NATCHEZ, Miss. – Mayor Dan Gibson said he’s optimistic that the $25 million Natchez won last year for downtown revitalization will survive the Trump administration’s review as it tries to impose a temporary federal funding freeze.
A week after President Trump took office, his administration is determining if grants approved during the Biden administration meets the Republican’s agenda.
As Trump’s funding-freeze order prompted disputes throughout the country Tuesday about its legality and confusion about its impact, a Washington, D.C.-based federal judge blocked its implementation pending a legal review.
Gibson said he’s confident the Natchez grants will “comply with the new administration’s goals…. We are very encouraged that the grants we have received will meet those objectives.”
The grants are for a multifaceted project to enhance an area stretching from Devereaux Drive and St. Catherine Street through downtown Natchez to the city’s scenic bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. There is money earmarked for improving pathways, landscapes, lighting, signage and other transit-related fixtures.
The city’s “Forks to Freedom Corridor” will also include the development of three sites commemorating Black history: the former Forks of the Road slave market, a landscaped plaza honoring the country’s first Black U.S. congressman and a memorial for Black Civil War Union soldiers.
In ordering a temporary freeze on billions of dollars grants approved during President Biden’s administration and allocated throughout the country, Trump’s directive is to ensure funding is not wasteful, “equity-related” or does not conflict with other executive orders he’s issued since taking office Jan. 20.
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