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.