Natchez

Caught between contested narratives on the history of Natchez, Mississippi, elaborate antebellum homes foreground a confrontation between historians, tour guides and cultural groups over the region’s past record on slavery.

Built during the Antebellum period in the United States, huge mansions sprawl out across the Southern town of Natchez, Mississippi. They attract tourists by the masses, who are drawn to their preserved artifacts, peculiar beauty and historic significance. More than 150 years since the end of the Civil War, Natchez remains caught in a battle for the truth about enslavement and racist histories, and potential pathways for recognition and healing. Suzannah Herbert’s film examines these contested histories through the lens of the traditionally minded Garden Club, tour guides and cultural inheritors of a bloodied heritage. Natchez reveals uneasy truths about Mississippi’s past, while acknowledging the path being forged by African American historians and storytellers, ensuring that the work of their ancestors doesn't become lost in the quaintness of Garden Club pleasantries.