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Happy Birthday to Titus Banks!
Birthday Cake winner 1/22/25
Due to the inclement weather conditions on Monday, the annual Martin Luther King Day parade in Natchez has been postponed.
The parade will instead take place Sunday, Jan. 26, said organizer Jaqueline Marsaw. Line up begins at 2 p.m. on Broadway Street and the parade begins at 3 p.m.
The post MLK parade postponed due to weather appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.
This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here
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Happy Birthday to Nikki Goeggle!
Birthday Cake winner 1/9/25
NATCHEZ — In recognition of his many years of service to the City of Natchez and Adams County as a Natchez Police Officer and County Constable, Willie B. Jones was presented a Certificate of Recognition by Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson on Friday, Jan. 3, upon Jones’ retirement.
Jones first joined NPD in 1989, then served two terms as an Adams County Constable. He is also a Veteran of the U.S. Army.
Gibson congratulated Jones and his wife Quartreatta Smith Jones on Friday, wishing them a happy retirement before Jones signed off on the radio to fellow officers one final time.
Willie B. Jones signs off on his radio to fellow officers one last time. (Submitted)
The post Officer, Constable Willie B. Jones retires from over 35 years of service appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.
This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Mississippi Humanities Council recently awarded a $2,111 mini-grant to Visit Natchez for a new publication on the life of Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori (1762-1829).
The working title is “Prince Ibrahima: A Profile and Self-Guided Tour.” It will feature a short biography of Ibrahima, a list of the sites he visited and other areas, including gravesites, related to his life history in Natchez and Adams County. A map and photos of the selected sites will be included.
“The story of Prince Ibrahima is one of the most fascinating chapters in Mississippi’s history,” said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. “The Humanities Council is pleased to support Visit Natchez’s efforts to share this remarkable story with both visitors and local residents.”
Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez, said the publication will introduce people to an important figure in Natchez’s history.
“We’re excited about this project on Prince Ibrahima, and we appreciate the support of the Mississippi Humanities Council in helping us to honor his legacy by publishing and promoting his story,” said Gilbert.
She noted the publication will be designed as a pamphlet, which will make it suitable as a convenient, easy-to-use resource for self-guided tours.
“My family and I are elated that our ancestor is being recognized with this prestigious honor,” said Beverly B. Adams, a descendant of Prince Ibrahima. “I believe that Prince Abdul Rahman would also approve of the story of his life being shared with others to acknowledge the unfortunate events of slavery and how it affected victims of it.”
Bobby Dennis, executive director of the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, said the publication will be good for sharing Natchez history and for promoting tourism.
“This can bring to life a story about the skills and wisdom of the enslaved person before he was enslaved,” Dennis said. “The knowledge and skills needed for the plantation owner’s success are never expressed but can be seen through Prince Ibrahima’s life here in the Natchez District.”
The Natchez Democrat has been tapped to provide the graphic design. Printing will be done by Murray Printing.
Ibrahima (1762–1829) was a Muslim prince from Timbo, Guinea, West Africa, who was captured in 1788 and sold to slave traders. He spent 40 years enslaved on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez.
Ibrahima arrived in Natchez in August 1788. He gained his freedom in 1828 with the help of Andrew Marschalk, who was known as the “Father of Mississippi Journalism,” and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Clay in President John Quincy Adams’ administration.
On April 8, 1828, Ibrahima and his wife, Isabella, boarded the Neptune steamboat and departed Natchez with their freedom as they waved goodbye to their children who remained enslaved. In 1829, they sailed to Liberia where Ibrahima died at the age of 67. He never reached his homeland.
Ibrahima’s story is told in Dr. Terry Alford’s book, “Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in the American South” (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977). Most of the research in the new publication is based on Alford’s book.
The new publication will support other historical and promotional initiatives implemented to tell Ibrahima’s story, according to Visit Natchez.
In October 2024, the Natchez Historical Society approved a donation of $3,420 that will cover the cost of the area’s first historical marker honoring the prince. The marker will be acquired through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. It will be located on MDAH property off of Highway 61 North near Historic Jefferson College.
