Broadway actor Robert Hartwell bought a large house that was originally built by slaves and promised to honor his ancestors and “fill it with love.”
Hartwell, who has appeared in Broadway productions such as “Hello, Dolly!” and “Motown the Musical,” he shared the news that he owns a home on his Instagram on Wednesday in a post of himself standing proudly outside the grand manor house with a big smile on his face. In the title of the image, he detailed not only the sad history of the house, but also the racism he experienced when trying to buy it.
“3 weeks ago I found this house online. I said ‘this is my house’. I called the vendor and they said it was a cash-only offer and that “I’m sure that will get you off the table,” he wrote. “Never underestimate a black man who works hard.”
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Broadway actor Robert Hartwell announced that he purchased a house that was originally built by slaves in 1820.
(D Dipasupil / Getty Images)
He then explained that the house was built in 1820, when slavery was still legal, for the Russell family, who owned a nearby cotton factory in the city. He said the agent asked why he wanted such a large house, to which he replied that it was “a generational movement.”
“I know this house is bigger than me,” wrote the founder of the Broadway Collective. “I wish I could have 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 his name even when 200 years later they still thought he would be “off the table”.
Hartwell concluded his celebratory post by noting that “I have never been prouder of being a black man.”
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“We are building our own tables,” he wrote. “I have never been prouder of being a black man. Come to my White House at any time. I can’t wait to have you! Glory to God in the highest. I own a home. “
