Back to Eden journeys back through time
Feb. 20—HENDERSON
A reenactment at Back to Eden on Saturday took attendees back to the 19th century as a tribute to Black history.
Back to Eden is a combination event center and family home set up by Henderson resident Kenneth Spellman on the old Wortham plantation on Satterwhite Point Road. There's a building on the property that was once used to house enslaved people.
The reenactment focused on the ins and outs of the lives of slaves at the Wortham plantation. Spellman wrote, choreographed and directed the reenactment. Laurece Spellman was billed as a consultant.
"I wanted to have a reenactment," said owner Kenneth Spellman, who is Black, "being that I got the plantation house that has been validated by the historical society."
The number of attendees was limited to 20. The huge amount of calls from those interested in attending made them increase the number of performances from two to three. Even afterward, Kenneth Spellman received calls.
"It was awesome," Spellman said of the presentation.
He described a few scenes. "We did a scene in the house, and we did one out on the porch of the slave house, where the older lady was talking to the younger girls about how to act and conduct themselves when they go into the house. If you get invited into the house to work, you say 'yes ma'am, no ma'am,' you do whatever you're asked.
"We also showed that Ms. Betty, that's the lady in the house, the plantation owner, she had compassion for the slaves because her son had fathered the girl that worked in the house. So, actually, all the light complexion people were in the house working."
In the story, Betty's husband was ill and so willed much of the property, including the slaves, to her. The reenactment was inspired by his take on history, said Spellman.
"I have two wills that were left — where John Wortham willed his servants to his wife. Then, I've got record of — one of the descendants of the Worthams called me from Georgia. His great-great grandfather was George Wortham. His great-great grandmother was Sandy Wortham. He told me, 'I'm related to the Black and the white Worthams.' I said, 'well how?'
"And, he said, 'because my grandfather George Wortham made a deal with Fannie, that was a slave, that if she had 20 children with him that he would give her freedom.' She had nineteen children and the next year he gave her freedom. And, there was a book written about Fannie Wortham. And, I found all of this out over the month.
"[It] kind of showed... that all of the slave owners weren't mean, because they had family that was working there," said Spellman.
In other words, Spellman wanted to show a "different side of slavery."
Diana Chappell, a former member of the Black Panthers Party, came to recite parts of the Emancipation Proclamation. Michael Lamell, a movie producer, filmed the reenactment and plans on compiling it into a film to be streamed on Netflix or Hulu, Spellman said.
Spellman offered special thanks to Mount Zion Christian Church's Pastor Mark Hargrove the Rock of Praise and Deliverance's Praise Team, pastors Ervin Terry and Katerria Stainack and Perry. He also praised the acting skill of the Henderson residents that participated in the reenactment.
Another reenactment is slated for March. If you're interested in attending or for further details, call 252-572-2358.
