The Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade: A Historic View of a Living Tradition

Photo courtesy of Historic Natchez Foundation (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- The Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade is one of the oldest continuous Memorial Day traditions in the United States, dating to the late 1800s. The parade, which has roots in the African American community, was previously known as “The 30th of May Parade,” reflecting its origins in early Decoration Day observances.

This historic postcard image offers a glimpse of the landscape that shaped the parade’s route. It gives an idea of where the participants marched from Vidalia, across the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, to the toll plaza in Natchez, where they stopped before continuing to the Natchez National Cemetery. The scene predates the construction of John R. Junkin Drive, which today carries both U.S. Route 84 and U.S. Route 425. The image also shows the toll plaza (at the bottom) at the site that is now the Natchez Visitor Center on Canal Street.

The parade’s beginning
 
Historian Cheryl Wilkinson noted the earliest days of the parade can be documented to at least 1884, though the tradition may be even older. “Newspaper accounts of the earliest events emphasize that it is the Black community holding the observance,” she said.
 
Before the bridge was built, members of the Parson Brownlow Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post No. 23 and other participants began their journey in Old Town Vidalia, according to Wilkinson. “At some point after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the post's headquarters was moved to its current location on Magnolia Street,” she said.
 
Participants crossed the Mississippi River by ferry to Silver Street, where they joined members of the General John A. Logan Post No. 24 of Natchez. Together, they marched to the Natchez National Cemetery, where a ceremony was held to honor the deceased military service members.
 
After the bridge was built in 1940, participants began their trek at the Vidalia GAR Post No. 23's headquarters on Magnolia Street and marched to the Louisiana side of the bridge, where they crossed over to Natchez. They met up with the Natchez GAR members at the toll plaza and proceeded to the cemetery.
 
The tradition now includes a stop at the Natchez Visitor Center at 640 S. Canal St. -- near the site of the historic toll plaza -- before proceeding to the cemetery. The full route spans about four miles.
 
This year’s parade
 
This year’s Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade is set for Monday, May 25, and will feature an unveiling ceremony for a Mississippi state historical marker commemorating the parade. Sgt. Anita R. Washington Jackson will serve as the Vidalia grand marshal, while Mayor Dan M. Gibson will serve as the Natchez grand marshal.
 
The unveiling ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. at 639 S. Canal St., in front of the Holiday Inn Express. It will be followed by an 11 a.m. ceremony at Natchez National Cemetery. The guest speaker will be Glenn R. Powers, deputy under secretary for Field Programs and Cemetery Operations at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade returns May 25 with historic marker unveiling

Mayor Dan M. Gibson
(Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Ms. — This year’s Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade, set for Monday, May 25, will include an unveiling ceremony for a Mississippi state historical marker commemorating the parade, according to Laura Jackson, chair of the Natchez parade committee, and Sheila Trust Gardner, chair of the Vidalia parade committee.

 
The parade, which has roots in the African American community, dates to the late 1800s and is one of the oldest Memorial Day traditions in the country. It was previously known as the “30th of May Parade.”

Sgt. Anita R. Washington Jackson
(Click on image to enlarge.)

Sgt. Anita R. Washington Jackson will serve as the Vidalia grand marshal, and Mayor Dan M. Gibson will serve as the Natchez grand marshal.
 
The unveiling ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. at 639 S. Canal St., in front of the Holiday Inn Express. The program will feature presentations by Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez; Mayor Dan M. Gibson; Robert Gardner, Vidalia alderman for District 2; and Annette Sharp, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express.
 
The unveiling will be followed by an 11 a.m. ceremony at Natchez National Cemetery. The guest speaker will be Glenn R. Powers, deputy under secretary for Field Programs and Cemetery Operations at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.
 
Lineup for the parade will begin at 7:30 a.m. at Zion Baptist Church, located at 601 Magnolia St. in Vidalia. From there, the procession will travel to the foot of the Louisiana side of the bridge, cross into Natchez, and continue to the Natchez Visitor Center at 640 S. Canal St. Shuttle service will be available at the Visitor Center and the cemetery.
 
From the Visitor Center, participants will proceed north on Canal Street to Franklin Street, continue to Pearl Street, then travel from Pearl to Oak Street before proceeding to Maple Street and continuing north to Cemetery Road.

