Mental health theme set for 86th commemoration of Rhythm Night Club Fire

Diana Hunter to serve as guest speaker for the April 25 event

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Apr 14, 2026 | 3:25 PM

Monroe Sago, co-owner with his wife Betty of the Rhythm Night Club (On Site) Memorial Museum, stands at the historical marker in front of the museum. Photo by Roscoe Barnes III (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Diana Addison Hunter, longtime employee of the Mississippi State Hospital, will serve as guest speaker at the 86th commemoration of the Rhythm Night Club Fire, which occurred on April 23, 1940. The annual ceremony will be held at 12 p.m. Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Rhythm Night Club (On Site) Memorial Museum at 5 St. Catherine Street.

The event is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Mental Health: Where the Rubber Meets the Road.”

Betty Sago, co-owner of the museum with her husband, Monroe, said mental health is a topic she has wanted to address for many years, in part, because of conversations with the survivors.
 
“So many of the people we’ve talked to over the years, especially the survivors, said they can’t get the fire out of their mind,” she said. “They’ve struggled with the loss of their friends and family members. So many people were affected by this tragedy. We thought it was time to finally talk about these issues in mental health.”
 
Betty Sago said Hunter is the ideal speaker for the occasion because of her professional experience in the mental health field.
 
Hunter, a resident of Jackson, is a human resources supervisor at the Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield. She is a graduate of West Point High School and Jackson State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
 
In addition to completing coursework for human resources certification, she is a Certified Public Manager. She has been employed at the hospital since 1993.
 
“This is an opportunity to share and educate people and let them know they have options and a lot of different avenues through which they can maintain mental health. A lot of us focus on our physical health, but mental health is just as important.”
 
Hunter said the theme is fitting. “If our mental health is not in tune or intact, we’re not able to hit the ground running,” she said.
 
Hunter also expressed appreciation for the Sagos and their work. She said the Sagos “are amazing people,” and for her, it has been “a grand opportunity to know them and see the work they’re doing with the museum.”
 
The Sagos have hosted the commemoration each year since 2010 to honor the more than 200 victims who died in the club’s 1940 fire. They also recognize the survivors and their families. Additionally, they award scholarships ranging from $500 to $1000 to local high school students who write a winning essay about the museum and the story of the fire.
 
The 2025 recipient was Octavius Saul Jr, who was a senior at Natchez High School. He was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Betty Sago said he planned to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge.
 
Participants in this year’s ceremony will include Stephanie S. Vivian of Terry, who will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Soloists Lawrence Winston of McComb and Barbara Evans of Natchez will perform special selections. Dr. Roscoe Barnes III will share remarks about his work as the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.
 
As a community event, the ceremony is supported by the Natchez Fire Department, which will open the event with a siren blast of a fire engine. Near the conclusion of the program, organizers will distribute door prizes, and refreshments will be served afterward.
 
The Sagos also invite attendees to tour the museum and view recently acquired items in its collection.
 
For more information, call 601-597-0557 or send email to bettysago@rnconsitemm.org.

See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2026/04/14/mental-health-theme-set-for-86th-commemoration-of-rhythm-night-club-fire/

 

Visit Natchez releases new self-guided tour brochure on Prince Ibrahima

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Apr 10, 2026 | 1:24 PM

The newly released “Prince Ibrahima: A Profile and Self-Guided Tour” brochure was produced by Visit Natchez with a mini-grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. — A new brochure telling the story of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima (1762-1829) — and mapping key sites tied to his life in Natchez and Adams County — is now available free to the public.

The publication, titled “Prince Ibrahima: A Profile and Self-Guided Tour,” was produced by Visit Natchez and funded by a $2,111 mini-grant awarded in 2024 by the Mississippi Humanities Council.

“The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to support this project that highlights one of Mississippi’s most remarkable stories,” said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. “This brochure is part of Natchez’s ongoing effort to uplift its full history and challenge simplistic or incomplete accounts of its past.”

The pocket-sized tour guide features a biographical profile of Ibrahima, along with a list of key sites tied to his life in Natchez and Adams County, including places he visited and related gravesites. A map and photographs of the selected sites are included.

The brochure was designed by Dustin Hinkle of Open Market Design Company and printed by Catherine Murray of Murray Printing.

Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez, said she and her staff are excited about the publication, as are many others in the community.

“This is a beautifully designed publication that meets a real need in our community,” she said. “It tells an important story. At the same time, it is practical in that it allows readers to literally visit the places frequented by Prince Ibrahima. We invite everyone to pick up a copy and start engaging with this vital piece of Natchez’s history.”

Gilbert noted that the prince’s story is published as a convenient, easy-to-use resource for self-guided tours. It is available in print and online at the Visit Natchez website.

Bobby Dennis, director of the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, said the prince’s legacy remains an essential part of Natchez’s history. Among other things, he said, “The story of the prince’s life in Natchez shows the amount of knowledge and skills a man had before his enslavement.”

Mayor Dan M. Gibson welcomed the brochure, saying it aligns with the city’s broader efforts to share its complete history.

“The story of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima is one of the most remarkable stories in all of Natchez history,” he said. “This new brochure not only honors his legacy but also invites residents and visitors to learn more about Natchez as we continue to tell all of our stories.”

Ibrahima, who was Muslim, was a highly educated Fulani prince and military leader, from Timbo, in the Futa Jallon region of present-day Guinea, West Africa. He was captured in 1788 and sold to slave traders. He spent 40 years enslaved on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez before gaining his freedom in 1828 with the help of Andrew Marschalk, known as the “Father of Mississippi Journalism,” and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Clay during the administration of President John Quincy Adams.

