Nelson’s talk on Ben Chester White draws record crowd
By ROSCOE BARNES III
The Natchez Democrat
The Natchez Democrat
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Stanley Nelson is speaking at the Sept. 26 meeting of the
Natchez Historical Society at Historic Natchez Foundation. His topic is the 1966 execution of Ben Chester White by three members of the Ku Klux Klan. Photo courtesy of Jessica Ingram |
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Stanley Nelson’s talk on the 1966
murder of Ben Chester White drew 120 people to the Sept. 26 meeting of the
Natchez Historical Society at the Historic Natchez Foundation, according to
people who attended the event.
murder of Ben Chester White drew 120 people to the Sept. 26 meeting of the
Natchez Historical Society at the Historic Natchez Foundation, according to
people who attended the event.
The attendance set a record for the society, which
averages 50 people at the monthly meetings, according to Alan Wolf, a director
of the society and its program chair.
society’s annual dinner in January that set a record with more than 100
attendees, Wolf said.
were so many new faces, and we were on the edges of our seats.”
Historical Park, agreed. “This is as good as it gets,” he said.
“We had a great attendance, and people were deeply moved by the
presentation.”
success,” said Linda Ogden, society board member. “The audience was
indeed large and diverse.”
lot about the community: “I think it says a great deal for a community
that wants to look at its past and face it honestly.”
Creek: New Revelations on an Old Case.” It focused on White, the
67-year-old Black man who was executed in 1966 by members of the Klan. White
lived in a small community known as Sandy Creek, where his house still stands
to this day.
Ernest Avants and James Lloyd Jones, were charged but not convicted in 1967;
and a third one, Claude Fuller, who was never brought to trial. Avants was
convicted decades later in federal court and died in prison a short time after
his conviction.
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| Ben Chester White |
During his talk, Nelson focused on the Klan activities in
the Kingston community. He also discussed the personal life history of White
and his friends. Nelson said White was only five feet tall and weighed 155
pounds. He was known as a “soft spoken gentleman” who was not
involved with political or civil rights activism.
Nelson spoke about Jimmy Carter and Boyd Sojourner, both
of whom became Adams County Supervisors. Both had also worked cattle together
with White, and they knew each other all their lives, Nelson said. Carter owned
the farm where White had lived and worked.
Nelson zeroed in on the planning of the murder and how it
went down. He showed, among other things, that the Klan made two attempts on
White’s life.
One of White’s murderers said they killed him in order to
lure Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Natchez to be assassinated. Nelson
believes the killing was a “local action” and said he found no
evidence connecting the murder to higher ranks of the White Knights of the
Klan.
Nelson said a longer version of his presentation will be
posted on Louisiana State University’s website (lsucoldcaseproject.com).
Nelson is the former editor of the Concordia Sentinel in
Ferriday, La. He is also the author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the
Mississippi River in the 1960s (LSU Press, 2016) and “Klan of Devils: The
Murder of a black Louisiana Deputy Sheriff” (LSU, 2021).
The audience
the Kingston community. He also discussed the personal life history of White
and his friends. Nelson said White was only five feet tall and weighed 155
pounds. He was known as a “soft spoken gentleman” who was not
involved with political or civil rights activism.
of whom became Adams County Supervisors. Both had also worked cattle together
with White, and they knew each other all their lives, Nelson said. Carter owned
the farm where White had lived and worked.
went down. He showed, among other things, that the Klan made two attempts on
White’s life.
lure Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Natchez to be assassinated. Nelson
believes the killing was a “local action” and said he found no
evidence connecting the murder to higher ranks of the White Knights of the
Klan.
posted on Louisiana State University’s website (lsucoldcaseproject.com).
Ferriday, La. He is also the author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the
Mississippi River in the 1960s (LSU Press, 2016) and “Klan of Devils: The
Murder of a black Louisiana Deputy Sheriff” (LSU, 2021).
Nelson said he was happy to share his research on the White’s murder and quite
pleased to have a large and diverse audience.
our history and want to know about that terrible thing that happened to Ben
Chester White,” Nelson said. He noted the audience was “very
attentive” and asked “great questions.”
as did Denise Jackson Ford, daughter of slain Natchez civil rights leader
Wharlest Jackson Sr.
and great turnout,” Nelson said. “I was glad to see good African
American representation there Tuesday night. Hopefully they will become part of
the work being done by the Natchez Historical Society.”
were farming near the area where the murder took place, according to Wolf.
He added, “They knew Chester White. To him, he was Mr. Ches. They
came and were very touched. They were shocked at the time of the murder.”
Chester White. The room was packed, he said, noting the meeting was a big deal
in exposing the horror of the Ben Chester White case.
simply by the telling of his story,” Wolf said.
topic of race,” he continued. “To the contrary, there may be a
deep-seated desire to talk about it, and as long we have people like Stanley
Nelson, who is profound and sympathetic, without being shrill
and demagogic, we can have a good discussion.”
top. “We can equal this in future programs, but in terms of gravitas, we
will never exceed it,” Wolf said.
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