Expert to tell forgotten story of Gulf South during American Revolution at Historical Society meeting Sept. 24

By Roscoe Barnes III
The Natchez Democrat
Published 4:18 pm Wednesday, September 11, 2024 

Mike Bunn
(Click on link to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ — Mike Bunn, director of Historic Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama, will give a lecture at the Tuesday, Sept. 24 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. 
His topic is, “Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South during America’s Revolutionary Era.” Bunn’s presentation is part of a lecture series that is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 
The program will be held at Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez. It will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m. and Bunn’s presentation at 6 p.m. It is free to the public. All are welcome, members and non-members alike.
 
“The Gulf South played an important part in America’s revolutionary period, though most of us are not as acquainted with this chapter of regional history as we perhaps should be,” Bunn said. “I’m excited to share my research into this important era of our past in historic Natchez, a place which has its own special connection to this remarkable story.”
 
The forgotten 14th colony of the America’s Revolutionary era was “the British colony of West Florida, which once stretched from the mighty Mississippi to the shallow bends of the Apalachicola and portions of what are now the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,” noted Bunn. His presentation will include a discussion of the affairs in Natchez during the Revolutionary era.
 
Bunn is the author or co-author of several books, including “Fort Stoddert: American Sentinel on the Mobile River, 1799-1814; “Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era,” and “The Assault on Fort Blakeley: ‘The Thunder and Lightning of Battle.’”
 
Bunn is the editor of Muscogiana, the journal of the Muscogee County (Georgia) Genealogical Society. He is a recent recipient of the J.Y. Sanders Research Scholar Award presented by The Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies of Southeastern Louisiana University.
 
As a historian, Bunn has worked with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, and the Columbus (Georgia) Museum.
 
In addition to chairing the Baldwin County Historic Development Commission, Bunn is treasurer of the Friends of Old Mobile, and a member of the board of the Alabama Historical Association.
 
Bunn is a resident of Alabama. He holds an undergraduate degree from Faulkner University and two master’s degrees from the University of Alabama.
 
For more information on the society’s Sept. 24 meeting, call 281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org
 
Read more at: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2024/09/11/expert-to-tell-forgotten-story-of-gulf-south-during-american-revolution-at-historical-society-meeting-sept-24/


 

Mike Bunn to discuss Natchez and 14th colony of American Revolutionary era at Sept. 24 meeting of Natchez Historical Society

Mike Bunn, director of Historic Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, Ala., will give a lecture at the Tuesday, Sept. 24 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. His topic is, “Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South during America's Revolutionary Era.” Bunn’s presentation is part of a lecture series that is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The program will be held at Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez. It will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m. and Bunn’s presentation at 6:00 p.m. It is free to the public. All are welcome, members and non-members alike.

The forgotten 14th colony of the America's Revolutionary era was “the British colony of West Florida―which once stretched from the mighty Mississippi to the shallow bends of the Apalachicola and portions of what are now the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,” notes Bunn. His presentation on this topic will include a discussion of the affairs in Natchez during the Revolutionary era.

For more information on this event, call 281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org

Alcorn State University to host program on ‘Blues to Southern Soul’

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA/ListenUpYall.com
Sept. 10, 2024/10:11 a.m.

Dr. Renardo Murray

LORMAN, Miss. -- Dr. Renardo Murray, associate professor and associate dean at Alcorn State University, will give a talk on “The Transition from Blues to Southern Soul” at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in Dumas Hall, Room 107, at Alcorn State University, Lorman Campus.

The program is sponsored by the Southwest MS Center for Culture and Learning, and Alcorn State University College of Arts and Science. It is free and open to the public.

“Dr. Murray is a talented and experienced musician, teacher, administrator, and a gifted speaker,” said Teresa Busby, executive director of the Southwest MS Center for Culture and Learning. “We are delighted that he has agreed to share his knowledge of the blues and southern soul as part of our fall speaker series.”

Busby said Murray’s presentation will be “informative and entertaining as he explains that in addition to rhythm and blues, southern soul was influenced by country, gospel, rock, and pop.”

Murray is an associate professor of Music and the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A native of Jackson, he served as director of Bands at Alcorn from 2011-2018. His experience includes a stint at Jackson State University where he served as assistant band director and later as interim director of bands and music instructor.

Murray also served as band director at Yazoo City High School, Blackburn Middle School, and Clinton High School. He worked as assistant band director for Wilkinson County High School.

With regard to his education, Murray earned his Doctor of Philosophy in music education from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in the same field from Jackson State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Alcorn.

For more information, call 601.877.6551. To request disability-related accommodations contact the Disability Coordinator at least five days in advance at 601-877-6460 (office) or e-mail at disabilityservices@alcorn.edu.

THE GREEN BOOK: Three local businesses provided services for African American travelers during Jim Crow

J.T. Robinson displays a copy of the Green Book which lists the Riverside Restaurant at 200 S. Broadway St., Natchez. It was the business that was owned and managed by his grandmother, Willie C. Walker, in the 1960s. (Click on image to enlarge.)

The Green Book was a travelers guide for African American motorists that listed safe places for them to visit during the Jim Crow era, when segregation and discrimination were legal. Created by Victor Hugo Green (1892-1960), the book was published from 1936 to 1967.

This article discusses the three businesses in Natchez, Miss., that appeared in the Green Book beginning in 1956. They included Homes Restaurant at 208 St. Catherine St., Mrs. S. Miller Tourist Home at 31 Bishop Street, and Riverside Restaurant at 200 S. Broadway St. Riverside Restaurant and Mrs. S. Miller Tourist Home appeared in each edition from 1956 through the final edition in 1967.

See the full article at this link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383696816_THE_GREEN_BOOK_Three_local_businesses_provided_services_for_African_American_travelers_during_Jim_Crow