Copies of “Prince Ibrahima: A Profile and Self-Guided Tour” are available at the following locations:

* NAPAC Museum, 301 Main St.

* Visit Natchez at The Depot Visitor Center, 200 N. Broadway St.

* Visit Natchez, 500 Main St., Suite 1

* Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St.

* Natchez City Hall, 124 S. Pearl St.

* Natchez City Sightseeing Tours (in the lobby of The Natchez Grand Hotel), 111 N. Broadway St.

The Prince Ibrahima brochure may also be downloaded at https://visitnatchez.org/wp-content/uploads/website-11×17-Ibrahima-Brochure-2026-FINAL.pdf

For more information, call Roscoe Barnes III at Visit Natchez at 601-492-3004.

Natchez unveils second Prince Ibrahima marker on Silver Street

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Apr 10, 2026 | 7:24 AM

Direct descendants of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima join ceremony participants, Mayor Dan Gibson and Alderwoman Valencia Hall at the new historical marker on Silver Street. The marker was dedicated Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Photo by Michael Wilson (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. — The City of Natchez unveiled a historical marker honoring Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima (1762–1829) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, on Silver Street. The marker stands near the site where he arrived as an enslaved man in 1788 and later departed Natchez as a free man with his wife, Isabella, on April 8, 1828.

“This marker ties into the larger story of Natchez, a river city that embraces its full history, even the shameful periods, for the purpose of enlightening its residents, visitors, and tens of thousands of tourists annually,” said Shelia Byrd, guest speaker for the ceremony. “This marker is a reminder to all that a rich history is undoubtedly complicated, complex and uncomfortable.”

Byrd is a former Associated Press reporter who now serves as deputy director of Programs and Communication Division at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “Nearly 200 years after he sailed from a dock here, we’re gathered to unveil a lasting marker so that, perhaps, in another 100 years, future generations will know the story of Prince Ibrahima, his escape from slavery, and of Natchez Under the Hill,” she said.

Ibrahima was a Muslim prince from Timbo in the Futa Jallon region of present-day Guinea, West Africa. He was captured in battle in 1788 and sold to slave traders. He endured 40 years of enslavement on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez, before gaining his freedom.

Byrd discussed his history through the lens of family and legacy and how it fits into the broader story of Natchez and the United States.

“Prince Ibrahima’s story is unique, but in many ways ubiquitous,” she said. “Though he was an educated man, who was multilingual, he was stripped of any material regality in Natchez, where he was made a laborer. He was among the tens of thousands enslaved in Mississippi at that time.”

Despite his subjugation, Byrd said, “Prince Ibrahima was a husband and a father, who provided stability for his family – as much as possible under the circumstances. When we think about slavery and its many destructive elements, we must remember the extreme toll exacted on Black families.”

In opening remarks, Mayor Dan Gibson said it is good to live in a city like Natchez “where we are not afraid to tell our whole story.” He said there was a time when the whole story was not told here and that even today it is not told in many places across the United States.

“But here in Natchez, we know that this is a story that must be told, because it is a story about a people, and about today, a particular individual who absolutely helped build Natchez,” he said.

Gibson suggested Ibrahima is someone to admire for many reasons. He noted his “brilliant upbringing,” his royalty and education, including his multilingual abilities and leadership.

“The story is the story,” he said. “I’m not here to repeat that story. My job is to say we are telling that story. Not just today but every day, and it’s not just the story of one prince, it’s the story of an entire people.”

Gibson said there is good and bad in Natchez’s history, “but it is our history.” He added:

“It is unconscionable to stand right here on this beautiful river in this oldest city on the mightiest bluff on the mightiest river and to ignore those and their ancestors who came before us and built this city. In fact, it is unconscionable that we would ever fail to recognize those across our country whose ancestors built so much of this country and on whose backs much of this country was established.”

The program included remarks by David Dreyer, local historian and genealogist. He said, “This marker acknowledges the 40-year impact of slavery on one man’s life and family over 200 years ago, but the story remains to be told about the complexities of his family’s attempt to recover from the American experience of slavery and to rectify its injustice and inhumanity.”

Other participants in the day’s program included Vickie R. Green, Mistress of Ceremonies; Rev. Dr. Joan Gandy, who presented the Invocation; Tony Fields, who sang special selections; and Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr., who provided the Benediction.

Ainsley Dupre, student at Adams County Christian School, and Halle Stamps, student at Cathedral High School, both members of the Mayor’s Youth Council, read excerpts from Dr. Terry Alford’s book, “Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in the American South” (Oxford University Press, 1977).

The Silver Street marker is the second one erected in the Natchez-Adams County area honoring the prince. The first, funded by the Natchez Historical Society, was unveiled in October 2025 on Highway 61 North near Historic Jefferson College and focuses on Ibrahima’s 1807 meeting with Dr. John Coates Cox. The new riverfront marker highlights his West African roots and the site of his departure to freedom.

See more here: https://listenupyall.com/2026/04/10/natchez-unveils-second-prince-ibrahima-marker-on-silver-street/

Natchez filmmakers donate ‘The Parchman Ordeal’ to JSU’s Margaret Walker Center

Film and original interviews preserved, now available to the public
 

by Mississippi Monitor | Apr 7, 2026 | Capital/River

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

Natchez filmmakers Robert Morgan and Darrell S. White donated "The Parchman Ordeal: The Untold Story," co-produced with the late director G. Mark LaFrancis, to the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University for preservation and public access on YouTube. This earlier photo shows the three producers (from left): Darrell White, G. Mark LaFrancis, and Robert Morgan. Photo courtesy of Robert Morgan (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- “The Parchman Ordeal: The Untold Story,” a documentary highlighting a pivotal chapter in the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez, has found a permanent home at the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University. The film is now preserved in the university’s archives and available for free viewing on the Center’s YouTube channel.
 
