NATCHEZ, Miss. – “The Parchman Ordeal: The Untold Story,” a documentary highlighting a pivotal chapter in the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez, has found a permanent home at the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University. The film is now preserved in the university’s archives and available for free viewing on the Center’s YouTube channel.
The Margaret Walker Center acquired the film and its accompanying original interview footage through a donation from Natchez filmmakers Robert Morgan and Darrell S. White, who co-produced the film with director G. Mark LaFrancis. LaFrancis died in June 2024 following a long battle with cancer.
“The Parchman Ordeal” premiered in October 2015 at the City Auditorium in Natchez, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1965 civil rights events it depicts. The documentary presents the story of African Americans arrested in Natchez for attempting to march for their civil rights. They were later jailed at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman in 1965, where they endured severe abuse…