Dr. Artemus Gaye, descendant of Prince Ibrahima, tours site of historical marker honoring the prince

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Dr. Artemus W. Gaye of Liberia, a seventh-generation descendant of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, visited the new Mississippi state historical marker honoring the prince on Silver Street on Friday, May 8, 2026. He was in Natchez for a special commemorative event.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Dr. Gaye is the author of "Dr. Isabella Rahman and the African Prince of Fouta Djallon" (Forte Publishing International, 2023).

(Click on image to enlarge.)

The group photo features Mayor Dan Gibson, center, Vel Robinson (on my left), and other descendants of the prince.

Anne Moody pictured with Natchez College basketball team

 

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Just stumbled across this wonderful photo of Anne Moody with the Natchez College basketball team. She is kneeling at far left, hand on the basketball. Moody, author of the classic civil rights memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi, attended Natchez College (also known as Natchez Junior College) on a basketball scholarship in the late 1950s–early 1960s. Photo appears on page 179 in Natchez Images 1880-1960 from the Natchez Printing Collection, published by the Natchez Historical Society.

David Hammett named ArtsNatchez Artist of the Month for May

Reception Set for Saturday, May 9, in Downtown Natchez

by Mississippi Monitor | May 4, 2026 | Capital/River
By: Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., Visit Natchez

Artist David Hammett displays a handcrafted jewelry box for his May 9 exhibit at ArtsNatchez Gallery. (Click on image to enlarge.) Photo courtesy of ArtsNatchez Gallery

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- When it comes to the arts, David Hammett has long felt compelled to find creative ways to express himself, a passion that began in childhood.
 
Growing up in Louisiana, he would grab a pencil and lie on the pale blue linoleum floor of his family’s kitchen and draw pictures of anything that came to mind.
 
“I would have railroad tracks and trains running all across the floor,” he recalls. “My parents let me do it. They would mop it up and I’d start over again. It was something I felt like doing, and it’s been that way all my life.”
 
Hammett, who lives near Vidalia, is ArtsNatchez Gallery’s Artist of the Month for May, and the public is invited to view his latest work.
 
Hammett’s artwork will be on display at the gallery on Saturday, May 9, at 425 Main St. He will greet visitors from 5 to 7 p.m. at the reception, which is free. Refreshments will be served.
 
Hammett is a color field painter and abstract expressionist. His work includes paintings, jewelry boxes, custom cutting boards with decorative elements, and carved wooden spoons. Hammett said he looks forward to meeting visitors and discussing his work.
 
Hammett has practiced some form of art for most of his life.
 
“I started woodwork by doing decorative boxes,” he says. “That expanded into cutting boards and charcuterie boards with decorative elements. Then I started carving wooden spoons. I found something in that, which I really enjoyed doing. My woodwork mostly consists of that now.”
 
Hammett is a 1976 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts after completing active duty in the U.S. Army.
 
“After serving in the Army, I was married and felt pressed to get a job,” he says, noting he worked in the painting industry for 35 years.
 
“After I retired in 2011, I moved back to my original home in Louisiana, where I took up my artwork again.”
 
When asked about the inspiration for his work, Hammett said it comes in bursts: “It’s here today or it’s not here the next day. At any rate, I seize the moment when I get an idea.”
 
During the reception, Hammett will display several abstract paintings, carved spoons, jewelry boxes, and his popular cutting boards.
 
“I’m the kind of artist who works from the imagination,” Hammett says. “It’s whatever comes out. As a painter, I’m old-fashioned in terms of technique. I use canvas and brush.”
 
When Hammett returned home after retirement, he needed something to occupy his time. He became busy with his art. “I find a sense of identity in that. That’s what I am and what I’m compelled to do,” he says.
 
ArtsNatchez Gallery is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the arts in the greater Natchez area and is managed by a board of directors. It features local artists whose work spans a wide range of media, including photography, painting, ceramics, woodwork, fabric arts, and jewelry. Artwork is presented in oils, acrylics, pastels, charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink.

 
The gallery is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-442-0043.
 
See more at this link: https://www.themississippimonitor.com/david-hammett-named-artsnatchez-artist-of-the-month-for-may/