Nat Turner in Gaza

Enslaved in the Antebellum South, Nat Turner organized a national reckoning with slavery and those who sought to enslave in 1831. Although his rebellion was quashed, his bravery still stands the test of time, inspiring freedom movements to this day. PHOTO: Oct. 7 breaking out of Gaza CAPTION: On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinians imprisoned behind the Israeli-built fence broke through using a bulldozer. – Photo: Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa by Norman Finkelstein In 1831, a slave named Nat Turner organized an insurrection in Virginia. It proved to be the largest slave revolt in American history. Turner hoped to stir into action the whole of the slave population but was only able to enlist 70 others. It’s unknown whether Turner expected to achieve a military victory or, short of that, force a national reckoning with slavery.& He exhorted his fellow insurrectionists to “kill all the white people.” (It appears that he intended to spare women, children and surrendering men once the insurrection gained a firm foothold.) The unfolding scene was ghastly: babies decapitated, other whites disemboweled and hacked to pieces.& With only the rarest exception, for 48 hours no white in their tracks was spared the slaves’ accumulated wrath and fury....