Jackie Posey to serve as grand marshal
By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
December 4, 2025 | 2:35 PM
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| (Click on image to enlarge.) |
NATCHEZ, Miss. -- The 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade will honor the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice, with community leader Jackie Posey serving as grand marshal, announced Parade Chairperson Jacqueline Marsaw.
The parade, which is sponsored by the Natchez Branch of
the NAACP, starts at 3 p.m. Monday, January 19. Participants will line up at 2
p.m. on Broadway Street on the Bluff.
The theme for the parade is, “The Fierce Urgency of Now,”
a phrase taken from a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It appears in this
excerpt: “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are
confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life
and history, there ‘is’ such a thing as being too late. This is no time for
apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
The grand marshal was selected because of her leadership
and commitment in helping people throughout the community, said Marsaw.
She noted that when Posey is not working her regular job,
she serves the Natchez community as the director of the Black Mustard Seed Community
Service Group. Through the group’s Southwest Diaper Bank of the Miss-Lou, she
and other volunteers help single mothers and others in need by donating pampers
and milk, said Marsaw.
Posey said she is grateful to Marsaw for the recognition.
“It’s a surprise and an honor,” she said. “I feel very privileged to do this.”
Posey is an administrative assistant at the Adams County
Sheriff Office. She also directs the Adams County Sheriff Office Junior Cadet Program
through which she works with students ages 10 to 18. In addition to providing
them with training, she guides them in community service projects, including
the “Stop Gun Violence” program presented recently by Grieving Mothers &
Fathers, Positive Impact, and the Natchez NAACP.
In regard to the Natchez Deacons, Marsaw said it is
fitting to honor them in the parade because of their courage and their
contribution to the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez. The Deacons provided
armed protection for the Black community and civil rights workers against the
violence of the Ku Klux Klan.
“Their history is very interesting and inspiring,” said Marsaw.
“When I was in school, I didn’t know this history. But they were there for our
community when it counted.”
Marsaw said she interviewed some of the Deacons in 2016
and 2017 for a book project led by Judge Mary Lee Toles and the NAACP. However,
Toles died in 2017, and as a result, the book was never published. Still,
Marsaw noted, what she and other NAACP members learned was impactful and will
not be forgotten.
“The Deacons told us that they didn’t hide from the KKK.
They got on roof tops and watched the Klan. Sometimes they stayed up all night,
taking turns watching the Klan,” she said, adding, 2026 is a good time to honor
them.
The parade route will start at North Broadway and
Franklin streets and will travel along Franklin to N. Dr. M.L. King St., where
it will turn left and proceed up to Minor and Spring streets, where it will
end.
Anyone interested in participating in the parade must
register by January 15. Entry fees include $50 “for unlimited entries.” The fee
is $10 for a single car or truck and $5 for a single horse. No four-wheelers
allowed.
First- through Fifth-place awards will be presented for
the best floats.
For more information, call 601-443-1350.
See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2025/12/04/2026-mlk-parade-will-honor-natchez-deacons-for-defense/
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