Ora Frazier was a recently married schoolteacher when she first got involved in entertaining visitors to the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage.

It was more than four decades ago when Frazier joined other members of Natchez&8217;s African-American community providing evening entertainment for Pilgrimage house tour visitors.

Frazier and other members of the Natchez City Chorus performed spirituals for crowds at the Beulah Baptist Church

&8220;They&8217;d come to tour the houses and then they&8217;d come to hear us sing at night. That went well until the Civil Rights Movement,&8221; she said. &8220;We kind of bowed out at that point, I don&8217;t remember how we stopped doing it.&8221;

As a result, the Natchez Pilgrimage lacked any interpretation of the African-American experience for more than two decades.

&8220;In 1989 or 1990, Dr. (David) Steckler had heard the Holy Family Choir sing, he went to our priest, Father Wagoner, and said, &8216;You know, I think it&8217;s time African-Americans get involved in the Pilgrimage again,&8217;&8221; Frazier said.

Church members agreed and Frazier volunteered to help write what would become the now well-known &8220;Southern Road to Freedom,&8221; a musical presentation of the African-American experience in Natchez.

&8220;We talked about the beautiful homes, but we didn&8217;t talk about the fact that free and slave labor helped build these homes,&8221; she said. &8220;I&8217;ve often said it was the best-kept secret in Natchez for a long time.&8221;

But for many in Natchez, &8220;Southern Road to Freedom&8221; isn&8217;t the only secret involving African-American involvement in Pilgrimage.

Many modern residents may not realize that prior to the Civil Rights Movement withdrawal, African-Americans were involved in entertaining Pilgrimage visitors through programs such as &8220;Heaven Bound,&8221; a musical presentation during the 1930s and 1940s.

Natchez Pilgrimage Tour leaders recently uncovered another fact that had almost been lost to history. African-Americans were involved in the very first seeds of Pilgrimage.

Many people know the history of how the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage began. A late freeze dampened the beauty of a gardens that were to be toured as part of a statewide garden club group, so the participants were invited to tour the inside of the houses.

For many, Pilgrimage is thought of as a mostly white event and, in fact, the world was a radically different place when it began. The South was a segregated, discriminatory place then.

But in Natchez, even with the pressures of the segregated society, blacks and whites were already working together &8212; at least in small steps &8212; on tourism.

The March 20, 1931, edition of The Natchez Democrat reported that members of the Natchez College Glee Club would sing spirituals during a luncheon at Duncan Memorial Park, an amazing fact, says Dr. Jim Coy, director of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours.

&8220;I just love uncovering history that no one has read in a long time,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;re trying so hard to tell the history (of African-American involvement in Pilgrimage). It&8217;s a rich history that needs to be told.&8221;

NPT Marketing Director Eugenie Cates is joining Coy in working to tell that history as part of next year&8217;s 75th Pilgrimage anniversary.

&8220;I&8217;ve been asking for images and maybe some oral history,&8221; Cates said. &8220;I&8217;m really trying to put together an African-American story about Spring Pilgrimage.&8221;

&8220;Not only can (Pilgrimage visitors) enjoy touring the homes, they can enjoy the beautiful music put on by Holy Family Catholic Church,&8221; she said, referring to &8220;Southern Road to Freedom.&8221;

Cates said she welcomes the participation of others in the community who may have photos or information to share with her. She can be contacted at 601-446-6631 or by e-mail to

eugenie@natchezpilgrimage.com

.

Frazier said she hopes more of the African-American history can be included in Pilgrimage in the future.

&8220;Change is hard. People don&8217;t resonate to change easily. (But) I just think Natchez is moving. I think it&8217;s starting now. &8230; The time is now, right now. Natchez&8217;s community can and will and must work together as a team.&8221;

Kevin Cooper

is associate publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or

kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com

.