We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 days in Natchez learning about it's history, touring mansions, and, of course getting to know more interesting people. It was also fun to see "southern genteel" ladies as our coordinator and guides. Will need to take the Vicksburg program next. The listening devices work so well, very helpful.

Great Peek Into Current White Southern Culture. Wow, I am so glad I attended this program. The major learning for me was not what they said, but what they didn't say. We toured mansion after mansion. Again and again we heard, "We had the greatest collection of millionaires in the world and all that money came from 'King Cotton'". We also heard about the dozens of "servents" it took to run the mansions. Of course the truth is that the money came not from cotton, but from slavery. And the so-called servents were slaves. We attended the Historic Natchez Tableaux which is an amateur production about the history of Natchez. It is produced by the two major garden clubs in the city. It takes hundreds of volunteers to produce the event. It was a reflection of the white establishment - a total of three black faces in the cast. Upon inquiry, I learned that the prestigous roles of king and queen are awarded on the basis of long family history and tradition and in the case of the queen ability to pay for a gown that rivals any wedding dress I have seen. The poplulatin of Natchez is 60% black, but you would not know it from this program.