More than century and a half after the fighting began, the Civil War still defines the South.

The war marked our landscape and our people. It disrupted a way of life that at the time was considered normal to Southerners. In hindsight, however, we all see how clearly barbaric life was for the enslaved Americans upon which much of the South’s wealth was built.

This week, a long-time Natchez event, the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, takes on the subject of the war that nearly ripped our country apart. This year’s NLCC theme is “Fiction, Fact and Film: The Civil War’s Imprint on Southern Culture.”

The sheer volume of literary and cinema works featuring the Civil War illustrates just how fascinating that chapter in our nation’s history remains to many of us.

The NLCC kicked off yesterday with a 90th birthday celebration for former Gov. William F. Winter, who is both a great student of Mississippi history as well as a wonderful supporter of the NLCC and the Natchez community.

Natchez is greatly indebted to Winter for his friendship and support of the NLCC and of many other Natchez causes through the years.

Winter’s involvement in the NLCC, particularly this year, illustrates the contrast between the old South and the new one.

While the old South was rooted in divisiveness and ignorance, the New South, forged by leaders such as Winter, is focused on educational reform, racial reconciliation, open government and historic preservation.

As the NLCC continues today and through the weekend, we encourage residents to look at the agenda (available at colin.edu/nlcc) and consider attending one of the events and become a part of the New South.