The Margaret Walker Center acquired the film and its accompanying original interview footage through a donation from Natchez filmmakers Robert Morgan and Darrell S. White, who co-produced the film with director G. Mark LaFrancis. LaFrancis died in June 2024 following a long battle with cancer.
 
“The Parchman Ordeal” premiered in October 2015 at the City Auditorium in Natchez, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1965 civil rights events it depicts. The documentary presents the story of African Americans arrested in Natchez for attempting to march for their civil rights. They were later jailed at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman in 1965, where they endured severe abuse.
 
“The Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University is extremely pleased to be adding the documentary film, ‘The Parchman Ordeal: The Untold Story,’ as well as its accompanying original interview footage to our oral history collection,” said Alissa Rae Funderburk, oral historian at the Margaret Walker Center.
 
“Though we have an extensive collection of civil rights interviews in our archive, this documentary sheds light on an important moment in the struggle and brings the stories of Parchman’s brave survivors to the forefront,” Funderburk said. “We hope that by providing access to such a thought-provoking film, we can remind our audience of the value of storytelling and the power of truth.”

Morgan said he is “deeply appreciative” of the university’s commitment to preserving and sharing Natchez’s history.
 

“We thank the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University for preserving the documentary and making it accessible,” Morgan said. “Honoring the roughly 150 young men and women arrested for parading without a permit during the civil rights era inspires future generations to boldly stand up against unconstitutional injustice.”

White echoed those sentiments. “The filmmakers’ mission was to accurately document the sacrifices made by those who took a stand on behalf of others, and the price they paid for their efforts,” he said. “We salute the Margaret Walker Center of Jackson State University for their commitment in helping to tell this forgotten and previously untold story.”
 
Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez, applauded the decision by Morgan and White to partner with the Margaret Walker Center.
 
“This is an important documentary of Natchez’s history that highlights both the struggle and triumph of our local residents during the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. “Visit Natchez was pleased to assist the filmmakers with this new arrangement with the Margaret Walker Center. We’re especially excited to know ‘The Parchman Ordeal’ will be professionally preserved and made available to a much wider audience.”
 
In 2017, “The Parchman Ordeal” was recognized as the Most Transformative Film at the Crossroads Film Festival. The film was produced in partnership with the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture and was funded in part by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council. In addition to being aired on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, it became the basis for the book, “The Parchman Ordeal: 1965 Natchez Civil Rights Injustice” (The History Press, 2018).
 
“The Parchman Ordeal: The Untold Story” can be viewed on the Margaret Walker Center’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/yJqTXt2tEp4
 
About the Margaret Walker Center
 
The Margaret Walker Center is an archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture. Founded as the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People by Margaret Walker in 1968, the Center seeks to honor her academic, artistic, and activist legacy through its archival collections, exhibits, and public programs.
 
 See more at this link: https://www.themississippimonitor.com/natchez-filmmakers-donate-the-parchman-ordeal-to-jsus-margaret-walker-center/ 

Anne Moody is spotlighted on Mississippi History Now homepage

I'm happy to see my article featured on the Mississippi History Now homepage! Anne Moody (1940-2015), the powerful civil rights activist and author of the classic memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi, is currently spotlighted right on the front page — and I’m proud that my piece about her is part of this collection.

What an honor to contribute to this outstanding resource from the Mississippi Historical Society and MDAH.

Take a look: https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/anne-moody-1940-2015-civil-rights-activist-and-author-coming-age-mississippi

 

Ibrahima marker to be dedicated April 8

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Wednesday, April 1, 2026, page 4A)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top of the Morning

Prince Ibrahima marker dedicated April 8

 

By David Dreyer

 
Two hundred and thirty-eight years ago, Abdul Rahman aka Prince Ibrahima was captured in an ambush in the fog of war. He was 26 years old, educated in Timbuctoo and already a military hero in his father’s Kingdom of Futa Jallon, an independent nation in the mountains of today’s Republic of Guinea in West Africa.
 
He was sold into slavery, brought to Natchez in the bowels of a slave ship, and sold under-the-hill to a man his own age who took him to his plantation north of town at Foster’s Fields on Pine Ridge. He was held here during the terms of our first six presidents of the United States, although initially Natchez was then under the rule of Spain.
 
Forty years later, at the age of 66, he was allowed to travel north to Washington, D.C. on his return to Africa with his American-born wife Isabella, but they had to leave their children behind in hopes he could raise enough money to free them as well.
 
After a year raising money, he felt compelled to leave and shortly thereafter died in what became the new nation of Liberia. Two of his sons, including the family of one of them, also reached Liberia the following year and intermarried with local people.
 
Meanwhile his other children were divided among the slaveholder’s wife, children and sons-in-law in the Natchez District and southern Louisiana, not to experience freedom for another 35 years.
 
Generations later in 1977, a young historian, Terry Alford of Indianola, Mississippi, published a book about his life called “Prince Among Slaves.” A generation after that, Artemus Gaye, a refugee from the Liberian Civil War, discovered that book and his own descent from Prince Ibrahima.
 
In 2003, Gaye held an Ibrahima Fest at the Natchez Community Center, bringing together scholars, descendants and most importantly, an American Muslim filmmaker, Alex Kronemer, who would tell Ibrahima’s story on film for the American Experience series on PBS. That would renew stories by other descendants of their descent from an African Prince.
 
On Wednesday, April 8, at 11:30 a.m., a marker will be dedicated near the dock under-the-hill to commemorate his life as an identifiable African who was brought here enslaved and whose family now has a 300-year-old history which connects them directly to a place and family in Africa. Few descendants of enslaved African Americans are able to do that because of the anonymity imposed by slavery.
 
