NATCHEZ — Aaron Patten is a member of two business organizations with the same goals, the same mission and many of the same members.

Patten, a young black businessman, joined the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce three years ago after he opened his own business  — Integrity Mortgage.

He now sits on the board of the chamber.

A month ago, he joined the Natchez Business and Civic League at a friend’s prompting.

The NBCL is a nearly all black business organization.

Patten said he feels it’s important to be in both groups, but it’s more important to see both groups become one.

“That’s one of the goals I personally have on my heart,” he said. “I want to work on getting the leaders of both groups to talk about things.

“I want to see unity in our community. I know everybody’s heard the old saying, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’”

That division — or at best, duplication of services — was one the Mississippi State University First Impressions team made note of when they visited Natchez in the spring.

The group’s report mentions racial tensions, a garden club mentality and rich vs. poor as possible motivators for division in the community.

Pulling all of those factions into one is something Natchez Little Theatre Director Layne Taylor has fought to do on his stage for years.

And he believes he is succeeding.

But the lack of unity in the rest of the community is a major concern, he said.

“It’s a huge problem here,” he said. “I don’t think we care to put forth an effort to make it better.

“You have to have patience. That is the key. You have to realize you can’t change things overnight. But you don’t sit around and complain.”

But not everyone sees a multitude of groups, clubs and organizations as a division.

“Competition is always healthy,” longtime Natchez resident Carolyn Vance Smith said. “When things are too consolidated into one large organization, then many volunteers may not have a place.

“There can’t be too many opportunities for people.”

And two of the most well known local organizations — the garden clubs — do work together on the things that matter, Natchez Garden Club member Anne MacNeil said.

“We are all members of the Pilgrimage Home Owners Association, we all work on the (Historic Natchez) Pageant and we are all members of the state garden club,” she said.

“If someone looking from the outside is going to look at it as a waste of resources, I don’t think that’s terribly germane.”

Ruth Ellen Calhoun, a member of the Pilgrimage Garden Club, agreed, saying any perception of division between the two groups is a misconception.

But Calhoun does believe both garden clubs fall short when it comes to explaining their work to non-members.

“We have tried to promote the positive things that each club does, but I don’t think we’ve done a very good job,” she said. “We don’t know how.

“And (our good) fades from people’s minds when they need someone to blame for something.”

That lack of communication with others extends well beyond the garden clubs and into most other aspects of the community, MacNeil said.

“Anyone who lives here knows that we struggle to communicate with each other as well as we should,” she said. “It just takes working at it. I think people talk to each other a little bit more when we see the challenges out there. And we see a lot of challenges facing our community right now.”

Talking is something Natchez Business and Civic League President Mary Toles said she’s ready to do.

“If someone from the chamber approached us and made a proposal, I’m sure it would be considered,” Toles said. “I don’t see the league going forward and saying it wants to merge, but if the chamber could show the benefits, we’d listen.”

Chamber Director Debbie Hudson said she sees merging the two groups as a very important move for the community.

“It’s about business,” she said. “I think (two groups) sends a message that the town needs to work together. We can’t afford (a division) in this town.”