Dear Natchez,

We cordially invite you to secede from Mississippi and join us in Louisiana. Let’s face it: You have always been different from the rest of Mississippi and more like us. Mississippi’s Legislature seems to have a problem with people who are different. That is so not the Natchez that raised me. You have always been different and celebrated different. You are more like New Orleans. From your humble beginnings centuries ago as a rough-and-tumble river town filled with gambling and cutthroat saloons, to your opposition to the Civil War that kept the Yankees from burning your antebellum mansions to the ground, to your quiet acceptance of a woman of color who operated a brothel in plain sight for the greater part of a century (pre-Civil Rights until 1990, mind you), Natchez is different. You have crawfish boils, Mardi Gras Royalty, and you have bars that will stay open as long as somebody is buying. You pull for the Saints. You don’t care about what your favorite antiques dealer does behind closed doors as long as he can make you a decent cocktail. You don’t discriminate.

Your economy is based on tourism. It is sad to me that the state of Mississippi wants to celebrate your 300th birthday by tracking mud all over your red carpet of hospitality. Could they have picked a more inappropriate time to send the wrong message to the world? Let the world know that is not who you are. Make it known that Natchez welcomes all good people with open arms and open cash registers. Plus, Louisiana could use the sales tax revenue your tourists bring in. As a border town, Natchez could be oh-so-easily annexed. Start a petition and see where it goes! Louisiana would love to have you. Even if your secession goes nowhere, at least the world will know where your heart is.

 

Patrick Mulhearn, Baton Rouge