This marker to an enslaved African represents all of them, many who remain nameless, for what they did to create and develop this city, state, and nation. It will greet the many visitors to Natchez who arrive and depart in comfort on riverboats to see what the labor of thousands of Africans and their descendants have created here in the Natchez District and neighboring Louisiana.

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David Dreyer is a local historian and Natchez resident.
 
See more at this link: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/opinion/ibrahima-marker-to-be-dedicated-april-8-624b1ef9

Images from Natchez Powwow 2026

 

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Bruce Wayne Klinekole II is featured here. He is a Native American character actor of Comanche/Apache Tribe of Oklahoma/Mescalero Apache ancestry.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Oscar-nominated songwriter Scott George of Hominy, Oklahoma (center, wearing the white hat), is pictured at the drum during a performance at the Natchez Powwow on Saturday, March 28, 2026. To his left sits Eddie Yellowfish (Osage-Otoe-Comanche) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who served as head singer of the Southern Drum.

George composed “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” which was featured in Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon. On Sunday, March 10, 2024, George and the Osage Tribal Singers — including Yellowfish — performed the song live at the 96th Academy Awards.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

I’m pictured here with Cherokee Nation flutist Tommy Wildcat at Natchez Powwow 2026.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

I'm pictured here with Natchez Police Chief Lee Best at Natchez Powwow 2026.

Bombed for a Petition: David Bacon Jr.

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Wednesday, March 25, 2026, page 4A)  

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top of the Morning

 

Bombed for a Petition: David Bacon Jr.

 

By Roscoe Barnes III

 

Paul Bacon says he was seven when his father's truck was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1955 in the driveway of their home at 12 Lincoln Street.

 
Paul and his family were in bed when they heard a loud explosion that shook their home and blew out windows in several houses.
 
The bombing came amid escalating intimidation following a petition to desegregate the local schools, according to Paul’s nephew, Willie J. Epps Jr., Chief Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Missouri.
 
No one was injured, and no one was ever charged. But the bombing and other threats by white residents opposed to integration caused a setback in the Black community’s fight for civil rights.
 
Paul’s father, David French Bacon Jr., was president of the Natchez NAACP. He was targeted by white supremacists because of his fight for civil rights.
 
After the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional, the local NAACP circulated a desegregation petition in Natchez and Adams County.
 
When the petition appeared in The Natchez Democrat, the signers became targets of white racists. Some lost jobs, some fled town, and most of them withdrew their names under pressure.
 
The bombing was one of many stories Paul shared about his father's work when we met in October 2025. When he mentioned the petition, it triggered a memory.
 
"Wait," I said. "That was your father?”
 
I suddenly realized I had seen his name before.
 
Whenever I encounter names of local people in history books, I yearn to meet them and learn more about their stories. I also want to thank them for their sacrifice in the struggle for civil rights and share their stories.
 
Paul’s father is mentioned in Charles C. Bolton’s book, “The Hardest Deal of All: The Battle over School Integration in Mississippi, 1870-1980” (University Press of Mississippi, 2007). Bolton writes:
 
“In Natchez, although ‘enthusiasm was high’ within the black community as the local NAACP launched its school petition drive in mid-July, after the publication of the petition and its almost one hundred signers in the Natchez Democrat, three-fifths of the petitioners reconsidered their action. Requests poured into the offices of the newspaper and the school board asking that names be excised from the petition; many of the black parents claimed … that they had misunderstood what they were signing. David Bacon Jr., who worked for a white-owned business, renounced his endorsement of the document and quit the NAACP.”
 
He is also mentioned in Jack E. Davis’ book, “Race Against Time: Culture and Separation in Natchez since 1930” (Louisiana State University Press, 2001).
 
Davis notes David presented the petition to School Board President R. Brent Forman. When it appeared in the paper, Natchez whites organized a White Citizens’ Council to resist integration.
 
The school board rejected the petition. “Even David Bacon, apparently feeling pressure from his employer, withdrew his name and resigned as chapter president (of the NAACP),” writes Davis, adding, “the Natchez branch disbanded after the petition defeat.”
 
Paul says his father withdrew for the sake of his family. “There were five of us, and we were not affluent,” he says. “My father had been working at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company, but he lost his job when his name was seen on the petition. He continued working at Cole’s as a utility man.”
 
Despite the petition’s defeat, Paul sees lessons in his father’s experience. “It shows that your integrity is most important, as is your history and your family.  Most essential is your faith in the Lord.”
 
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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.

Ser Boxley donates ‘Forks of the Road’ exhibition to Alcorn State University

Public lecture and exhibit set for March 27 in Port Gibson

Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com

Mar 23, 2026 | 3:20 PM

 

Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C.M.Boxley

PORT GIBSON, Miss. – Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley has donated his Forks of the Road exhibition to the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State University, Lorman Campus, announced the Center’s director, Dr. Garry Lewis.
 
“I am honored to entrust this research to Alcorn State University,” said Ser Boxley. “The Center’s commitment to cultural preservation ensures that the stories connected to the Forks of the Road will continue to educate, challenge, and inspire.”
 
Lewis emphasized the importance of Ser Boxley’s work. “Ser Boxley’s donation strengthens ongoing collaborations between Alcorn State University and regional heritage organizations committed to documenting African American history, preserving sacred sites, and expanding public access to historically grounded scholarship,” he said.
 
To recognize Ser Boxley’s decades‑long contributions as a preservationist and researcher, the Center will host a public lecture and presentation of the Forks of the Road exhibit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 27, at the Claiborne County Welcome & Heritage Center, 210 Walnut St. in Port Gibson. The event is free and open to the public.
 
Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez, will participate as a panelist and share remarks during the program.
 
Lewis applauded Ser Boxley for donating “his extensive artifact research and documentation on the historic ‘African/European Roots of the Underground Railroad and Forks of the Road’” to the Center. Lewis said the Forks of the Road slave market site is one of the most important locations tied to the domestic slave trade in the Deep Southwest.
 
For several years, the Forks of the Road exhibition was displayed at the Natchez Visitor Center on Canal Street until 2022, when the facility closed for renovation. The exhibition will have a new home with the Southwest Mississippi Center, according to Lewis.
 
In addition to his research, the donation includes Ser Boxley’s interpretive materials, historical analyses, and cultural documentation that illuminate the lived experiences of enslaved people trafficked through Natchez and the broader Mississippi region, Lewis said. He noted: “Ser Boxley’s work has been instrumental in shaping public understanding of the Forks of the Road as a site of memory, resilience, and truth-telling.”

In Lewis’ view, Ser Boxley’s contribution is more than a collection of research. “It is a gift of truth, legacy, and cultural responsibility. His dedication ensures that future generations can study, honor, and learn from the stories that shaped Southwest Mississippi and the nation.”
Lewis said the Center will preserve, curate, and integrate the donated materials into its educational programming, community partnerships, and student research initiatives.
 
“The collection will support Alcorn State University’s mission to advance cultural literacy, historical awareness, and community engagement across the region,” he said. “Ser Boxley, whose decades of research have helped illuminate the history of one of the most significant slave‑trading sites in the Deep Southwest, will share insights into his archival work, the importance of historical truth‑telling, and the ongoing efforts to preserve African American heritage across Southwest Mississippi.”
 
Lewis encourages Alcorn alumni, community members, visitors, and educators to attend Friday’s program and “engage directly with Ser Boxley’s scholarship and to deepen their understanding of the region’s cultural and historical landscape.”
 
See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2026/03/23/ser-boxley-donates-forks-of-the-road-exhibition-to-alcorn-state-university/
 

Cherokee Nation flutist Tommy Wildcat to perform at Natchez Powwow March 28-29

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Mar 23, 2026 | 8:25 AM

Tommy Wildcat
Photo courtesy of Tommy Wildcat (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. — Tommy Wildcat, a Cherokee Nation flute player, will perform at the Natchez Powwow on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, 2026, on the Natchez Bluff. Admission is free and open to the public.

Dr. Chuck Borum, who chairs the Natchez Powwow, said Wildcat is a great musician, and his performance will be an exciting and welcome addition to this year’s lineup. “Wildcat is extremely gifted as a musician and highly respected,” Borum said.

Wildcat, who hails from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is a Cherokee Nation “National Treasure,” a title recognizing master artisans and tradition bearers who preserve Cherokee art, language, and culture. He has shared his work at cultural events and performances across the country.

Wildcat and his family were featured in the September 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine. In 1995, he appeared in the American Express “Charge Against Hunger” commercial.

Wildcat is a graduate of Northeastern State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Cherokee Cultural Studies. He won the 2002 Native American Music Award for Flutist of the Year for his album “Pow-Wow Flutes.”

Wildcat said performing in Natchez is a privilege he really appreciates. “I’m very grateful and honored to be at the Natchez Mississippi Powwow this year,” he said.

The Natchez Powwow, held annually since the late 1980s, celebrates Native American culture through dance, music, crafts, and more. It is presented as a wholesome family-friendly event for local residents and visitors.

Program lineup

In addition to Wildcat, this year’s powwow will feature Eddie Yellowfish, Osage-Otoe-Comanche, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who will serve as the head singer of the Southern Drum.

Others featured include Frank Carson, Otoe-Pawnee, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, as master of ceremonies; and Darsh DeSilva of Round Rock, Texas, as arena director; and Free “Bird” Kasler, Otoe, of Chouteau, Oklahoma, as head man dancer.

The program will include Wonzie Kline Kole, Mescalero Apache-Comanche of Dallas as the head lady dancer; and James Barton of Summerville, South Carolina, as the head gourd dancer.

Oscar-nominated songwriter Scott George of Hominy, Oklahoma, will support Yellowfish on the drums. George composed “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” that was featured in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” He and Yellowfish performed the song with the Osage Tribal Singers at the 96th Academy Awards in March 2024.

Powwow schedule

Saturday March 28, 2026

9 a.m. – Food, Craft, and Farmers’ Market Vendors open; 12:30 p.m. — Gourd Dance; 2 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing; 4 p.m. — Camp Feed for Singers, Dancers, and Family/Friends; 6 p.m. — Gourd Dance; 7 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing; 9 p.m. – Closing

Sunday March 29, 2026

 9 a.m. — Food and Craft Vendors open; 12:30 p.m. — Gourd Dance; 2 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing

Alcohol is prohibited at the powwow. It is not allowed in the powwow area or in the trader or food vending area. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for seating.

Borum said the powwow is financially supported by local Natchez businesses, individuals, and the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission/Visit Natchez.

For more information, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com or email Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum at cborum@hotmail.com. 

See more at this link:

https://listenupyall.com/2026/03/23/cherokee-nation-flutist-tommy-wildcat-to-perform-at-natchez-powwow-march-28-29/

Anne Moody featured in Mississippi History Now

(Click on image to enlarge.)

I’m excited to share my latest article on Anne Moody, published by Mississippi History Now, a publication of the Mississippi Historical Society and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Titled “Anne Moody (1940–2015): Civil Rights Activist and Author of Coming of Age in Mississippi,” the piece explores the life and legacy of one of Mississippi’s most important voices of the Civil Rights Movement.

