Congrats are in order to black Broadway star Robert Hartwell who has purchased a home that was built in 1820 by slaves for a family that owned the cotton mill in town.
Hartwell, who is the founder of The Broadway Collective, a training program for young artists, made the touching announcement on Instagram in a photo of him posing in front of his new home.
“I wish I could’ve told my ancestors when they were breaking their backs in 1820 to build this house that 200 years later a free gay black man was going to own it and fill it with love and find a way to say their name even when 200 years later they still thought I would be ‘off the table.'” He went on to say, “We are building our own tables.” He ended the post with, “I’ve never been prouder to be a black man. Come to my White House any time. I can’t wait to have you! Glory to God in the highest. I’m a homeowner.”
Hartwell revealed to “Good Morning America” that “We walked into that house and I was like, ‘Oh, I am home. This is it,'” he said. “I can’t say it enough, when you know you know.”
He initially saw a photo of the 4,500-square foot home, located outside of New York City, in a magazine, which prompted him to begin researching it. Less than two weeks after contacting the selling agent, the star closed on the home, proudly sending in his deposit on Juneteenth, the day in 1865 that marked the effective end of slavery in the U.S.
Hartwell will use the massive estate as his primary residence with plans to renovate it and document that process.
“I, as a Black American, don’t really know past my great-grandfather,” he said. “I’m hoping to learn more about the house and learn more about where I come from. It’s finding my roots and a renovation.”
He went on to gloat over his home, calling it a “symbol of hope” before adding, “It adds to the movement that we’re in right now because America needs to see what we can become and what we can be if you don’t kill us,” Hartwell said of his home purchase. “If you don’t kill us, we can really make a difference. We can help generate the economy. We can help build more wealth in this country.”
“I think, because of this time of such darkness and revelation, it’s a piece of hope for all of us to hold onto,” he said. “It was something that I asked the universe for, in terms of if this does happen, we are on the road to better days.”
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