Nat Turner

Turner was born into slavery on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia. Benjamin Turner, the man who held Nat and his family as slaves, called the infant Nat in his records. Even when grown, the young man was known simply as Nat, but after the 1831 rebellion, he was widely referred to as Nat Turner. Turner knew little about the background of his father, who was believed to have escaped from slavery when Turner was a child. He grew up deeply religious and was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories of the Bible. Benjamin Turner died in 1810, and his son Samuel inherited Nat. When he was 21, Nat Turner escaped from Samuel Turner; but he returned a month later after receiving a vision in which the Spirit appeared to him and told him that he "had [his] wishes directed to the things of this world, and not to the kingdom of Heaven, and that [he] should return to the service of [his] earthly master". In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner; Turner later recalled that Travis was "a kind master" who "placed the greatest confidence" in him. An 1831 reward notice described Turner as:5 feet 6 or 8 inches [168–173 cm] high, weighs between 150 and 160 pounds [68–73 kg], rather "bright" [light-colored] complexion, but not a mulatto, broad shoulders, larger flat nose, large eyes, broad flat feet, rather knockneed [sic], walks brisk and active, hair on the top of the head very thin, no beard, except on the upper lip and the top of the chin, a scar on one of his temples, also one on the back of his neck, a large knot on one of the bones of his right arm, near the wrist, produced by a blow. ==Visions and religious activities==

Turner often conducted religious services, preaching the Bible to his fellow slaves, who dubbed him "The Prophet". In addition to Blacks, Turner garnered some white followers such as Ethelred T. Brantley, whom Turner baptized after convincing him to "cease from his wickedness". Breen further states that Turner claimed to possess a gift of prophecy and could interpret these divine revelations. Historian David Allmendinger notes that Turner had ten different supernatural experiences between 1822 and 1828. These included appearances of both the Spirit communicating through a religious language and scripture along with the visions of the Holy Ghost. While working in Moore's field on May 12, Turner said he "heard a loud noise in the heavens...and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first". By the spring of 1828, Turner was convinced that he "was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty". After Turner viewed the solar eclipse in 1831, he was certain that God wanted the revolt to commence. Cash notes that Turner’s self-conception as a prophet was a product of a coherent religious world view at that time, as opposed to him having mental instability. ==Rebellion==

Over approximately a decade, Turner built up support for his cause, culminating in an anti-slavery uprising that served as a source of inspiration for later abolitionist organizers and rebels. The four-day rebellion started on August 21, 1831. Nat Turner's Rebellion resulted in the death of 55 white men, women, and children. This was referred to locally as Nat Turner's cave, although it was not a natural cave. Around 1 p.m. on October 31, Turner arrived at the prison in the county seat of Jerusalem, Virginia (now Courtland). According to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, writing in 1861, Turner was found "emaciated, ragged, a mere scarecrow." == Trial and execution ==

Turner was tried on November 5, 1831, for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection". Turner was convicted and sentenced to death. His attorney was James Strange French, and James Trezvant served on the jury for Turner's trial. Before his execution, Turner told his story to attorney Thomas R. Grey, who published The Confessions of Nat Turner in November 1831. When Gray asked him if he had been mistaken, after hearing Turner's account of the Spirit's telling him that "the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first," Turner responded, "Was not Christ crucified?" Turner was hanged on Friday, November 11, 1831, in Jerusalem. According to some sources, he was beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels. Historian Adam Thomas found an alternative account of Turner's death within the Black community: Percy Claud stated that his mother, Elizabeth, said Turner was “dragged and whipped to death” through multiple towns. Thomas notes this memory originated with Black Virginians and was built from generational memory and trauma, with Turner’s execution being recalled as a lynching, similar to the treatment of the Black community during that time. After his execution, Turner's body was dissected and flayed, with his skin being used to make souvenir purses. In October 1897, Virginia newspapers ran a story about Nat Turner's skeleton being used as a medical specimen by Dr. H. U. Stephenson of Toana, Virginia. Stephenson acquired the skeleton from a son of Dr. S. B. Kellar; Dr. Kellar claimed to have paid Turner $10 for his body while he was in jail. Another skull said to have been Turner's was contributed to the College of Wooster in Ohio upon its incorporation in 1866. When the school's only academic building burned down in 1901, the skull was saved by Dr. H. N. Mateer. Visitors recalled seeing a certificate, signed by a physician in Southampton County in 1866, that attested to the authenticity of the skull. The skull was eventually misplaced. ==Marriage and children==

