List of names being verified for ‘Proud to Take a Stand’ monument

Published 12:01 am Sunday, March 10, 2019

NATCHEZ — Before the names of more than 150 people are etched in a memorial commemorating a piece of Natchez civil rights history, city leaders want to make sure the list is complete.

The names will appear on the “Proud to Take a Stand Monument,” honoring the protesters who were unjustly imprisoned in 1965 allegedly for violating a city ordinance for parades — an ordinance that was later ruled unconstitutional.

Any person who was incarcerated in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, the City of Natchez Jail or the Adams County Jail during the events of Oct. 2-5, 1965, and who wants to verify that their name will appear on the monument contact Arrick Rice at City Hall at 601-445-7500.

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The deadline to verify names will be on March 29.

The 6-foot tall and 12-foot long granite monument which is to be constructed on the grounds of the Natchez City Auditorium will also include an engraving of a historic photograph of people being arrested in the incident and a narrative that includes the city’s resolution passed in 2015 apologizing for the events that occurred 50 years earlier.