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Natchez is a national treasure
Published Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The time has come to develop the definitive interpretive historical site and tell the story about slavery in the United States of America. And Natchez is ground zero for that project. We have a piece of ground where we know thousands of people were traded for money, kind of like we now buy used cars. Many people have gotten their advanced degrees in history by documenting Natchez’s importance in the saga. It is voluminous and irrefutable.
Historians often justify their position in society by saying that it is important we know our history so that we don’t repeat mistakes. The time for that argument alone to resonate has passed. People today want to know history because on some gut level they feel that if they have a say in what version of history they accept, it will help them understand who they are. They will come here to see how the things they learned in childhood helped them develop a self concept and how they place themselves in the tableau of our nation. They’ve become sophisticated to the point where they want to question what they were taught and learn new versions of history that open doors and windows to a truth they didn’t get in school. It’s become fashionable to call the newer research, writings and stories “revisionist history.” But, people who really want to delve into truths don’t think of it as “revisionist.” It’s like peeling an onion and they’ve become selective and cynical about the versions of history presented in school years ago and they are willing to take the time and money to invest in forging their own journey into continuing their education in American history. Baby boomers are committed to genealogy and history travel. They have lived through a critical time in the chronicling of history and other disciplines. And they are hungry for more and more truth and to be able to visit the sites and walk the ground where the critical events that shaped this wonderful country actually occurred. To walk the ground where the slaves were sold: Poignant.
In this day and age, the very idea of being in bondage, being a slave is, on one hand repugnant, but also fires imagination. Power is central to humanity: no one is immune to the concept of having total control over others. None of us needs to be African oriented to understand powerlessness. On the other hand, no one needs to be Egyptian (African), or Spanish, or French, or English to conceive of what it might be like to be the master. When children of any stripe play their so-called childish games, they typically take the form of playing roles involving the powerful versus the enslaved.
No matter how rudimentary the education of folks who have partaken in our biannual ritual of touring Natchez’s antebellum mansions, slavery hasn’t been far from their minds. In the lingua franca of today’s corporate training sessions, when people immerse themselves in “moonlight and magnolias” here, the enslaved people who worked the fields and crafted every loving inch of our beautiful homes are the “elephant in the room.”
Natchezians created the Pilgrimmage. And, highlighting the immigrants and the citizens who, though in bondage, made it all happen with their sweat and hands and hearts, is the next logical step. Today the hands of their descendants still work the gardens, paint the wood and re-plaster the columns and buildings. The ultimate tribute to all of us, black or white, is to take this next step and tell the world we are proud of our heritage, all of it, and are willing to tell the whole story, in all of its naked truth. And, the U.S. Park Service has proven they up to the task. They are chomping at the bit to embark on this very exciting project, the next vista in illuminating American history at the most significant spot where it happened. And, we have the best site in America. We can’t let this opportunity slip away. We not only owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our country. We are a national treasure. And we have to love Natchez and our heritage enough to make sure we get to be the place where the greatest American story is told to those who live now, and to all the generations to come, forever.
Constance Holt is a Jefferson County resident and a local freelance writer.
Comments
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 12:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Very beautifully put Constance, and God bless Jefferson County, its' namesake, and all its' people past and present. What closer place to paradise than Jefferson County?
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 12:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That was so good I had to read it again.
Today, despite being illegal in most parts of the world, there are more slaves being held than at any other time in history, with estimates as high as 27 million, with the cost of slaves now below one hundred dollars.
It is my hope that in telling the story of slavery in Natchez, which lies at the end of the trek from Virginia, the common bondage of all in the Chesapeake that led to the awful division of culture with the consquent devastating outcome on past and present will be remembered.
One fork of the road occured in the Chesapeake, another in Mississippi. Hopefully the treatment of the project will be inspiring enough that the second fork will mark a universal consideration of respect and dignity for all men and serve as a reminder that only in freedom are all men equal.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you read some of my previous post, you will see that I had an idea for next spring break to make the History of Natchez come to life with a real portrayal of plantation life at the homes. People would come from all over and if it was properly advertised around the region to history teachers and classes, it would make national news.
PS, If it is done, Natchez only owes me a small nominal fee for the idea....lets say a few hundred thousand...lol...J/K
Posted by natchezsouthside (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am all for this. However, I hope that the entire story will include reference to what Africans were paid to sell their fellow Africans into slavery. I also hope that there is considerable, and not a slight, reference to to American blacks who bought, owned, sold and were involved in the slave trade.
Knowing that blacks were also involved in the sad saga will go a long way to understanding the big picture.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
EnKiKur...I had to read it twice, too. How passionate!
I know when I see these antebellum homes, I never forget who crafted them with their bare hands. To me, it's part of the whole picture. Ms. Holt couldn't have put it more eloquently. I would love to sit down and talk with this lady.
red...great idea! Why hasn't anyone tried to bring this idea to fruition?
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kpage....
that part is not the true tradition for the Natchez Pilgrimage tours, who want only to flaunt the grandeur of the past by trying to take the slave market out of the picture. It will never be a complete picture until the complete story is told.... JMO.... this is where Natchezians who run the show have failed miserably.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 1:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Kpage, because it would mean that all the people would be involved in the REAL history of natchez instead of just a few shaping what the tourist think about the town's history....
Posted by natchezsouthside (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
well we can all look forward to all your full time whole hearted participation--just to make sure it is done right, I'm sure.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would come down there and spend the whole week if everybody involved would do it with their whole hearts and do it HISTORICALLY CORRECT IN EVERY ASPECT. That would be something worthwhile for the whole town and for many others to see and understand.
