the key members of the NAACP who were
instrumental in bringing about change in Natchez. In addition to Metcalfe and
Jackson, he lists Archie Curtis, John Fitzgerald, Mozana Green, Holy Family
Church’s Father Morrissey, George West Sr., Jonathan Grennell, Rayfard Baptist,
and Robert Johnson Sr., among others.
Readers of Boxley’s poster will see detailed information
about the Natchez movement. It features, for example, the harassment Metcalfe
received from the Klan that included threats and shooting into the window of
his home. The essay also covers the Aug. 27, 1965, bombing of Metcalfe’s car by
the Klan, which he survived, but suffered serious injuries.
Also featured is a behind-the-scenes look at the
movement, including the work of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and
State NAACP Field Director Charles Evers, brother of slain State NAACP leader
Medgar Evers.
Boxley covers the establishment of the Natchez Deacons
for Defense and Justice under the leadership of James “Big Jack” Jackson and
their role in providing armed protection for the black community. He recounts
how the black community, angry and motivated, stood up to the White oppressors.
They held nightly mass meetings and demonstrations. They also called on the
city to denounce the Klan and other white supremacists.
According to Boxley, the Black community’s use of armed
self-defense, economic boycott of white-owned businesses, and enforcement of
the boycott, resulted in the city conceding to the demands of the NAACP.
Boxley ends his essay with a quote by historian Lance
Hill, who wrote, “The Natchez campaign was the single greatest community
victory for the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi.”
For more information:
Boxley’s poster on the civil rights movement is available
for a $10 donation plus $5 for shipping and handling for one copy. Payment
should be made to Friends of Forks of the Road, P.O. Box 2188 Natchez, MS
39121. For more information, call 601-442-4719 or send email to Forksyaroads@aol.com.
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