The accompanying lesson plan was written by Kari Baker and Seraiah Lodge.

#AnneMoody #ComingOfAgeinMississippi #CivilRightsMovement

Read the full article here: 

http://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/anne-moody-1940-2015-civil-rights-activist-and-author-coming-age-mississippi

MDAH’s Shelia Byrd to speak at Prince Ibrahima marker ceremony April 8

Event set for Silver Street near Mississippi River landing dock

By Mississippi Monitor | Mar 20, 2026 | Capital/River
and Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., Visit Natchez

Shelia Byrd is the deputy director of the Programs and Communication Division of Mississippi Department of Archives and History and a former Associated Press journalist. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Shelia Byrd, the deputy director of the Programs and Communication Division of Mississippi Department of Archives and History, will serve as guest speaker at a marker dedication ceremony honoring Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima (1762-1829).

The ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Under-the-Hill on Silver Street near the Mississippi River landing dock. It is free and open to the public. This second marker complements one dedicated in October 2025 near Historic Jefferson College.

Byrd is a former Associated Press journalist who covered civil rights, politics and education.

"It is an honor to be included in a ceremony highlighting Prince Ibrahima, whose story is one of millions woven into Mississippi's history. His story ends in freedom, but only after enslavement, struggle, and loss," Byrd said. "It is fitting the marker unveiling comes while the country is marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence."

Byrd was an AP journalist for 17 years, covering stories that included the trial of Klansman Edgar Ray Killen for the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. She also wrote about the FBI's reopening of the Emmett Till murder case. Prior to MDAH, Byrd was the communications director at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, managing editor at the General Motors Story Bureau, and vice president for communications at Hope Enterprise Corporation.

A graduate of Grambling State University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, Byrd is a multiple Lantern and Prism award winner, recognized for excellence in writing and integrated communications.

Natchez history

Mayor Dan Gibson said he is looking forward to the ceremony as a meaningful part of Natchez’s history.

“This ceremony is an important step in recognizing and telling the full story of Natchez,” Gibson said. “Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima’s journey is both powerful and sobering, and it deserves to be remembered and shared for generations to come. We are proud to commemorate his legacy here in Natchez.”

Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez, said the ceremony is a celebration of Natchez’s history and a recognition of difficult truths in the nation’s past.

“We value the life history of Prince Ibrahima, and we’re excited to honor him with a new historical marker,” she said. “This marker will commemorate his arrival in Natchez as an enslaved man in 1788 and his departure with his freedom on April 8, 1828.”

The ceremony date was chosen to mark the anniversary of his departure in 1828.

Gilbert said the selected location is ideal for the marker. The area is visited by thousands of people each year, including those who travel on the Mississippi River cruise ships, she said.

The site for the marker was approved by property owner Denton Biglane, who said the marker “will be a much-needed and overdue addition to Natchez and Under-the-Hill.”

Program lineup

In addition to Byrd and Gibson, the program will feature Vickie R. Green, playwright and CEO of Behind the Walls Ministries, as the mistress of ceremonies. The Rev. Dr. Joan Gandy, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Natchez, will offer the invocation, and the Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr., pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church, will offer the benediction.

Tony Fields, soloist and minister of music at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church, will provide special musical selections for the program. Gibson will deliver the opening remarks, followed by Roscoe Barnes III of Visit Natchez, who will recognize the guests and introduce the guest speaker. Remarks also will be shared by David Dreyer, local historian and genealogist.

Natchez High School students Ainsley Dupre and Halle Stamps will present excerpts from Dr. Terry Alford’s book, “Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in the American South” (Oxford University Press, 1977). 

Ibrahima was a Muslim prince from Timbo in the Futa Jallon region of present-day Guinea, West Africa. He was captured in battle in 1788 and sold into the transatlantic slave trade. He spent 40 years enslaved on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez before gaining his freedom in 1828 with the help of Andrew Marschalk, the “Father of Mississippi Journalism,” and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Clay in President John Quincy Adams’ administration.

For more information, call 601-492-3004 or email Roscoe@visitnatchez.org.

See more at this link: https://www.themississippimonitor.com/mdahs-shelia-byrd-to-speak-at-prince-ibrahima-marker-ceremony-april-8-event-set-for-silver-street-near-mississippi-river-landing-dock/

Passing of the gavel

Keena Graham is the new president of the Mississippi Historical Society 

Roscoe Barnes III and Keena Graham
(Click on image to enlarge.)

On Friday, March 6, 2026, I completed my term as president of the Mississippi Historical Society. I passed the gavel to our new president, Keena Graham, superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson.

Photos by the Mississippi Historical Society and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History

Roscoe Barnes III and Keena Graham
(Click on image to enlarge.)

2026 Natchez Powwow to feature Eddie Yellowfish

He will perform as head singer of the Southern Drum

Eddie Yellowfish will serve as head singer at upcoming Natchez Powwow.
(Click on image to enlarge.)

Eddie Yellowfish, Osage-Otoe-Comanche, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will serve as the head singer of the Southern Drum at the Natchez Powwow set for March 28-29 on the Natchez Bluff. He is pictured here as dancer at the 2016 Otoe Missouria Winter Encampment in Newkirk, Oklahoma.

Yellowfish was one of the Osage Tribal Singers who performed “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” at the 96th Academy Awards in March 2024. The song is featured in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com/

How a Natchez woman made history as one of the Tougaloo Nine

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Sunday, March 15, 2026, page 4A) 

(Click on image to enlarge.)

