Last year, I wrote a letter about the balloon race not being a community event, mainly because of the entertainment.

I found that the bands were mostly white, and this leaves out the black race.

Well, this year, they had a couple of black bands, including a black band formerly named War that now calls themselves the Low rider band, and a few local black bands.

The band drew in a few black music lovers, but it still did not close in the division between the white and blacks to bring them together.

The committee of the balloon festival still has some work to do in making the festival an event for all races of people.

On the other hand, a promoter decided to bring a blues festival to the Vidalia side of the river in order for black people to have some fun.

There should not be two festivals going on at the same time, just because the main event balloon festival bases their music entertainment around white, country and rock bands and a couple of unknown black bands.

Our City of Natchez will never move forward to attract big business or jobs because of the racial division.

If we cannot come together as one body of people at a music festival, we will never be able to work together to move our city to bigger and brighter things.

Music festivals bring people together, but it must be done equally so everybody is welcome to come.

That starts with the type of band you have at the festival. Together we stand; divided we fall.

 

Clarence Anderson

Natchez resident