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Happy Birthday to Tristan Davis!
Birthday Cake winner 12/30/24
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, January 20, with the line-up beginning at 2 p.m. on Broadway Street on the Bluff.
The theme is “Natchez All In.” The event will include civil rights activists from the 1960s.
“In the January 20th MLK parade, the remaining living members that went to Parchman will be honored,” wrote Parade Chairperson Jacqueline Marsaw in a Facebook post. “I feel so good in honoring them as they should be every year.”
Marsaw described the activists as “Parchman Living Legends” because of the suffering they endured in the struggle for civil rights. On October 2 and 3, 1965, hundreds of protestors marched in solidarity through the city’s streets in defiance of a September 30 court ban against marching. They were all arrested, and when the local jails became full, the authorities bused 150 of them to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
The protesters were subjected to harsh treatment at the prison. Their experience became known as “The Parchman Ordeal.”
The parade will also honor such leaders as Medgar Evers, slain civil rights leader and NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi; Wharlest Jackson Sr., civil rights leader who died when his truck was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Natchez, on Feb. 27, 1967; and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist and activist who led anti-lynching crusades in the 1890s and fought for woman suffrage.
Others who will be honored include Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley, former civil rights worker and coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society; and Nick Bezzel, founder of the Elmer Geronimo Pratt Pistol & Rifle Gun Club.
The grand marshals will include Derrick Johnson, national president and CEO of the NAACP; Natchez Alderman Billie Joe Frazier, Ward 2; and Adams County Supervisor Ricky Gray, District 4.
Entry fees for the parade are: $50 donations for any number of vehicles; $50 for floats and 2 vehicles; and $10 per car.
Marsaw said bands, dance groups, horses, motorcycles and all organizations are welcome to participate in the parade.
The parade route will start at North Broadway and Franklin streets. From there, it will travel along Franklin to N. Dr. M.L. King St., where it will turn left and proceed up to Minor Street, where it will end.
The parade will be followed by trophy presentations at the corner of Dr. M.L. King and High streets for the best float.
The parade is sponsored by The Natchez Branch of the NAACP.
NATCHEZ — In the words of Natchez Adams School District Superintendent Zandra McDonald, the student who died too soon as a result of the Saturday evening storm “will be remembered as being kind, respectful, confident and full of life.”
On Saturday night, family members, friends teachers and classmates of 18-year-old TyKeria Rogers watched in tears as first responders clawed through debris trying to find her. Tragically, she did not make it. Two other people inside the Westwood Road home made it out.
McDonald said the event initially left her without words.
“I am rarely at a loss to find the right words or formulate a meaningful message suitable for a moment. But, tonight I had no words,” she said. “When my daughter told me the news that was being shared, I thought surely not TyKeria.”
McDonald said TyKeria was energetic, funny and personable. She had also been a captain on the Natchez High School cheer team.
“Last year, she started talking to me about a goal she had for this school term. She set out to achieve that goal and worked to ensure she achieved it. Her mom supported her every step, making certain I remembered even from the drive-through window at work,” McDonald said.
She asked for prayers for TyKeria’s mother who she said “loved her baby girl with every fiber of her being and worked tirelessly to give her a great life.”
Larry Hooper, NASD Principal of the Options Academy, asked for help gathering monetary donations for the family’s hotel and supplies now that they are without a place to live because of the damage to their home. He said donations to $hoopla1911 on CashApp or hoopla2001@yahoo on PayPal would go directly to the family.
“Let’s be there for TyKeria’s family during their most critical time of need,” he said. “Please keep TyKeria’s family, friends and classmates in your prayers.”
The post Natchez Adams school family remembers senior who died as tree fell through house appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.
This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here
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Happy Birthday to Jay Stewart!
Birthday Cake winner 12/23/2024
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Happy Birthday to Travion Mcduffie!
Birthday Cake winner 12/18/24