NATCHEZ — Fifty years ago, Natchez police forced hundreds of black Natchezians onto buses and shipped them to the state penitentiary at Parchman.

The detainees were everyday folks, standing up for justice and equality and taking a stand against the violent atrocities inflicted upon the black community.

Once there, they were illegally detained for days, suffering terror and abuse at the hands of law enforcement.

For the first time since what has come to be known as the Parchman Ordeal, the City of Natchez publicly apologized — in a resolution for the city’s official record — for its role in “the injustice inflicted on those citizens (that) was the result of irrational hatred and a failure of government.”

The Natchez Board of Aldermen voted unanimously this week to issue the public apology in the form of a resolution.

Mayor Butch Brown presented the resolution at a banquet Friday evening commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Parchman Ordeal.

Audience members wept as Brown read the resolution, which was crafted by City Attorney Hyde Carby with sentiments from the mayor and aldermen.

The resolution states that the “City of Natchez, Miss., must stare down its shame for the mistreatment of hundreds of innocent black Natchezians” and “that for 50 years, the City has failed to acknowledge publicly the disgrace of the Parchman Ordeal.”

During the ordeal, “the City failed its citizens and failed the principles of this nation.”

“Even though it has been a long time coming, it is not too late to recognize and apologize to those true heroes of Natchez who bravely endured degradation in advancing the cause of equality before the law.

The City acknowledges its role in the Parchman Ordeal and apologizes to the hundreds of citizens who suffered these injustices.”

As the City “prepares to begin its Tricentennial year, it will shine a light on all parts of its past, both good and bad, so that its future may be one lit with unity in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.”

Brown said in order to allow healing of the city’s past, it must acknowledge the dark history of that past and the part government played in suppressing equality.

“I think anything we can do in the city that moves us toward a healing process … anything we can do to eliminate separatist feelings in our community, I’m willing to do anything for that,” Brown said. “If for us to become a community, and a community is one that embraces all of its people, we have to say, ‘I’m sorry; we made a mistake,’ I would certainly stand up and say it at any time.”

Ward 2 Alderman Rickey Gray said he hopes the apology from the city allows those who suffered through the Parchman Ordeal to find peace.

“It just brings tears to my eyes that people had to go through all that back then,” Gray said. “It’s like when you get to fighting with someone and you always have it in the back of your mind until that person comes to apologize,

“I’m not saying the Parchman Ordeal will ever leave their minds, but I think maybe … they can finally put it to rest.”

Dr. Betty Cade has been a central figure in organizing this weekend’s reunion of those who suffered through the Parchman Ordeal.

Healing has begun for many of those whose stories have sat untold for the past 50 years, she said.

“Prior to this weekend, they had not gotten to see each other because they all moved away, trying to get out of Natchez and forget what happened to them,” she said. “They were happy their names were called this weekend.

“I think this is the first step in getting this out in the open and letting us heal,” Cade said.