Nat Turner's Bible Donated To African American History Museum
Nat Turner's Bible is now a part of the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
In a report from ABC 8 News, the Bible was acquired by the museum after Wendy Porter, an instructor at Old Dominion University, donated the item.
"We have a family church in Southampton County," Porter told the news station. "Nat Turner was baptized on Person's Mill Pond, which is on the property of our church. "When [he] and his followers came to the house to kill my stepfather's [Maurice Person] great-great-grandmother, the slaves in the house hid her."
Turner's slave revolt in Southampton County Virginia in 1831, occurred over the course of two days, with Turner and his followers killing an estimated 60 white people, including men, women and children. According to Porter, when Turner was found on her family's land, he had his Bible on him. After his trial and hanging, the Bible was then given to her family where it has been passed down from generation to generation.
"We always knew the Bible deserved a better home, it was simply kept in a closet," Porter said. It had a story to tell but it didn't have a platform and now it has the whole world."
The National Museum of African American History & Culture, which took over 100 years to make, features over 37,000 artifacts that include: a tambourine used throughout Prince's Nude Tour; a silk lace and linen shawl given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria; an inkwell that once belonged to James Baldwin; and James Brown's infamous "Sex" jumpsuit.
The museum also hosted the 2017 Peace Ball: Voices of Hope and Resistance (which Okayplayer was in attendance for) back in January, which featured performances from Solange and Esperanza Spalding, as well as guest appearances from Angela Davis, Van Jones, Danny Glover, Alice Walker and many others.
