NATCHEZ, Miss. — The City of Natchez unveiled a historical marker honoring Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima (1762–1829) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, on Silver Street. The marker stands near the site where he arrived as an enslaved man in 1788 and later departed Natchez as a free man with his wife, Isabella, on April 8, 1828.
“This marker ties into the larger story of Natchez, a river city that embraces its full history, even the shameful periods, for the purpose of enlightening its residents, visitors, and tens of thousands of tourists annually,” said Shelia Byrd, guest speaker for the ceremony. “This marker is a reminder to all that a rich history is undoubtedly complicated, complex and uncomfortable.”
Byrd is a former Associated Press reporter who now serves as deputy director of Programs and Communication Division at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “Nearly 200 years after he sailed from a dock here, we’re gathered to unveil a lasting marker so that, perhaps, in another 100 years, future generations will know the story of Prince Ibrahima, his escape from slavery, and of Natchez Under the Hill,” she said.
Ibrahima was a Muslim prince from Timbo in the Futa Jallon region of present-day Guinea, West Africa. He was captured in battle in 1788 and sold to slave traders. He endured 40 years of enslavement on Thomas Foster’s plantation near Natchez, before gaining his freedom.
Byrd discussed his history through the lens of family and legacy and how it fits into the broader story of Natchez and the United States.
“Prince Ibrahima’s story is unique, but in many ways ubiquitous,” she said. “Though he was an educated man, who was multilingual, he was stripped of any material regality in Natchez, where he was made a laborer. He was among the tens of thousands enslaved in Mississippi at that time.”
Despite his subjugation, Byrd said, “Prince Ibrahima was a husband and a father, who provided stability for his family – as much as possible under the circumstances. When we think about slavery and its many destructive elements, we must remember the extreme toll exacted on Black families.”
In opening remarks, Mayor Dan Gibson said it is good to live in a city like Natchez “where we are not afraid to tell our whole story.” He said there was a time when the whole story was not told here and that even today it is not told in many places across the United States.
“But here in Natchez, we know that this is a story that must be told, because it is a story about a people, and about today, a particular individual who absolutely helped build Natchez,” he said.
Gibson suggested Ibrahima is someone to admire for many reasons. He noted his “brilliant upbringing,” his royalty and education, including his multilingual abilities and leadership.
“The story is the story,” he said. “I’m not here to repeat that story. My job is to say we are telling that story. Not just today but every day, and it’s not just the story of one prince, it’s the story of an entire people.”
Gibson said there is good and bad in Natchez’s history, “but it is our history.” He added:
“It is unconscionable to stand right here on this beautiful river in this oldest city on the mightiest bluff on the mightiest river and to ignore those and their ancestors who came before us and built this city. In fact, it is unconscionable that we would ever fail to recognize those across our country whose ancestors built so much of this country and on whose backs much of this country was established.”
The program included remarks by David Dreyer, local historian and genealogist. He said, “This marker acknowledges the 40-year impact of slavery on one man’s life and family over 200 years ago, but the story remains to be told about the complexities of his family’s attempt to recover from the American experience of slavery and to rectify its injustice and inhumanity.”
Other participants in the day’s program included Vickie R. Green, Mistress of Ceremonies; Rev. Dr. Joan Gandy, who presented the Invocation; Tony Fields, who sang special selections; and Rev. Clifton Marvel Sr., who provided the Benediction.
Ainsley Dupre, student at Adams County Christian School, and Halle Stamps, student at Cathedral High School, both members of the Mayor’s Youth Council, read excerpts from Dr. Terry Alford’s book, “Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Sold into Slavery in the American South” (Oxford University Press, 1977).
The Silver Street marker is the second one erected in the Natchez-Adams County area honoring the prince. The first, funded by the Natchez Historical Society, was unveiled in October 2025 on Highway 61 North near Historic Jefferson College and focuses on Ibrahima’s 1807 meeting with Dr. John Coates Cox. The new riverfront marker highlights his West African roots and the site of his departure to freedom.
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