One day last June, Gilchrist Jr./Sr. High School social studies teacher, Darla Brandon, found herself in a cellar prison talking with Nat Turner, the man who led a slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831.

“There were multiple people in tears. It was very impactful,” Brandon said.

Brandon was not speaking to the real Nat Turner, but a historical interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. It was part of a teacher’s institute she attended this past summer.