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MURFREESBORO – The connection between history and storytelling was celebrated during Hannah Crafts Day here Saturday, Feb. 15.

The event, which was conducted by the Hertford County African American History Coalition, was hosted at First Baptist Murfreesboro Church. A crowd arrived to the church sanctuary Saturday morning to learn more about the history of Hannah Crafts and her connection to the local area.

Crafts, which was the pen name for Hannah Bond, wrote “The Bondwoman’s Narrative” partially while she was enslaved in Murfreesboro and then completed after she had escaped north to freedom.

Her novel manuscript ended up in a collection preserved by librarian Dorothy Porter Wesley and was eventually purchased by historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who authenticated and published it in 2002. The book is the only known novel written by an enslaved woman.

Furman University professor Dr. Gregg Hecimovich spent years conducting research to find out more about Crafts, discovering that she lived in Bertie County and then later on the John H. Wheeler plantation in Murfreesboro where she began secretly writing her tale on stolen paper. He published his research findings in the book “The life and times of Hannah Crafts” in 2023.

Saturday’s event featured Jackie Ruffin Pittman who performed as Hannah Crafts for the audience, recounting stories from “The Bondwoman’s Narrative.”

Dressed in a simple dress typical of the 1800s, Ruffin Pittman told Crafts’ story, beginning with how a kind older woman taught Crafts to read the Bible at a young age. She then recounted stories of violence and blackmail that she and others around her experienced. There were attempts to run away and harsh punishments dealt out.

But finally, in the end, Crafts was able to escape for good, traveling all the way to New Jersey where she eventually got married and became a schoolteacher.

Following Ruffin Pittman’s performance, guest speakers spoke on the topics of preserving history and the importance of storytelling.

Dr. Arwin Smallwood, a Bertie County native who currently teaches at NC Central University, spoke about the early history of Indian Woods in Bertie County and how that played a role in Crafts’ literacy.

He explained that the area had long been a cultural mix of peoples, from Native Americans to Africans as well as Europeans. Indians Woods was a Tuscarora reservation beginning in 1717, but they lived alongside the others who resided in the area. In the 1800s, the community often helped enslaved people escape through what was known as the underground railroad – a network of people, places, and routes to assist those seeking freedom.

And there was also an emphasis on educating the people who lived there, particularly in regards to religion. So it wouldn’t have been unusual for Crafts to have learned to read at a young age.

“There were others in the area that she originally came from… who have this history and legacy of a desire for an education and a desire to learn,” Dr. Smallwood explained. “From Hannah’s story, we can tell an even larger story of our region.”

“We are all connected and unified in this story, because it’s a part of all of our stories,” he concluded.

Dr. Benjamin Speller, a longtime historian and archivist who serves as President of Historic Hope Foundation, talked about the importance of Dorothy Porter Wesley’s preservation efforts.

Porter Wesley went to Howard University and Columbia University and received degrees in library science. She spent time preserving collections of African American literature for the future.

Dr. Speller also spoke on the need to use “forensic methodology” when doing history research.

The final speaker of the event was Dr. Hecimovich himself, who expressed his gratitude to both Porter Wesley and a number of local historians and preservationists whose work he utilized during his own research.

“We wouldn’t have those stories if there weren’t custodians of that,” he explained. “This manuscript [Crafts’ novel] didn’t just surface. It was because Dorothy Porter Wesley, working as a librarian long before it became hip to research African American literary history, was preserving the history of Black people and their art.”

“This history that we all share, if you’re passionate, you preserve it any way you can,” Hecimovich continued.

He also talked about how Crafts began writing her novel while she was enslaved, imagining a life she wanted that would transcend the cruelty around her.

“The happy story she imagined as she was creating her autobiographical novel became her life story,” he explained, noting how she was able to escape to freedom while she was still writing it.

He concluded by emphasizing how art and history can point everyone towards a better future.

Others taking part in Saturday’s event included Mike Jenkins, who provided the welcome; Rev. Robert Richardson, who provided the invocation and benediction; Cheryl Deloatch, who read the town’s Hannah Crafts Day proclamation; Brandon Vaughan, who led the crowd in song; and Berna Stephens, who introduced the speakers.

A luncheon was served afterwards.