NATCHEZ — Downtown shoppers were surprised by the sound of African drums Saturday.

Anyone who looked out of the window would’ve seen the Hasan Drums, a group from Jackson, leading approximately 15 people waving flags in celebration of the birthday of Marcus Garvey, a Civil Rights leader.

The group was organized by the Rastafarian Society in Mississippi, based in Natchez.

Jeremy Houston, a Natchez native, member of the Rastafarian Society and one of the event’s organizers, said Garvey was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which was founded in the 1920’s.

The organization had once had a large presence in Natchez.

“Natchez had the largest chapter in Mississippi,” Houston said.

Garvey’s birthday is on Monday, but Houston said the group decided to celebrate it over the weekend.

The group began its progress near Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church. While Houston said the church was not involved in the event, the location was picked because of its proximity to the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, the group’s final destination.

Houston said the site was also chosen for its historic standing as the place where Hiram Revels, the first African American senator, preached.

When the music began playing around 11 a.m., the group made its way toward the Natchez Convention Center.

June Hardwick was one of the people who walked behind the musicians. Her son, 14-year-old Raha Maxwell, played with the group.

Hardwick and her son are from Jackson, but she didn’t come to Natchez just to hear her son play.

“I would’ve come anyway,” Hardwick said.

Hardwick said she loves attending cultural events.

“Blacks have a rich culture and we should celebrate it at every opportunity,” Hardwick said.

When the group reached the Convention Center, they turned around and headed to the museum where Director Darrell White was waiting to give the official welcome and introduction for the event.

White said the UNIA was the largest organization then and now for black empowerment.

Houston said Garvey’s work influenced Civil Rights leaders like Malcom X and Medgar Evers.

However, White also said Garvey was often misunderstood.

“Garvey has been misaligned by forces in an attempt to discredit some of the work and organization he had done,” White said.

White said the event was done to celebrate the positive aspects of Garvey’s life, such as his organizational skills and advocacy of self-reliance and self-awareness, and, in some part, the impact he had on Natchez.

“Natchez was also home to a very large contingency of supporters of Marcus Garvey,” White said.

When the group entered the museum, they sat down to hear the music of the Hasan Drums and information about Garvey’s life. In the back, food and information about African American leaders waited.

In the future, Houston hopes to host a bigger celebration. But, for now, the knowledge of Garvey’s life and accomplishments echoed throughout the museum to the tune of African drums.