Today at Sundance, Nate Parker's new movie, Birth of a Nation, premieres. What a great name for a movie about Nat Turner's rebellion. It's a terrific response to D.W. Griffiths, and doesn't the name tell us a lot about our nation's origins in the violence of slavery? I can't wait to see this and what Parker does with the violence in the wake of the rebellion ... and perhaps Thomas Gray and James French. In the meantime, if you're interested in more about the violence in the aftermath, the legislature's response, and the trials check this out.
The illustration is the Sussex County Courthouse, which is one of the few structures in the area still standing from the era of rebellioin.
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