Natchez, Mississippi, is famous for its stunning antebellum homes—grand mansions that attract tourists from across the country. But beneath the picturesque façades lies a complex and often contested history. In this Southern town, not everyone agrees on the stories these homes tell. Through the perspectives of tour guides, homeowners, and local activists, this documentary explores the delicate balance between preserving history and confronting the uncomfortable truths of the past. Some see the antebellum homes as a source of pride and a vital part of Natchez’s heritage. Others argue that romanticized tours obscure the realities of slavery and the lives of those who were enslaved, raising questions about whose stories are being told—and whose are being silenced. As tourism fuels economic growth, it also highlights deep tensions within the community. This story is not just about historic architecture; it’s about memory, race, and identity in a town grappling with its own legacy. Visitors come for beauty, but the residents are forced to wrestle with history, challenging the narratives that have long shaped the way the South is remembered. Directed by Suzannah Herbert, "Natchez" confronts these questions, offering a window into the ongoing debate over history, storytelling, and accountability in a town where the past is never far from the present. This is a story about more than houses—it’s a story about how communities choose to remember, reconcile, and reckon with history. "Natchez" Directed by Suzannah Herbert Chapters 0:00:24 — Welcome to Natchez 0:03:21 — Rev and the Real Mississippi 0:06:00 — Hoop Skirt Belles & Southern Tradition 0:09:41 — Inside a Historic Natchez Home 0:11:11 — The “Blue-Haired Mafia” of Natchez 0:15:01 — Breaking Barriers in the Garden Clubs 0:16:50 — How Southern Tourism Evolved 0:21:24 — The Southern Fairy Tale 0:24:16 — The Other Side of the Tracks 0:28:33 — Truth-Telling on Plantation Tours 0:30:55 — Land, Legacy & the Forks of the Road 0:34:08 — Ser Boxley: The Griot of Natchez Stories 0:35:55 — Teaching the History They Missed 0:38:05 — Living Inside Natchez History 0:40:37 — The Many Cultures of Natchez 0:43:48 — The Deep South Aristocracy 0:46:52 — Time Travel Through Natchez 0:52:05 — Confronting Slavery on Southern Tours 0:58:37 — “Bless Her Heart” 0:59:36 — Rev’s Natchez Stories 1:03:44 — The Last Generation of Tour Guides 1:05:11 — Natchez Across the Divide 1:08:45 — Racism Is Still Alive (Part 1) 1:10:09 — A Key to the City 1:12:35 — Where Communities Converge 1:14:18 — Racism Is Still Alive (Part 2) 1:21:44 — “Natchez” 1:24:21 — Credits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stream anytime on the PBS app https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ Follow Independent Lens on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentlens Threads: https://www.threads.net/independentlens Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/independentlens YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnDUknWztWaLs7motsqGwPg?sub_confirmation=1 Keep up with PBS Digital Studios: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pbsds TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsdigitalstudios Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBSDigitalStudios/ ABOUT INDEPENDENT LENS @independentlens is an award-winning documentary series that fosters understanding, seeks to build empathy, and encourages a more united society. Produced by ITVS, Independent Lens documentaries have premiered on PBS for 25 years and streamed on YouTube, helping Americans foster deeper connections between communities and themselves. From the Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro to the Peabody-acclaimed docuseries Philly D.A. and the EmmyⓇ award-winning The Invisible War, Independent Lens provides viewers with in-depth, nuanced storytelling reflecting the experiences of people from a variety of voices and communities. Funding is provided by the Action Circle for Independent Lens with major funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Acton Family Giving, Ford Foundation, and Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, with additional support from Artemis Rising Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Park Foundation, Brandt Jackson Foundation, the deNovo Initiative, and RandomGood Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. *This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate
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The first thing that stood out to me was the garden club being all white old ladies, the server being black, and them all singing a Louis Armstrong song
Referring to enslaved people as “servants” is utterly revolting.
55:13 OH MY GOD. THE LEVEL OF PATRONIZATION. It was crazy watching the woman in the baseball cap somehow talk TO Debbie, but also talk about Debbie like she's not right there. Debbie, I want you to know that I wanted to strangle her, too. Frankly, I think she secretly laments the fact that she was born too late to own slaves.
saving david garner's rant about hillary clinton until almost the very end is such a masterful move
Listening to them call slaves “servants” is so disrespectful and disgusting
When Rev Butler was talking about having to walk with your head down and stepping out of the way for white people, that was still practiced into the 1980s. I met a man a few years ago at a movie screening of 13th, he talked about growing up in Mississippi in the 1980s and having to step out of the way for white people, and him getting mad as a kid when he was dressed in his good church clothes, but was forced to step into the mud to get out of the way for a white man. His own father forced him off the sidewalk to avoid confrontation, but he still felt the indignity of what happened and then his good clothes getting muddy. The broken look in his eyes when he was telling the story. I’ll never forget the hurt I saw.
I love how they didn’t edit him trying to find his words starting at 14:20
My heart broke watching Rev’s reaction to being called ‘boy’ by the mechanic. You could see the change in his demeanor immediately and understand the weight that word carries, especially coming from someone who spends his life educating people on this history. It was painful to watch. It felt insidious.
Can you imagine if people in Poland made a bed & breakfast on the same grounds where old barracks of prisoners were tortured & starved and gas chambers & crematoriums structures still exist, do tours and mention it with a sense of pride but “it’s the past, but we’re keeping it alive!” and act like it was totally normal?? It’d be absolutely psychotic & they’d probably be arrested in Poland for such inhumane behavior. But in the USA it’s accepted & protected. This country is so psychologically bankrupt it’s unreal.
This was one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever watched.
Absolute master class on letting people tell on themselves. No direction, leading, voiceover just long silences that make you genuinely feel the weight of what’s being said. Genuinely an amazing project.
I’m Dominican and Afro Latina. To me it’s so important to study African American history. My ancestors were slaves in the Caribbean and I feel like Dominicans often forget that they were all in the same boat. Some of my ancestors family members were dropped off in the us. So this is personal to me. Thank you PBS for showcasing this part of history.
Absolutely the best documentary I seen a long long time. A must watch. This is deserving of Emmy awards.
I’m born and raised in the South. The “charm” is most definitely a myth.
So glad I watched this, as a born and raised Northerner whose Grandma is from Natchez this has helped me understand her so much better. I wish I could have talked to her about it when she was alive.
"We pay our housekeeper, she doesn't come for free". 🤦♀️
Great work PBS. The build up to the final wrap up of the story was a masterful explanation of America today.
I hope Rev. Collins' business absolutely BOOMS after this documentary. I haven't taken a vacation in 15 years, but I just might now.
100% would love to go on Rev's tour, he is so knowledgeable and just lays it on you with no BS.
I love all the little touches in the earlier scenes that point out the hypocrisy of these house owners words but my absolute favorite shot is when the old man is watering the plants with a hose. The closeup of the dirty plant water pooling on the stone floor, reminiscent of blood. It calls to mind the way these homes were built on the backs and blood of the enslaved.