Ser Boxley creates poster on civil rights movement

Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley created the poster, “This No. 9 St. Catherine Street Yellow House” to tell the story of the civil rights movement in Natchez. His image as seen here was provided by Kathleen Bond, superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park. Photo by Ben Hillyer

NATCHEZ, Miss. — Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley says the poster he created earlier this year provides critical details about the civil rights movement in Natchez, where much of the history springs from the “yellow house” at 9 St. Catherine St.

During the 1960s, the house served as the home of NAACP President George Metcalfe and the headquarters for the local NAACP. Today, the house is known as the Dr. John Banks House or the Dr. John Bowman Banks Museum. It is also the site of Natchez’s first Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker.

Boxley’s poster is titled, “This No. 9 St. Catherine Street Yellow House.” It is designed on one side of a 12×18 cardstock with two black-and-white, historic photos and a colored photo of the yellow house. The written content, presented like an essay, is about 1,900 words.

The idea for the poster grew out of a concern about “the whole truth” being told about African American history in Natchez, Boxley said. For too long, he added, “only the White, European, segregated history was being promoted.”

Boxley said the public needs to know that the history of the modern civil rights movement in Natchez came out of the house on St. Catherine. His poster, he said, is “designed to arm people with what really happened in the civil rights movement and not just the story of Dr. John Banks” and his work as a physician. “This is all in the interest of wholistic history,” he said.

The historical narrative presented on the poster is based on Boxley’s research and his personal experience in the civil rights movement. In 1965, when Boxley returned to Natchez to visit his mother, he attended a meeting with the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice, a paramilitary group that provided armed protection for the civil rights workers and the Black community.

Boxley said he became a member of the Deacons, and he assisted them with fundraising and acquiring firearms.

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Boxley’s poster essay opens with a reference to NAACP President George Metcalfe living at the yellow house and operating a boarding house on the site. He notes the use of the house by many in the civil rights movement.

He writes: “On July 21, 1964, as part of the state-wide Freedom Summer Project, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ) workers returned to Natchez and attempted to organize a Freedom Ballot and begin a small COFO (Council of Federated Organizations) voter registration project, with the help of Goerge Metcalfe and the Natchez NAACP at this yellow house.”

The SNCC members included Dorie Ladner, Chuck McDew and Charles “Chico” Neblett, Boxley writes, adding Bill Ware, George Greene, and Burt Watkins also came to Natchez to assist in the movement.

Boxley notes that when members of the Ku Klux Klan tried to assassinate Ladner and other SNCC members by bombing Freedom House No. 1 at Jake Fisher’s place in the 600 block of South Wall Street, the ladies stayed at Metcalfe’s boarding house.

Boxley writes that Metcalfe and his friend, Wharlest Jackson Sr., were “two strong leaders” who emerged from the house. Both of them worked at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company and both were active members of the NAACP.

Boxley lists the key members of the NAACP who were instrumental in bringing about change in Natchez. In addition to Metcalfe and Jackson, he lists Archie Curtis, John Fitzgerald, Mozana Green, Holy Family Church’s Father Morrissey, George West Sr., Jonathan Grennell, Rayfard Baptist, and Robert Johnson Sr., among others.

Readers of Boxley’s poster will see detailed information about the Natchez movement. It features, for example, the harassment Metcalfe received from the Klan that included threats and shooting into the window of his home. The essay also covers the Aug. 27, 1965, bombing of Metcalfe’s car by the Klan, which he survived, but suffered serious injuries.

Also featured is a behind-the-scenes look at the movement, including the work of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and State NAACP Field Director Charles Evers, brother of slain State NAACP leader Medgar Evers.

Boxley covers the establishment of the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice under the leadership of James “Big Jack” Jackson and their role in providing armed protection for the black community. He recounts how the black community, angry and motivated, stood up to the White oppressors. They held nightly mass meetings and demonstrations. They also called on the city to denounce the Klan and other white supremacists.

According to Boxley, the Black community’s use of armed self-defense, economic boycott of white-owned businesses, and enforcement of the boycott, resulted in the city conceding to the demands of the NAACP.

Boxley ends his essay with a quote by historian Lance Hill, who wrote, “The Natchez campaign was the single greatest community victory for the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi.”

For more information:

Boxley’s poster on the civil rights movement is available for a $10 donation plus $5 for shipping and handling for one copy. Payment should be made to Friends of Forks of the Road, P.O. Box 2188 Natchez, MS  39121. For more information, call 601-442-4719 or send email to Forksyaroads@aol.com.