African American History In natchez
By Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley
Date of Release: December 3, 2020
Released to Bobby Dennis of Natchez Mississippi for his publication.
“Campers discover Natchez on historic tour” read the headline of a Natchez Democrat article dated June 27, 1997.
According to the article about children in Adams County and Natchez Mississippi being taken on a Natchez City Recreation Department’s 1997 Summer and Natchez Visitors and Convention Bureau Historic Tour of Natchez, “the tour was meant to emphasize to the students their connection with Natchez history.”
I commended the Natchez Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Heritage Tourism and the City’s Recreation Department’s Summer Camp for their efforts that helped Africans In American descendant children learn about their connection with Natchez.
In learning about their connection with Natchez, African in America children (any other children for that matter) should be taught about the contributions, humanity and heritage of African Foreparents and Ancestors upon whose skills and labor the Natchez District was built. This gets rid of the old south narrative that “makes it look like white folks did everything all by themselves.”
However, when looking at Natchez’s “Black” experience and presence, which is also a mirror contrasting the white experience and presence then Africa must be and is the beginning point.
Africa, Africans and their civilizations and natural resources that went into the making of the America(s) and Natchez is the omitted or suppressed side of the same history of America, Europe and Natchez that answers the proverbial question…..”How did all this get here?”
In answering this question, there’s a missing flag over Natchez, the America(s) and Europe for that matter. Prominently flying over Natchez are the flags (in a variation of the colors of red, white and blue) of France, Spain, England, Euro-America and Confederate America.
These flags represent the European presence and contributions to the Natchez area specifically and the early America(s) generally.
Where is the flag representing the Africans’ contributions, humanity and presence?
Even if its historically correct that millions of African Foreparents and Ancestors were forcefully enslaved, there was and is a historical African flag (in a variation of the colors of black, red and green) that has flown representing Africans, from at least the earliest days of the rise of the Ancient Ghana Empire, some say dates back to circa 100 A. D.
In Natchez, America(s) and Europe, where is the Africans’ point of view regarding our human contributions?
How did such human contributions become omitted and remains obscured by the assignment of the Greco-Roman European originated concept, practice and term “slave?”
Such permanent assignment of the term “slaves” to our African Ancestors and Foreparents projects a deceptive view that they were always enslaved as a people.
How can present day American African descendants continue to be deceptively convinced that our presence in the America(s) is a presence of “slaves?”
The answer lies in the white supremacy system’s continued denial of the humanity, history, heritage, civilization and contributions of our enslaved African Foreparents, Ancestors and their descendants through that system’s three institutions of human behavior shaping, namely government, school and church.
There is a glowing and continued manifestation of white supremacy in Natchez and Mississippi history which white washes, white-out, blanks-out or segregate-out the humanity, heritage, history, civilization and contributions of African people on the whole, leaving only the legacy of “slaves.”
Yes! Not since my person flew our Missing Flag over Natchez back in 1999 during my From Africa’s Door’s of no Return to Natchez Forks of the Road chattel slavery exhibition at the old National Park House on South Canal Street has the red, black and green flown over Natchez as it should fly along with French, British, Spanish and American and Confederate flags.
Our African people’s Liberation flag of red, black and green is one of the oldest flag colors that dates back to the Ancient Ghanaians Empire, not modern Ghana but the empire that contained most of what is known now as West Africa.
Marcus Garvey re-introduced these colors during the largest Africans in America freedom struggle movement in the history of the U. S.
The three colors also correspond to “one Aim, One Destiny and One People.”
Red stands for the blood our people have shed, but not in vain.
Black stands for us the people, and Green stand for Africa’s rich Green land and our youth which is our future.”
This is basically what has been interpreted by folks carrying out the struggle for liberation of our people. Nearly all governments led by African descent people have one or two of these colors in their national flag.
Some have all three.
Aluta Continua and the struggle continue!
Award Winning Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-CM Boxley,
Advocate Planner for Forks of the Roads Chattel Slavery Markets Sites
Becoming a National Park Service Park