Turner married an enslaved woman named Cherry, also spelled Chary. It is thought that Turner and Cherry met and were married at Samuel Turner's plantation in the early 1820s. The family was separated after Samuel Turner died in 1823, when Turner was sold to Thomas Moore and his family was sold to Giles Reese. By 1831, his son was enslaved by Piety Reese and lived on a farm that was near the Travis farm where Turner was enslaved. On September 26, 1831, the Richmond Constitutional Whig published a story about the raiding of Reese plantation stating that, "some papers [were] given up by his wife, under the lash." ==Legacy==

• In 1934, Malvin Gary Johnson created the mural "Nat Turner" at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City as part of the Public Works of Art Project. • In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Nat Turner as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans. • In 2009, in Newark, New Jersey, the largest city-owned park was named Nat Turner Park. The facility cost $12 million to construct. • In 2012, the small Bible that belonged to Turner was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by the Person family of Southampton County, Virginia. • In 2017, it was announced that Turner was to be honored with others with an Emancipation and Freedom Monument in Richmond, Virginia. Created by Thomas Jay Warren, the state-funded bronze sculpture was dedicated in September 2021. ==In popular culture==

Film • In January 1968, 20th Century Fox paid $600,000 ($ in 2024 money) for the rights to turn William Styron's novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner, into a film. At the time, this was the most ever paid for the film rights of a novel. • The Birth of a Nation, the 2016 film written and directed by Nate Parker, is based on the story of Nat Turner. Literature • In 1884, The Cleveland Gazette published the poem "Nat Turner" by Timothy Thomas Fortune. • Sterling Allen Brown, the first Poet Laureate of the District of Columbia, wrote the poem, "Remembering Nat Turner" in 1932. • The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), a novel by William Styron, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1968. Styron's work was controversial, with some criticizing the White author for writing about such an important Black figure and calling him racist for portraying Turner as lusting for a White woman. • Sharon Ewell Foster published her novel, The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part One, The Witness, A Novel in 2011. Music • The 1960s funk-soul band Nat Turner Rebellion was named after Turner's slave revolt. • Chance The Rapper's song "How Great" refers to Turner's rebellion in the line, "Hosanna Santa invoked and woke up enslaved people from Southampton to Chatham Manor." • In the early 1990s, hip hop artist Tupac Shakur spoke in interviews about Nat Turner and his admiration for his spirit against oppression. Shakur also honored Turner with a cross tattoo on his back, "EXODUS 1831", referring to the year Turner led the rebellion. • Tyler, the Creator's opener "Foreword" on his 2017 album Flower Boy contains the line, "How many slaves can it be 'til Nat Turner arrives?" • Hip-hop group Brand Nubian reference Turner's revolt with the lyrics “now I’m like Nat Turner with two burners” in the song “Return of the Dread”, which is on their 1994 album Everything is Everything. • Rap legend Ice Cube features the lyric "with the burner, Nat Turner will make you a quick learner" on his track "All Work No Play", from his 2025 album Man Up. • Talib Kweli released the song "Nat Turner" in 2023, about the legacy of Turner, from the album Liberation 2, a collaboration with producer Madlib. Theater • African American theater educator Randolph Edmonds included Nat Turner: A Play in One Act in his Six Plays for the Negro Theatre, published in 1934 for schools and colleges. • In 1940, Paul Peter's play, Nat Turner, was produced by the People's Drama Theater in New York City. • In 2016, the play Nat Turner in Jerusalem, by Nathan Alan Davis was produced at the New York Theatre Workshop, and in 2018 at the Forum Theatre in Washington, D.C. • In 2021, the Conejo Players Theatre streamed a live production of ''Nat's Last Struggle'' by playwright P. A. Wray. The play was also performed virtually by the Virginia Stage Company in August 2020. ==See also==