And by sick,  I mean I was sick of pretending like I didn’t need a day off to turn my brain off because honestly 2 days of weekend is just not enough when you consider that one of those days I usually spend doing house stuff like cleaning and laundry and getting ready for the next week ahead.  And because it’s spooky season, I spent the entire day watching AHS: Coven. Because of course I did. It’s Halloween time! And it’s eclipse season! There were two this month! There was a SOLAR eclipse on 10/14 and a LUNAR eclipse on 10/28 (alas, there was no  total eclipse of the heart but I guess we got one more day of October, and I don’t know your life, so IT IS STILL POSSIBLE)

And yes. Talk about eclipses is both appropriate for today’s BHFOTD and Spooky Szn. While I am NOT going to get into my personal philosophy on eclipses (IYKYK), WHAT I AM GOING TO TELL YOU is that Nate Turner believed that a solar eclipse was the sign to revolt said Lets F*cking GOOOOO. SO on August 21, 1831 Nat Turner launched one of the most historic deadly revolts to end enslavement in Southampton County, Virginia.

**Jumping ALLLL the way ahead to save us all some time**

Turner was sold to enslaver Joseph Travis in 1830. Less than a year after the sale, Turner received what he assumed was a sign from God when he witnessed the eclipse of the sun. After sharing this experience with a few close friends, they began to plan an insurrection. While still planning the uprising, Turner saw that the color of the sun had changed to a bluish-green, which he believed was the final sign to initiate the uprising. With this confidence, Turner and seven other enslaved people moved forward with their plans. Over the course of a day in Southampton County, Turner and his allies killed fifty-five white men, women, and children as they made their way toward Jerusalem* (now Courtland).

Less than 24 hours later, Turner et al encountered organized resistance and were defeated at James Parker’s farm. The next day, a series of defeats led to the effective end of the revolt.  White people quickly and brutally reasserted their control over Southampton County, killing roughly three dozen Black people without trials. Within a few days of the revolt, white leaders in Southampton became increasingly confident that the revolt had been suppressed and worked to limit the extralegal killing of Black people all willy nilly. They also made sure that the remaining suspected rebels were tried, which meant that the white enslavers would receive compensation from the state for “destroyed property” condemned enslaved people.

Nat Turner evaded capture until October 30, when he was caught in the immediate vicinity, having used several hiding places over 9½ weeks. Nat Turner was hanged and skinned in Jerusalem, VA (“He was skinned to supply such souvenirs as purses, his flesh made into grease, and his bones divided as trophies to be handed down as heirlooms.” – John W. Cromwell, “The Aftermath of Nat Turner’s Insurrection,” 1920) on November 11, 1831.

In the end, 57 blacks were executed by the state and approximately 200 random black people (who were probably minding their business which, was being enslaved and being trapped on land they weren’t allowed to leave. ahem) were killed by gangs of whites and militias. Nat Turner’s revolt not only resulted in the deaths of many but also a tightening and creation of new laws to even further restrict the liberty of blacks. *squints*

As always, any parallels to current events are out of my jurisdiction as a disseminator and distributor of HISTORY. Which happens in the past. Does the present sometimes LOOK like the past? Do most countries look to the united states oppression of Black and Indigenous folks as a playbook when they start gettin’ to oppressin’? Does a bear shit in the woods? Who are me to say? Anyway. That ends TODAY IN BLACK HISTORY-RY-ry Facts.

ONE LAST THING.

*Virginiaplacesdotorg and wikipediadotcom both suggest that Jerusalem, VA changed its name to Courtland because shopkeepers would refer to the folks who rode the train in to Norfolk as “those Arabs from Jerusalem” and… well. I read it, so you have to, too.

ALSO.

I don’t normally look up facts that are easily accessible like this one but I dunno, man. This seemed like a good day to remind people rebelling against oppression is never polite because if it were Jerusalem would still be inhabited by Cheroenhaka (Nottoway), and Meherrin tribes and not the white people who in 1830 (through the Indian Removal Act), forced many indigenous people east of the Mississippi so they could steal their land. ( Whew. I… So, anybody see any good movies or something recently?)