Roscoe Barnes Media

Dr. Garry Lewis

Dr. Garry Lewis is a man of exceptional talent and leadership. We are fortunate to have him helping tell and preserve the stories that make Southwest Mississippi so special.

A former NFL cornerback, Dr. Lewis now leads Alcorn State’s Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning, helping communities preserve and share African American history.

Douglas Lanfear, a docent at Longwood, stands in front of the historic quarters where enslaved families once lived. A first-floor room in the building will be used to interpret and present the history of those families.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Pilgrimage Garden Club is transforming a first-floor room in the historic quarters at Longwood, where enslaved people once lived, into an interpretive space exploring the lives of enslaved families. The room is being refurbished with period furniture and artifacts to reflect its 19th-century setting.

See more at this link:

Photo: Recipients of the Keys to the City stand with Mayor Dan Gibson during the “Kickback at NAPAC” program at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture on June 16. From left are the Rev. Melvin White, Laura Ann Jackson, Angela Reynolds, Kristina Carter, Norma West, and Mayor Dan Gibson. 

Mayor Dan Gibson recently honored five community leaders on behalf of the City of Natchez in recognition of their exceptional leadership and service to the Natchez community.

Great story by my friend Elizabeth Gail Greer!

How one Natchez woman’s 2,000-tree crepe myrtle campaign helped turn the city into the “Crepe Myrtle Capital of the South” and inspired an ongoing community tradition.

Alcorn Alum Dr. John Plump Sings ‘Ol’ Man River’ at 16th Street Baptist Church

While attending the African American Travel Conference in April in Birmingham, Alabama, I had the opportunity to visit the 16th Street Baptist Church on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. The church was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1963, killing four young girls and becoming one of the defining tragedies of the Civil Rights Movement.

During my visit, historian Barry McNealy gave a powerful presentation on the history of the church. His friend and colleague, Dr. John A.E. Plump, sang several songs with deep meaning in the Black community. He also performed “Ol’ Man River,” noting that the great Paul Robeson had sung the song in the church many decades earlier.

Plump is a graduate of Alcorn State University, where he studied voice with a concentration in classical music and contemporary opera.

Brittany Bell and her mother, Bettye Bell, are the co-owners of The Legacy of Madison, a historic home transformed into an interpretive center dedicated to sharing Natchez’s under-told history.

Through immersive storytelling, music, cultural experiences, and traditional soul food, The Legacy of Madison is helping broaden how residents and visitors experience and understand the city’s rich heritage. For more information, call 601-334-4104.

New interpretive center highlights African American history, music legacy, and youth development

The pink house at the corner of N. Dr. M.L. King and Madison streets is now home to The Legacy of Madison, an interpretive center dedicated to sharing Natchez's untold and under-told history. Photo by Roscoe Barnes III

This is great news for Natchez, Mississippi!

A long-vacant pink house on the corner of Madison and N. Dr. M.L. King streets has been reborn as The Legacy of Madison, a new tourism attraction and interpretive center dedicated to sharing the untold and under-told history of Natchez.

Bettye Bell, center, and her daughter, Brittany Bell Surratt, recently opened The Legacy of Madison to share Natchez’s history. They are pictured with Brittany’s daughter, Chozyn Channell Bell. Photo by Roscoe Barnes III

“Natchez has a lot of untold and under-told history,” said Brittany. “While Mississippi is often associated with the blues, Natchez has made significant contributions to jazz and hip-hop as well.”

She said much attention has focused on antebellum homes and the Civil War, while African American history remains underrepresented.

See more at this link:

Armand Saiia is ArtsNatchez’s Artist of the Month for June!

Come meet him in person and view his stunning sculptures and paintings this Saturday, June 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the ArtsNatchez Gallery, 425 Main St.

Sculptor Armand Saiia of Natchez has been named ArtsNatchez Gallery’s Artist of the Month for June, and the public is invited to view his latest work.

Saiia’s artwork will be on display at the gallery on Saturday, June 13, at 425 Main St. He will greet visitors from 5 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The reception is free and open to the public.

Saiia’s exhibition will include medium-sized and small sculptures, as well as paintings he has completed over the past eight months. He describes his paintings as a blend of realism and abstraction.

The gallery is open daily beginning at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-442-0043.

Robert Pernell, chairman of the Proud to Take a Stand monument committee, displays the plaque with the QR code at the monument site. 

Did you know you can experience the story of the Parchman Ordeal through virtual reality right here in Natchez?

We first reported on this innovative addition to the monument in 2022. If you haven't experienced it yet, simply scan the QR code shown in the photo at the bottom of the article. Instructions are provided in the story and within the app after it is downloaded.

Technology allows visitors to step into this important chapter of Natchez's Civil Rights history and learn more about the men and women who participated in the 1965 Parchman Ordeal.

Check it out!

Chicago honors blues legend Hound Dog Taylor, but he was born in Natchez. A local writer recounts his journey north and seeks a Natchez Mississippi Blues Trail marker.

Several hundred people crossed the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge under cloudy skies Monday, May 25, traveling from Vidalia, Louisiana, to Natchez National Cemetery in observance of the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade. During a brief stop at the Natchez Visitor Center on the east side of the bridge, a historical marker commemorating the parade was unveiled across the street at 639 S. Canal St., in front of the Holiday Inn Express.

Dr. Roscoe Barnes III is pictured here with Annette Sharp, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express. She authorized the installation of the marker on the hotel property at 639 S. Canal St. We unveiled the marker this morning in honor of the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade.

The Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade: A Historic View of a Living Tradition

This historic postcard image offers a glimpse of the landscape that shaped the route of the Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade, formerly known as “The 30th of May Parade.”

It gives an idea of where the participants marched from Vidalia, across the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, to the toll plaza in Natchez, where they stopped before continuing to the Natchez National Cemetery. The scene predates the construction of John R. Junkin Drive, which today carries both U.S. Route 84 and U.S. Route 425. The image also shows the toll plaza (at the bottom) at the site that is now the Natchez Visitor Center on Canal Street.

Photo courtesy of Historic Natchez Foundation

See more at this link:

Sgt. Anita R. Washington Jackson

Mark your calendar!

This year’s Miss-Lou Memorial Day Parade, set for Monday, May 25, will feature an unveiling ceremony for a Mississippi state historical marker commemorating the parade. Sgt. Anita R. Washington Jackson will serve as the Vidalia grand marshal, and Mayor Dan M. Gibson will serve as the Natchez grand marshal.

Mayor Dan Gibson

See more at this link: