On Friday, October 9th at 2:30 p.m. in the nave of Trinity Episcopal Church in Natchez, the Diocese of Mississippi will continue its discussion of the involvement of the church with slavery at a featured session of the Eighth Historic Natchez Conference.
The Rt. Rev. Alfred C. “Chip” Marble, former Bishop of Mississippi, now Assisting Bishop of North Carolina, will moderate the session. Two historians who addressed the 2008 Annual Council meeting in Natchez will make follow-up presentations to highlight developments in their scholarship since that time.
Dr. Edward L. Bond of Alabama A&M University, who also edits the Anglican & Episcopal History journal, will present “The Episcopal Church and Slavery in the Natchez District: Racism, Paternalism, and Civil Disobedience in a Southern Diocese.”
The Rev. Dr. Brooks Graebner, Rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and also Historiographer of the Diocese of North Carolina, will present “’Hitherto excluded for want of room:’ Efforts of later Mississippi Bishop William Mercer Green to Accommodate the Enslaved Population within the North Carolina Episcopal Church, 1820-1850.”
Following these two addresses, a response will be offered by the Rev. Dr. Walter Brownridge, Associate Dean for Community Life at the University of the South.
The biennial Historic Natchez Conference is a partnership effort to showcase the most recent scholarship in Natchez history. It is co-sponsored by the Historic Natchez Foundation, Natchez National Historical Park, and several archival repositories with significant holdings relating to Natchez history. All conference sessions are free and open to the public. A complete conference agenda can be found online at www.natchez.org, or those interested may contact Kathleen Jenkins at 601-442-7049 x13.
