Author: Imported Author 2289001

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The killing of Ben Chester White, one of the brutal murders that occurred in Natchez during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, will be discussed by Stanley Nelson at the Tuesday, Sept. 26, meeting of the Natchez Historical Society.

The meeting will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m. and Nelson’s presentation at 6 p.m., at the Historic Natchez Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St. The event is free to the public.

Nelson’s presentation is titled, “Murder on Pretty Creek: New Revelations on an Old Case.” It will focus on White, the 67-year-old Black man who was murdered in 1966 by the Ku Klux Klan. Nelson will talk about his alleged killers, two of whom, Ernest Avants and James Lloyd Jones, were charged but not convicted in 1967; and a third one, Claude Fuller, who was never brought to trial.

Nelson said Avants was convicted decades later in federal court and died in prison a short time after his conviction.

“The murder of Ben Chester White is one of the most haunting cases I have ever worked on,” said Nelson. “One Klansman confessed his involvement in the murder and identified the other two Klansmen involved. Yet a jury couldn’t reach a verdict in the confessor’s case because at least two Klansmen were on the jury.”

Nelson is the author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi River in the 1960s (LSU Press, 2016) and “Klans of Devils: The Murder of a black Louisiana Deputy Sheriff” (LSU, 2021). He was the longtime editor of the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, La.

“Mr. Nelson has long held a justifiable reputation in Natchez as being as or more effective than the FBI in sleuthing out the terror-network here that was the Klan,” said Alan Wolf, a director of the society and its program chair. “Mr. Nelson promises to be true to form at this important coming presentation.”

The alleged killers reportedly drove to White’s house on June 10, 1966, and lured him away with the promise that they would pay him two dollars to help find a dog. White, according to Nelson, was gentle man, who was known to be kind and even timid when it came to challenging the authority of a white man. He was not active in politics or the civil rights movement.

Nelson reported the story as follows:

After White got into their car, they took him to the Pretty Creek bridge in Homochitto National Forest. The men got out of the car with Fuller grabbing an automatic carbine and Avants, a shotgun. Fuller said to White, “All right, Pop, get out.”

White said, “Oh, Lord, what have I done to deserve this?”

Fuller unloaded 17 rounds into White, and Avant finished him off with a shotgun blast to his head. They threw his body over the bridge and onto the bank of Pretty Creek.

Nelson said the killing was said to be a set-up for another murder: “There also were stories that this was a murder ordered by higher ups in the White Knights to draw Martin Luther King to Natchez in protest where Klansmen would assassinate him. But was this really true? We’ll be sharing never before reported information about this and on other aspects of the case at the NHS meeting.”

The society’s program featuring Nelson is funded in part by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information on this NHS event, call 601-492-3000 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Michael Morris, the new director of the Two Museums in Jackson, visited Natchez on Monday with eight members of his staff from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The team spent the day discussing history while touring historical sites that included Jefferson College, Forks of the Road, the Proud to Take a Stand Monument, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

“Although the museums cover much of Mississippi’s past, we encourage tourists to visit the places across the state where history happened,” said Morris. “I thought it was important for the museum staff to be able to speak from experience when they describe to visitors, for example, the Forks of the Road site or the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.”

Morris noted, “It’s also important to understand that these places did not save themselves—there are individuals who have dedicated their lives to preserving these sacred places for the future generations to appreciate. We will continue this tradition, started by my predecessor Pamela D.C. Junior, of visiting historic sites across the state throughout the year, but I thought it was important we began in Natchez.”

Morris’ team included Ayana Jones, museum educator; Sarah Grantham, director of student learning; Drew Gardner, director of family and community learning; Luis Montgomery, museum educator and outreach assistant; Dorian Pridgen, museums administrator; Shalynn Smith, gallery assistant; Shamira Maxie, gallery assistant; Jerry Knight, museum educator.

Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez, participated in the tours throughout the day. Mayor Dan Gibson welcomed the team at the Grand Village.

Mayor Dan Gibson, left, and Two Museums Director Michael Morris have a chat during visit to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

“We in Natchez are so very grateful for all that the Mississippi Department of Archives and History does for our state – and having Michael Morris, a longtime friend of Natchez, and now executive director of Mississippi’s Two Museums, has indeed been an honor,” Gibson said.

“Mr. Morris and his staff members serve at the epicenter of the telling of Mississippi civil rights history, and our state’s overall history as well, and what better place for them to experience this history up close and personal than in Natchez.”

The MDAH visit began with a tour of Jefferson College. It was led by Phillip Williams, site maintenance manager of the Grand Village and Jefferson College, and Morris.

The team followed this visit with a tour of Forks of the Road, where Kathleen Bond, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park, presented the history of the site that included an overview of Natchez’s early history dating back to the French and Native Americans.

Kathleen Bond, left, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park, shares the history of the Forks of the Road.

Bond praised Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley for his work in educating the public about the enslavement market history – and the US Colored Troops history – at Forks of the Road. She called Ser Boxley  “the godfather of this site” who worked over 20 years to interpret and help preserve its place in history. The site, which she described as “a site of conscience … like the Holocaust [sites],” is now part of the Natchez National Historical Park.

In discussing future plans for the new park site, Bond stated that the land-acquisition phase will end in 2024 when formal planning will begin, and public meetings will be held to gather input.

After having lunch at The Guest House, the team visited the Proud to Take a Stand Monument, where Robert Pernell gave a talk on the civil rights movement. Pernell, who chaired the Proud to Take a Stand monument committee, described how hundreds of people from the Black community in Natchez and Adams County were wrongfully incarcerated in October 1965 for standing up for basic civil rights and voting rights.

About 150 were bused to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where they were humiliated, punished, and abused for several days. The protestors became known as survivors of “The Parchman Ordeal.”

Morris and his team’s last stop was the Grand Village. There, they met Grand Village Historian Becky Anderson and Sales Shop Manager Janice Sago. After watching a short film about the history of the Natchez Indians, the team heard a presentation by Anderson that included stories about Natchez Indians’ ancestors and culture in Southwest Mississippi, and what became of them. She also led the team outside the museum to discuss the history of the mounds on the Grand Village property.

Grand Village Historian Becky Anderson, second from right, presents the history of the Natchez Indians.

Morris said that he and his staff enjoyed the day’s experience. “Staff members were grateful to visit places they’ve heard department leaders discuss extensively like Jefferson College,” he said. “I think they were able to understand the challenges and why MDAH is placing so much effort into creating a long-term preservation plan for these sites. Most importantly, they very much enjoyed the food.”

Visiting staff of the Two Museums of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History have lunch at The Guest House. From left to right: Robert Pernell; Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums; Ayana Jones, museum educator; Sarah Grantham, director of student learning; Drew Gardner, director of family and community learning; Luis Montgomery, museum educator and outreach assistant; Dorian Pridgen, museums administrator; Shalynn Smith, gallery assistant; Shamira Maxie, gallery assistant; Kathleen Bond, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park; Jerry Knight, museum educator.