Robert Hartwell's milestone purchase in buying his first home had much deeper meaning even than that, as the home was built by enslaved people.
“Something deep is calling me to it,” the Broadway actor told Inside Edition Digital’s Leigh Scheps about the home was built in 1820 for cotton mill owners the Russell Family.
Robert:
“I saw the house last week and when I walked in I knew I was home. The house was built in 1820 for the Russell family who owned the cotton mill in town. Slavery was still legal. When the agent asked me why I wanted such a large house I said it was ‘a generational move’. I know this house is bigger than me.
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’.
We are building our own tables. 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.”
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