 

Top of the Morning

 

How a Natchez woman made history 

as one of the Tougaloo Nine

 

By Roscoe Barnes III

 
Geraldine Edwards Hollis was a Tougaloo College student in the early 1960s when she and eight classmates walked into the whites-only Jackson Municipal Library, sat down with books, and made history.
 
The group became known as the Tougaloo Nine. Their peaceful sit-in, also called a read-in, lasted only 15 minutes, but it sparked the library's integration and youth protest movements across Mississippi.
 
At that time, Black residents were barred from the whites-only public library, even though it was supported by all taxpayers, including Blacks, Hollis told WLBT reporter Quinton Smith. “The goal was to make a difference in our society,” she said.
 
Born in Natchez, Hollis is a 1959 graduate of Sadie V. Thompson High School. She now lives in California and is the author of “Back To Mississippi: Sidewalks represent a journey to the paths of my success, follow my steps and take the journey!” (Xlibris US, 2011).
 
The Tougaloo Nine included, besides Hollis: Meredith Anding Jr., James “Sammy” Bradford, Alfred Cook, Janice Jackson, Joseph Jackson Jr., Albert Lassiter, Evelyn Pierce, and Ethel Sawyer. All nine were members of the NAACP Youth Council who were mentored by Medgar Evers, NAACP's field secretary in Mississippi.
 
The group’s historic protest occurred on March 27, 1961. Led by Jackson, they first visited George Washington Carver Municipal Library, which served only Black patrons, and requested a book they knew it did not have. They later visited Jackson Municipal Library, where Jackson walked up to a clerk and asked for a philosophy book. The clerk denied his request, saying “There’s a colored library on Mill Street. You’ll be welcome there.”
 
In response, all nine of the students sat down at different tables inside the library, pulled out books, and began reading. When asked to leave, they remained seated and continued reading. The library staff called police, who arrived and asked the students to leave. But they kept reading, at which time the police arrested them on charges of breach of the peace.
 
The students were tried the next day and found guilty of breach of the peace. Although each was fined $100 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, the judge suspended the sentences and ordered them not to engage in further demonstrations, an order they obeyed.
 
The news media dubbed the group the “Tougaloo Nine.”
 
The sit-in did not immediately change any laws or result in immediate integration. However, it set off protests in the Jackson community and inspired peaceful protests statewide. It led to a class-action lawsuit filed by the NAACP on behalf of the Tougaloo Nine and others in January 1962. In mid-1962, a federal court ruled segregation in public facilities unlawful, and soon after, the Jackson Public Library and the broader Jackson-Hinds library system were desegregated.
 
On August 17, 2017, the Tougaloo Nine were honored with a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker at 301 North State St., Jackson, in front of the former Old Jackson Municipal Library building which is now part of the Jackson Hinds Library System.
 
These brave students were also recognized by M.J. O’Brien on March 5 at the Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society in Meridian, Mississippi. O’Brien is the author of “The Tougaloo Nine: The Jackson Library Sit-In at the Crossroads of Civil War and Civil Rights” (University Press of Mississippi, 2025). His book won the 2026 Book of the Year Award presented by the Society.
 
I learned about Hollis’ activism from Bobby Dennis, director of the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture. As I read about her, I came to see that her experience underscores the power of peaceful protests and the importance of equal access to public resources funded by all taxpayers.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.
 

Natchez Powwow set for March 28-29 on the Bluff

Natchez Powwow returns to the Bluff March 28–29, 2026, with free Native American music, dance, food and crafts, featuring Oscar-nominated songwriter Scott George.
 
By Roscoe Barnes III
Special to The Democrat

Eddie Yellowfish, Osage-Otoe-Comanche, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will serve as the head singer of the Southern Drum at the Natchez Powwow set for March 28-29 on the Natchez Bluff. Photo Courtesy of Eddie Yellowfish (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Natchez Powwow, a festive cultural event that has captivated locals and visitors for over 30 years, will take place March 28-29 at 319 N. Broadway St. on the Natchez Bluff.

“As we say each year, this is a wholesome family event that provides good entertainment and a celebration of the Native American culture in a safe environment,” said Natchez Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum. “We invite everyone to come enjoy themselves. This is a great time to meet people and build relationships while learning about Native American traditions.”

The Natchez Powwow is an annual event that celebrates Indigenous culture through music, singing, and traditional dance. In addition to participants wearing colorful Native American regalia, the event features food, arts and crafts, and more.

Admission is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for seating.

Powwow program

This year’s powwow will feature Frank Carson, Otoe-Pawnee, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, as master of ceremonies; and Darsh DeSilva of Round Rock, Texas, as arena director.

Eddie Yellowfish, Osage-Otoe-Comanche, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will serve as the head singer of the Southern Drum; and Free “Bird” Kasler, Otoe, of Chouteau, Oklahoma, as head man dancer.

The program will also feature Wonzie Kline Kole, Mescalero Apache-Comanche of Dallas as the head lady dancer; and James Barton of Summerville, South Carolina, as the head gourd dancer.

Yellowfish said Tuesday he is looking forward to the Natchez Powwow, which will be his first visit.

“I feel honored to do this,” he said. “Everyone speaks highly of this dance and gathering.”

He said other singers have told him that “they always enjoyed the dance” at the powwow in Natchez.

Yellowfish said a powwow is special for many reasons. In addition to being a “gathering of tribes” and recognizing one’s culture, “it’s a chance for us to honor tradition and sing old songs and help everyone have a good feeling,” he said.

He added that he appreciates the community coming together for the powwow events. “I think the powwow is a good thing to share with people of other cultures,” he said.

Oscar-nominated songwriter

Supporting Yellowfish at the drum this year will be Oscar-nominated songwriter Scott George of Hominy, Oklahoma, who will return to Natchez. He has participated in the Natchez Powwow around five or six times, he said.

