Explore The natchez movement

The 20^th-century civil rights movement in Natchez was extraordinary. It is a story of sacrifice, determination, and many hard-fought gains. Despite its challenges, which included racial segregation, beatings, police brutality, and bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, the Natchez struggle became one of the most successful movements in Mississippi. This trail tells that story and honors the memory of those who fought courageously for basic social, civic, and economic justice.

African American leaders implemented boycotts, picketing, and marches that brought the city’s downtown area to its knees. Lance Hill, author of The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement (2004), noted: “Whereas virtually every other local campaign had ended in failure during the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi, the Natchez project had mobilized an entire community and exacted sweeping concessions from the white establishment—without federal intervention. The Natchez campaign was the single greatest community victory for the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi.”

Your Journey Begins Here

Follow this list to learn firsthand what happened in the Natchez movement. Use this map to step into the past and deepen your understanding of the civil rights struggle in southwest Mississippi. See for yourself why The Crisis magazine, the official organ of the NAACP, uttered this profound statement: “The attempted assassination [of NAACP President George Metcalfe] triggered demonstrations and a selective buying campaign which resulted in the most meaningful economic, political, and social settlement ever achieved by the Negro community in any other southern state.”