Watch Nat Turner Descendant Discuss Importance Of 1831 Slave Revolt

During Nate Parker's 60 Minute interview with Anderson Cooper this past Sunday night, the two discussed the former's forthcoming film The Birth Of A Nation and the ongoing controversy he has received from a 1999 sexual assault case.

However, within the segment there's a moment that focuses on the person Parker is celebrating (and portraying) in the movie: Nat Turner.

In the video below we see Cooper travel all the way to Virginia to meet Rick Francis and Bruce Turner. Francis is a direct descendant of the slave owner that owned the film's main subject, while Bruce is the third great grandson of Turner. Off of this information you would not think that Rick and Bruce are friends but they actually are, their love of history having made them pals.

However, they both view Turner differently. Rick doesn't perceive Turner as a hero, because 17 members of his family were killed during the rebellion (with many of those members being women and children). Bruce does see him as a hero.

"[Nat Turner] saw an opportunity to try to correct something that was an extremely bad evil," Bruce said. "Prior to the insurrection, slave owners actually believed that the slaves were happy in their condition. Nat Turner changed that."

"It's the fascinating thing about America, everybody has history," Cooper said in regards to his interaction between Rick and Bruce. "I think it does provoke sharp responses and it does provoke us to think about how do we stand up against oppression."

Within the video there's also a scene where Rick unveils the sword that Nat Turner used during his revolt.

Overall, the segment does a good job of exploring such an important part of American history, instead of solely focusing on the controversy Parker has received surrounding the film.

Check out the video below.