George composed, “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” that was featured in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” On Sunday, March 10, 2024, George and the Osage Tribal Singers performed the song at the 96th Academy Awards.

George said in a recent interview that it is hard to describe the experience and recognition he and the Osage Singers received for their performance at the Oscars.

“We were caught up in the moment doing what we were asked to do,” he said. “We didn’t think too much about it until it was done, and then we couldn’t believe we were there.”

He added that “it was an overwhelming opportunity” for them. “We didn’t have time to get nervous,” he said. “We practiced many times, and we got through it without any mistakes.”

Because of the bright stage lights, they could not see the massive audience during the performance. George said it was only when they watched the performance on YouTube and television did they truly see and feel the power of the standing ovation, he said.

George said they also enjoyed seeing the celebrities, like Dwayne Johnson, who took photos with them.

As for the song itself, George said its inspiration came from his tribal history. “The words in the song are asking my people to stand up,” he said. “’Stand up. God made this for us.’ We always heard our old people, even back before the Civil War, pray that we would still be here.”

Since its founding in 1988 by Borum, the Natchez Powwow has generated national publicity through its participants and performers. In 2018, the Natchez Powwow was listed as one of the top 20 events of that year by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Powwow schedule

Saturday, March 28 9 a.m. -- Food and Craft and Farmer Market Vendors open 12:30 p.m. -- Gourd Dance 2 p.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing 4 p.m. -- Camp Feed for Singers and Dancers and family/friends 6 p.m. -- Gourd Dance 7 p.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing 9 p.m. – Closing Sunday, March 29 9 a.m. -- Food and Craft Vendors open 12:30 p.m. -- Gourd Dance 2 p.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing

As noted on the event’s website, alcohol is prohibited at the powwow. It is not allowed in the powwow area or in the trader or food vending area.

Borum said the powwow is financially supported by local Natchez businesses, individuals, and the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission/Visit Natchez.

For more information on the powwow, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com, or send email to Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum at cborum@hotmail.com.

See more at this link:
https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/natchez-powwow-set-for-march-28-29-on-the-bluff-a1ca4b45

2026 Natchez Powwow

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Newspaper clipping from The Natchez Democrat, announcing the 2026 Natchez Powwow (published March 8, 2026, page 3A).

#NatchezPowwow

Woodville Deacons and the civil rights showdown that reached the Supreme Court

Column published in The Natchez Democrat (Friday, February 27, 2026, page 4A) 

(Click on image to enlarge.)

 

Woodville Deacons and the civil rights showdown that reached the Supreme Court

  

By Roscoe Barnes III

  

Although little has been said about the Woodville chapter of the Deacons for Defense and Justice in recent decades, the group made headlines across the South in the 1960s and left its mark on Wilkinson County.
 
Like other parts of Mississippi, Woodville at the time seethed with racial tension.
It was a place where the Deacons clashed with white supremacists and law enforcement. Confrontations between the Deacons and local police occurred on several occasions, one of which involved a shooting that resulted in the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case, Chambers v. Mississippi.
 
The Deacons provided armed protection for civil rights workers and the Black community against the Ku Klux Klan. The organization originated in Jonesboro, Louisiana. The Deacons helped with rallies and marches, and they helped to enforce the boycott of white-owned businesses.
 
In 1965, James Stokes, spokesperson for the Natchez Deacons, helped to establish a branch of the Deacons in Woodville. Some of the original members included President William “Bilbo” Ferguson, Vice President Herman Burkes, and Spokesperson Edward Caine. The other Deacons included Henry Jones, Leon Chambers, Gable McDonald, Samuel Harden, Benjamin Groom, Elmo McKenzie, William Davis, and Earnest Tollivar.
 
For the first two years, the Woodville branch assisted the Natchez Deacons, according to Dr. Lance Hill, author of "The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement" (University of North Carolina Press, 2004). They also worked with the Wilkinson County NAACP.
 
In August 1967, a Democratic primary was held in Wilkinson County in which no Black candidates won any county posts, enraging the community. In September 1967, the Woodville Deacons supported the NAACP with its boycotts, demanding a new election and Black appointments to the Wilkinson County Election Commission.
 
One defeated leader was Anselm Joseph Finch (Anne Moody’s "Mr. C.H. Willis," founding principal of Willis High School). Finch reportedly lost because a number of Black teachers voted for the white candidate. Wilkinson County NAACP President James Joliff called for a boycott of white-owned businesses with the goal of holding a new election. He later led 200 Blacks and armed Deacons in a march, demanding school officials fire the Black teachers who did not support the Black candidates.
 
Hill reports that later that day, Joliff and the Deacons traveled to Centreville and staged a second march of 200 Black protesters. This time a white man emerged from a gas station along the march route while brandishing a rifle to harass protesters. The moment he appeared, about 25 Deacons pulled up with firearms and surrounded him. The man scrambled back into the gas station.
 
On June 14, 1969, an incident in Woodville made history. It involved Woodville Deacon Leon Chambers, who was convicted of murdering Deputy Sheriff Aaron "Sonny" Liberty and sentenced to life in prison. Although Gable McDonald, another Deacon, confessed to the crime multiple times before recanting, he was never prosecuted. Chambers spent several years in prison. He was released in 1973, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on February 21 that he had been denied a fair trial under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
 
Decades later, James Stokes made a startling comment about the case in an interview with Richard Grant, author of “The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi" (Simon & Schuster, 2020). He told Grant that Aaron Liberty “was a Tom who would take news back to the whites, and he was harassing James Williams, a loyal man. One of my loyal Deacons killed him.” Stokes said Gable McDonald was the one who killed Liberty.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.