Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture

The Natchez Association for the Preservation of African American Culture opened this museum in 1991, occupying 10,000 square feet in the former United States Post Office, built around 1904. The collection documents African American life in Natchez from the city's incorporation in 1716 to the present, using art, photographs, manuscripts, artifacts, and books. One exhibit covers Forks of the Road, the second largest slave market in the southern United States, which received international recognition by the United Nations for its role in the international slave trade. The collection includes material on the enslaved Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori. Another exhibit documents the Rhythm Nightclub fire, where over 200 African American Natchez citizens died. A third is dedicated to Richard Wright, a Natchez native and critically acclaimed author. In February 2022 the museum opened a permanent exhibit honoring Daisy C. Newman, an African American soprano soloist born in Natchez in 1947 who died in 2021. She earned the nickname "Black Butterfly" for her portrayal of Cio-Cio San in "Madame Butterfly," performed on stages worldwide, and was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in "Porgy and Bess." The exhibit features a portrait donated by her sister, Dorothy Hills, along with videos of Newman's performances. Staff have contributed to living history programs portraying Hiram Revels, a freedman who helped raise two African-American regiments during the Civil War and later became the first African American to serve as a senator from Mississippi, and Wilson Brown, an escaped slave who joined the United States Navy and was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on the USS Hartford during the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. Open Monday through Saturday. Small admission fee. Allow one to two hours.