Stroll the streets of Washington, D.C., and you will see government dollars at work.

From the tip-top of the Washington Monument to the rushing waters of the FDR memorial, the city shows best what our country can do.

The federal government has perfected preserving and memorializing its history. And millions come to see what D.C. has to offer.

Now, Natchez has the chance to invite the federal government’s expertise into our city to memorialize a tragic site that is very much a part of our history.

The National Park Service has expressed interest in maintaining the Forks of the Road slave market site. NPS wants to construct a memorial that will tell the story of hundreds of slaves sold in Natchez.

And they want to pay for it.

The land belongs to the city, and city leaders will have to decide whether to take on the project as their own, partner with the NPS or hand over the site entirely.

If you’ve ever stared into the eyes of a larger-than-life Korean War statue in Washington, D.C., the choice is obvious.

Natchez doesn’t have the money or the resources to do this site justice.

The National Park Service does. The project should be entirely theirs.

Our history and our future deserve the best they can get, and we hope the city can recognize that the answer is bigger than Natchez.