No tall tells about Northern Army guys being killed at Melrose...They actually died in a drunken brawl...and have all 6 volunteers stand down at the river and try to fend off the whole northern army...while the town people welcome in the Union Army with open arms and open doors....
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Both the tragedy and the comedy of the human experience could be expressed in that drama red, while still being historically correct. It actually could be a good and workable idea and fun. Maybe history plays spread about town. It sure would be nice if we could afford a gunboat or two to shell the town. The boats could also be used as a foot ferry back and forth between Vidalia and Natchez like a visitor I talked to a couple of days ago suggested. Then people staying in the hotels could walk from town to town with a nice little boat ride between.
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 7:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The guys who drive the carriages could dress in period costume to, and even the tourists could rent costumes. I know they do that in several western towns. I like the ferry idea.
Posted by CitizenSane (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 8:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Destiny, I mean this sincerely: You and others like you have got to get over this resentment of those associated with the so-called Pilgrimage. Yes, there are some who are involved today who are totally caught up in the fantasy of it all and don't think about the full story. That is sad.
However, most of the so-called "Old Natchez" "blue-hairs" that I know are totally in favor of the Forks of the Road project and other black history projects.
In fact, it was the Natchez Garden Club (the group that founded the Natchez Pilgrimage in 1932) who rescued the William Johnson House, one of the first black history sites to be saved in Natchez. This was long before the National Park Service came to the rescue.
Also, you may not be aware of the tremendous work that the Historic Natchez Foundation has done over the decades to research and document the African-American History of Natchez.
I look forward to the day when we can all come together on our love for Natchez and her storied and conflicted past and stop blaming the phantom blue hairs and garden club ladies for our failings as a community.
Finally I totally agree with Constance: Natchez is a national treasure!
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 9:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CitizenSane, the capture and salvation of the Johnson House so long before the capture and salvation of the Forks site stands in juxtaposition to your defense of the Garden Club as staunch defenders of the black point of view. What was done first?
Johnson held slaves himself and that in a way justifies the the holding of slaves by whites. It is a way of saying "well, everybody that could did it." I imagine the presence of the Johnson house is not a point of pride with many of the black residents- if I were black I wouldn't hold it to be an edifice designed to honor my lot in life.
What destiny and red decry is not racial divide, but class divide; racial divide is antecedent to class divide. What dwellings of the lower class, black or white, have been preserved except for the ones that are on the grounds of the antebellum homes?
The supervisors are saying they need to study whether or not they can contribute to buying the additonal parts of the Forks site, when they know full well that the St Catherine Creek Utility Authority has the power to acquire any land in Adams County, public or private, to be used for economic development. It only needs to be done, and it needs to be done in such a way that the present holders are paid fair value and cost of relocation.
Another area that has not been addressed by the Preservation Commission or Garden Club or the Planning Commission is that in all this development it seems no place has been provided for the smallest of entrepreneurs to sell their wares as was done in days past.
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 9:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Too often it has been the case that the place and places of the common people have not been given enough thought and respect.
A case in point is the old store out at Churchill. The Historic Natchez Foundation is in control of that project, and are newcomers to the scene compared to a family that has been there for decades, have deemed themselves what is history and what is not in the needless expense of moving the building from where it should be to where the Foundation thought it should be.
Further, the building is falling in ruins while the Foundation holds 160,000.00 in funds donated and matched for its preservation. It seems for whatever reason, the foundation cannot make the time to care for that building, even though it already has the money and if the money is not used a portion of it will go back to the state!
Prove the common people count HNF. You wanted to control history, spend the money and fix the old store! You are turning a much loved part of Churchill's history into an eyesore because of your obstinance.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sane, ( we will use that word very lightly for the moment), I want to clear the air for a minute.
First, I am as white as fresh fallen snow on a cotton bale, so please do not imply that we are all minority that disagree with the way the pilgrimage has been handled. Ove rteh years the pilgrimage crowd has been controlling the future of Natchez, that is why you have so much resentment being shown on the blogs. We are tired of seeing real jobs being looked over and gone around while they get chase after low paying Tourism Jobs. The only people making money off the toruism business are the Owners of the houses and the owners of the businesses that are directly related to it, such as hotels and resturants. the other nusinesses in town barely notice a difference. The Casino may make more money, but their profits are sent away from Natchez and never return.
The people that want the pilgrimage to be the only business left in town hate to see things like "smokestacks" working. They were all ok with the fact that real jobs for the average citizen had left town. It is almost like they have had the "Us four and no more" mentality. I have seen them when I was a kid in Natchez and experienced them snubbing the average person in town, but bending over backwards for the tourist. i knoiw this means very little to you ,sane, but it meant volumes to the average child growing up down there.
Enough,
I have had it with trying to convince some simple mind that the town and the pilgrimage need to change before they have to write the obituary for Natchez. Look around you and compare the last 40 years of natchez to today and you will see that things are not all that great.
WAKE UP PLEASE!!!!!
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 9:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
National treasure my a--!!!
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 10:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow redusmfan....Tell them how you feel...
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 27, 2008 at 10:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Things will change more and faster red, because projects that don't promote social equity are going to find themselves shorter and shorter on funding. And no one is able to self-capitalize these days, so funding is necessary for almost every venture.
Posted by priya (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Dressing up like pilgrimage everyday is a big mistake. Some places do that but make it a renaissance faire that lasts about a month. I will think its a big mistake if Natchez tries to make it an everyday occurance. Plus than the people of Natchez dont want change if it turns into a small Williamsburg Va town. I think the only thing keeping Natchez alive is Vidalia and their growth. Because Vidalia knows what needs to be done and look at the river front. Its making it modernized. Vidalia will bring families together. I would like to know how long has the 160,000 been saved for church hill. what about the interest on the 160,000?
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