By Lawrence Hamm
Photos: People’s Organization For Progress\YouTube Screenshots
The 14th annual commemoration of the Nat Turner Slave Rebellion will be held Wednesday, August 21, 2024, 5:00 pm at Nat Turner Park, 171 Muhammad Ali Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.
The program will take place near the entrance of the park at the intersection of Muhammad Ali Avenue and Jeliff Avenue. It is sponsored by the The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) and the Friends of Nat Turner Park.
“We hold this observance of Nat Turner’s Rebellion every year because the role of slave rebellions in American history is often ignored, minimized, defamed, and vilified,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.
“The Nat Turner revolt was one of the most significant and consequential of these rebellions. It is certainly one of the most well known and is worthy examination and remembrance,” Hamm said.
“Much has been written about Turner’s uprising. Both fictional and non-fictional works have been published about his insurrection. It has been the subject of documentaries, feature films, and television programs,” he said.
“We observe Turner’s rebellion because it is extremely important to remember those people among the enslaved who resisted and fought not only to free themselves but sought to overthrow and destroy the evil system of slavery in the United States,” he stated.
“This is absolutely necessary because failure to do this helps to perpetuate the lie that the enslaved accepted their condition and that slavery was a benign system that was beneficial to Black people,” Hamm stated.
“Black people’s resistance to slavery is an essential part of the historical record that must be taught. Those who refuse to do this are refusing to teach the truth,” he said.
“We fought back against slavery. We fought back in Africa, we fought back on the slave ships, and we fought back on plantations throughout the United States and the western hemisphere,” he said.
“Nat Turner fought back and so did many other heroic Black men and women in this country and all over this planet. The history of their resistance is a source of inspiration for our continuing struggle for liberation and should be celebrated,” he said.
Nat Turner Park was officially opened in July of 2009. It is the largest city owned park.
Sunday will mark the 193rd anniversary of the Nat Turner Rebellion, also known as the Southampton Insurrection which began on August 21,1831 in Southampton County, Virginia.
It is one of the most well known slave rebellions in the history of the United States. Scores of enslaved and free Black people participated in the rebellion.
During the rebellion as many as 65 whites may have been killed, and possibly 200 blacks. In the aftermath of the uprising Nat Turner was hanged and 56 other slaves were executed for their participation.
“Nat Turner’s Rebellion and the hundreds of other slave uprisings in the United States inspired and gave momentum to the abolitionist movement, led to the Civil War, and helped bring about the end of slavery in this country,” Hamm stated.
“We must never forget those who had the courage to rebel and fight against slavery. They gave their lives so that we could be free,” he said.
For more information call the People’s Organization For Progress (POP) at (973)801-0001.
