NATCHEZ — Thoughtful conversations filled the Natchez Convention Center Saturday morning as residents came together to discuss race.

Mission Mississippi, a statewide, Christian nonprofit aimed at racial reconciliation, hosted the Day of Dialogue. The event brought together people from all walks of life to discuss matters of race.

When people participate in open dialogue, they get to know and understand each other better, said Mission Mississippi President Neddie Winters, who led Saturday’s event.

“You can live in the same town, sometimes on the same street, in the same neighborhood and be from two different worlds,” Winters said.

Getting the conversation started was the goal of the event, Winters said.

Participants introduced themselves, citing their reasons for coming. After the event, Mission Mississippi member Kathleen Bond said she came because she wanted “Natchez to look like the kingdom of God.”

One of the discussion topics was the racial autobiography of participants. It included when they became racially aware, their personal educational background, segregated or integrated, and a description of their childhood and hometown.

During the group overview afterward, Bond shared what her group had discovered. Despite everyone in the group growing up in Mississippi, they hadn’t had the same experiences.

“There was a real disparity in how some people were able to grow up very naïve,” Bond said.

The five-member group all had different memories.

The Rev. Matthew Minor, who is African American and grew up in Natchez, could remember several incidents that shaped his racial awareness.

As a child, he was once warned not to wander into a certain area because of a previous racial incident, attending an integrated school and some of his family’s worries.

“I moved away in ‘86 to Norfolk, Va., and I found that racism is everywhere,” Minor said.

Meanwhile Nancy Green, who is also African American, was born in Sibley and had a different experience.

“When we were growing up I guess we didn’t think as much about the race relationship,” Green said.

The area she lived in didn’t have a lot of white people, and she didn’t really encounter integration until she attended college. But Green said she didn’t see too much racism.

After the different groups shared, Winters told everyone who had come reconciliation was real.

“We have a responsibility of carrying it out,” Winters said.

Mission Mississippi meets the first Tuesday of every month at the Natchez Children’s Home on North Union Street. The next meeting is 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 1.