Newark Will Remember Nat Turner Uprising With Local Events

NEWARK, NJ — Ask Lawrence Hamm about the legacy of Nat Turner, and the longtime Newark activist doesn’t mince his words.

“Hands down – because of the huge immoral crime of slavery – Nat Turner’s Uprising generated more fear in the American order like almost no other moment in this country’s history,” said Hamm, a former U.S. Senate candidate and the founder of the Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress (POP).

The legacy that Turner inspired is complex. A charismatic and fiery preacher, he led an insurrection against the family who enslaved him in 1831, eventually rallying dozens of others in an uprising that resulted in the murder of an estimated 55 white people. After hiding for weeks, Turner was later found, convicted and hanged.

In the aftermath, white mobs and militias murdered anywhere from 100 to 200 Black people, many of whom had nothing to do with the uprising. The state also executed 56 enslaved people accused of being part of the insurrection.

According to History.com:

“The incident put fear in the heart of Southerners, ended the organized emancipation movement in that region, resulted in even harsher laws against enslaved people, and deepened the schism between slave-holders and free-soilers (an anti-slavery political party whose slogan was ‘free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men’) that would culminate in the Civil War.”

“Nat Turner’s rebellion put an end to the white Southern myth that slaves were either contented with their lot or too servile to mount an armed revolt,” Britannica.com states.

Even today – nearly two centuries later – the events of the uprising still echo as far north as Newark. Read More: Nat Turner Uprising Still Puts Fire In Hearts Of NJ Activists

The POP and Friends of Nat Turner Park will commemorate the Nat Turner uprising with their 13th annual gathering at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21. It will take place at Nat Turner Park, 189 Muhammad Ali Avenue in Newark.

Among those expected to participate are South Jersey-based activist Blair Silver, a descendant of Nat Turner, and artist-author-clergy-performer Queen Mother Imakhu, who is a descendant of Billy Artis, who participated in the uprising.

See related article: Newark Remembers 1967 Uprising: 'Not A Riot, A Rebellion'

A separate event commemorating the anniversary will take place in the park on Saturday, Aug. 20, when the Regional Plan Association, The Friends of Nat Turner Park and United Parks As One – in partnership with the City of Newark and The Trust for Public Land – will host an event entitled "Honoring the Spirit of Rebellion."

The free event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Learn more here.

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