Natchez Grapples with Romanticized Slave History

New documentary explores how the town's tourism industry perpetuates a problematic narrative of the antebellum South.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The documentary "Natchez" by director Suzanne Herbert explores the Mississippi town of Natchez, where the nostalgia of antebellum slavery is incorporated and romanticized into the modern tour industry. The film highlights the collision between Natchez's present and its painful past, and how that history is told to visitors through the perspectives of both white and Black tour guides.

Why it matters

Natchez's tourism industry is heavily reliant on romanticizing the town's history of slavery and the antebellum South, which erases the true horrors experienced by the enslaved people who were bought and sold there. The documentary sheds light on how this problematic narrative persists, even as some in the community work to tell a more honest and nuanced story.

The details

Natchez was once home to the second-largest slave market in the Deep South, the Forks of the Road, which made the town's white citizens incredibly wealthy before the Civil War. Today, the former slave market site sits across from a muffler shop, whose white owner refuses to leave despite offers from the National Park Service. The documentary also highlights how white tour guides in Natchez indulge in fantasy and entertainment, while Black tour guides feel beholden to honoring their ancestors' labor and sacrifice without any gloss.

  • The Forks of the Road slave market operated in Natchez prior to the Civil War.
  • The transatlantic slave trade was banned in 1808, leading to more than 200,000 enslaved people being forcibly migrated from the Upper to Deep South and sold at Forks of the Road.

The players

Suzanne Herbert

The director of the documentary "Natchez" who explores how the town's history of slavery is incorporated into its modern tourism industry.

David Garner

An elderly white gay man who is a tour guide in Natchez and repeatedly uses the N-word and makes controversial comments about Black people during his tours.

Tracy 'Rev' Collins

A Black pastor and tour guide in Natchez who tells visitors about the horrors of the Forks of the Road slave market, where enslaved people were sold for up to $2,000.

Gene Williams

The 64-year-old white owner of a muffler shop located on the former site of the Forks of the Road slave market, who refuses to leave despite offers from the National Park Service.

Debbie Cosey

The first Black member of the Natchez Garden Club and owner of the Concord Quarters bed and breakfast, which is located in former slave quarters and provides a more honest history of the town's past.

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What they’re saying

“I don't know what the Forks of the Road is supposed to prove. Those speaking to its history are 'promoting the memory of something that was bad.'”

— Gene Williams, Muffler shop owner (Harpers Bazaar)

“Interested parties to Concord Quarters would get the story behind the main house, where a script of what actually happened would not be tailored and palatable for a wider audience.”

— Debbie Cosey, Bed and breakfast owner (Harpers Bazaar)

What’s next

The National Park Service continues to negotiate with Gene Williams to acquire the property where the Forks of the Road slave market once operated, in an effort to preserve and properly memorialize the site's history.

The takeaway

Natchez's tourism industry is built on a romanticized and problematic narrative of the antebellum South, which erases the true horrors of slavery experienced by the enslaved people who were bought and sold there. The documentary "Natchez" highlights the need for more honest and nuanced storytelling about the town's past, and the ongoing tensions between those who wish to preserve a mythologized version of history and those working to confront it.