Our city is filled with monuments to important memories from our history.

Those come in many forms and fashions, but those etched in stone seem the most permanent, and fitting, for the most important of events.

The City of Natchez has endeavored to erect a monument to the horrible situation that occurred in October 1965 when busloads of protesters were illegally detained and taken to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, despite having never broken a law and were not provided legal representation.

They were viewed as guilty because they had black skin and dared to standup to the racial oppression of the time.

Thank God, times have changed in the years since and such overt, institutionalized racism are relics of the past.

Now, Natchez has a black mayor. The majority of the aldermen are black and the police chief is also black.

But most important in that transition, isn’t the color of their skins, but the quality of their minds and hearts. Natchez still has racial problems — nearly every city in the country does. But we’re far beyond the craziness of the 1960s. The City of Natchez has not found great success so far in raising the more than $100,000 needed for the monument and it’s not surprising the city is having trouble obtaining government funds for the project.

Indeed, the city is encouraging private citizens to donate toward funding the project and many have stepped up to donate.

We think Natchez and Adams County citizens will step up to help fund the project if asked and encouraged, and the Sept. 23 concert is just one opportunity. The city also is encouraging donations to be made out to the City Clerk’s office.

The more word is spread that money is needed to create a monument that befits the cruel and illegal acts perpetrated against the people who were caught up in the Parchman Ordeal, the more we believe people will come forward and donate.

When such a monument is set with funding coming from everyday Natchezians who donate their personal money to the cause, the meaning of the marker will be much more meaningful than if government leaders just wrote a check for it.