Mayor Gibson proclaims Julyteenth as Natchez’s Day of Freedom

by Mississippi Monitor | Jul 13, 2026 | Capital/River
By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., Visit Natchez

Mayor Dan Gibson issued a proclamation on Monday, July 13, on the front steps of City Hall recognizing Julyteenth — the day freedom came to Natchez with the arrival of the Union Army on July 13, 1863. Pictured (front row, left to right): Thelma Newsom, Alderwoman Valencia Hall, Mayor Dan Gibson, Chesney Doyle, and Vel Robinson. Second row (left to right): historian Jeff Mansell, Norma West, and the Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr. Back row (left to right): Joseph A.C. Smith and Roscoe Barnes III. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Mayor Dan Gibson presented a proclamation Monday officially recognizing July 13 as Julyteenth, the day freedom for enslaved people came to Natchez with the arrival of the Union Army on July 13, 1863.
 
“This is a very special day,” Gibson said during a ceremony on the front steps of City Hall. “Many of our citizens may not understand the significance of July 13, (but) the day is sacred in the history of our city.”
 
The term Julyteenth was coined by Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley, local historian, cultural preservationist, and coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society.
 
Nationally, Juneteenth is celebrated as a day of independence and federal holiday observed annually on June 19. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, bringing news of freedom to enslaved African Americans there.
 
In Natchez, freedom came sooner. It came when Union forces arrived on July 13, 1863, nine days after the fall of Vicksburg.
 
“It was on this day that the Union Army offloaded at Natchez Under the Hill, and the U.S. 11th Illinois Regiment Infantry marched up Silver Street and began the occupation of Natchez,” Boxley said in a 2024 interview. “July 13 is when the Union Army seized control of Natchez and prompted thousands of enslaved people to begin fleeing plantations and travel to Natchez, where they found freedom behind the Union lines.”
 
While reading the proclamation, Gibson described Julyteenth as one of the most important days in Natchez’s history. The proclamation states that Union troops “arrived to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, bringing freedom to thousands of enslaved men, women, and children whose descendants remain an important part of the fabric of our community today – nearly two years before the events commemorated by Juneteenth in Galveston, Texas.”
 
The proclamation furthers acknowledges that slavery was a profound moral evil that denied the God-given dignity of human life. It notes that Natchez played a prominent role in the slave-based economy and was home to the Forks of the Road, the second largest slave market in the Deep South.
 
Because of the Union Army occupation, Natchez eventually became a place of refuge and beacon of hope, Gibson said, noting that many formerly enslaved people claimed liberty and began new lives as free citizens.
 
The proclamation also recognizes that during this period, Forks of the Road “was transformed into a place of purpose as newly freed men answered the call to serve in the United States Colored Troops, demonstrating extraordinary courage in the pursuit of liberty, justice, and the preservation of our nation.”
 
While still reading from the proclamation, Gibson said Julyteenth is about honoring the “resilience, determination, and enduring spirit of those who endured unimaginable hardship.”
 
He said the city recognizes with gratitude that the labor of enslaved people helped build Natchez and the state of Mississippi, as well as the nation. He said it is also important that this history be known and remembered by future generations.
 
Gibson called on residents not only to remember the sins of the past but also to celebrate the progress that has been made.
 
“May ‘Julyteenth Day’ forever be a day where freedom and equality are embraced, and where love heals the divisions of yesterday, allowing us to embrace the opportunities of today and tomorrow,” Gibson said.
 
Monday’s proclamation followed a weekend of Julyteenth commemorative, including a re-enactment by Jamal McCullan of Hiram Rhodes Revels’ speech Friday evening at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church; a workshop on history, race, and racial reconciliation led by the Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells on Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church; and a wreath-laying ceremony Sunday at Forks of the Road. The weekend concluded with
 
The weekend concluded with historian Jeff Mansell of Natchez National Historical Park presenting “When Freedom Came to Natchez” at Freedom Hall, the former home of a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
 
In addition to the City of Natchez, the events were organized by Kathleen Bond, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park; Joseph A.C. Smith, founder of BlackNatchez.org and owner of 1720 Gallery & Gift Shop; and Malcolm Innis, New Vision Broadcasting.