History professor and author Dr. Dennis J. Mitchell will present “Antebellum Natchez in Context” at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, at Trinity Church.
The free, 30-minute lecture, a part of Trinity’s Bicentennial Celebration, will set the stage for the creation of Trinity Episcopal Church in 1821-22.
It is the inaugural program sponsored by Trinity Church’s Marion Smith Speaker Series, a privately funded ministry. The program is also partially funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
Mitchell is professor emeritus at Mississippi State University where he taught and administered the Division of Arts and Sciences for 20 years until he retired in 2016. He edits the Journal of Mississippi History and is the author of several articles and books including his latest, A New History of Mississippi, published in 2014 by University Press of Mississippi.
Mitchell’s graduate degrees are in history from the University of Mississippi. After serving as Assistant Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, he taught world history for 20 years at Jackson State University.
During that time, using summer grants, he traveled widely in places such as India and Africa. One grant enabled him to study Shona at Michigan State University and later in Zimbabwe. When Mitchell turned to studying and writing Mississippi history, he did it with a different perspective.
Following Mitchell’s presentation will be the premiere showing of “Faith in Action Since 1822,” an 18-minute documentary film that traces Trinity Church’s history, missions and ministries. It is introduced by the Rev. Ken Ritter of Trinity Church, with organ selections by Dr. Patrick Doherty.
Using historical and current photographs, the film is narrated by John Norris, film maker with Crooked Letter Picture Company in Natchez and junior warden at Christ Episcopal Church, Church Hill.
The film script was written by Carolyn Vance Smith of Trinity Church and the film created by film maker G. Mark LaFrancis of Natchez. The film was partially funded by the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission.
Additional presentations sponsored by the Marion Smith Speaker Series will take place in 2022. The programs are named after longtime Trinity member Marion Smith, who has held numerous church leadership positions. These include numerous terms on the vestry, senior warden, Trinity Church warden on the Mission Committee for Christ Episcopal Church, president of the Trinity Episcopal School Board of Trustees, and co-chairman of the Trinity Church Capital Funds Drive.
Carolyn Vance Smith is the chairman of the Trinity Natchez Bicentennial Committee.
