A historic community center in coastal Bay St. Louis will hold a free event this fall to help people reach across cultural and political divides by simply having fun together.

Organizers say the One Mississippi gathering at 100 Men Hall aims to “show the world what real community looks like.”

The Sept. 28 event will have food, live music and indoor and outdoor activities, including  karaoke, storytelling, limbo contests, sack races and tug-o-war. 

“We’re calling it ‘where neighbors meet and compete,’ but really it’s where they play together,” said Rachel Dangermond, owner and director of 100 Men Hall.

Bay St. Louis was among the communities hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Organizers of One Mississippi say they want to promote unity and “not wait for a natural disaster to show our neighbors we’re with them.” 

Dangermond said she was inspired by current political and social unrest to unite people across all differences. Though the hall strives to celebrate cultural diversity and inclusivity, One Missississippi is meant to bring in those who don’t normally attend the hall’s concerts or other events.

“We want everyone to feel welcome — we believe that everyone should feel welcome,” she said. “But I think that there is more and more, this division that’s happening in our society, and so a lot of people don’t feel comfortable here. And so we want to have an event that invites everyone in, to do things that everyone can do, that is for everyone.”

100 Men Hall has cultural and historical significance to Bay St. Louis.

Bought in 1922 by the One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association, the hall became a multipurpose space and a popular stop on the Chitlin Circuit, an informal network of entertainment venues for Black performers. Famous blues, jazz and soul entertainers including Etta James, Big Joe Turner and Ray Charles performed there.

The original One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association disbanded in 1984, and the hall changed ownership multiple times. Dangermond bought it in 2018, and now runs it as a multipurpose space and cultural center. She also established 100 Women DBA, a nonprofit that supports the 100 Men Hall and provides scholarships and mentorships to local women of color.

“I thought, what we needed to do, most importantly, was to remind everybody in this community about who we are,” Dangermond said.

Dangermond describes Bay St. Louis as a small, artsy town. It  is home to a variety of events, many of which are hosted at 100 Men Hall. 

Honey Parker does marketing and advertising for One Mississippi and will host a story slam, where people can share five-minute anecdotes that fit the theme “Only in Mississippi.”

Parker hopes not only to celebrate those in Bay St. Louis, but also to be an example for other places.

“Hopefully, people who come to the event will see what we have here. We have such a fantastic community that is across the spectrum,” Parker said. “It’s to celebrate that, it’s to remind each other that, ‘Yeah, we have a heck of a community.’”