Viola Davis has always been a powerhouse on screen, but on her in 2022, on her 55th birthday, she made a deeply personal power move—buying the former plantation where she was born.
The Academy Award-winning actress took to X to share the news, posting a photo of a weathered house in Saint Matthews, South Carolina with the caption:
“The above is the house where I was born August 11, 1965. It is the birthplace of my story. Today on my 55th year of life….I own it….all of it.”
She closed the post with a poignant Cherokee Birth Blessing:
“‘May you live long enough to know why you were born.’”
A Full Circle Moment
Davis, the youngest of six children, spent her early years on her grandmother’s farm, which sat on the Singleton Plantation—a stark reminder of America’s painful past.
Her grandfather was a sharecropper, and many of her relatives became farmers, a reality that left few choices for Black families in the rural South.
In a 2016 interview with People, Davis recalled the tough conditions her family endured:
Yet, amid the struggle, there was joy. Her mother described the day she was born as a celebration, surrounded by family, laughter, and even a sardine, mustard, onion, and tomato sandwich—a humble yet memorable post-birth meal.
Owning Her Story
For Davis, buying the land wasn’t just a real estate transaction—it was a reclamation of history. The plantation, once a site of oppression, now belongs to one of the most celebrated Black actresses in Hollywood.
In her Vanity Fair cover story, Davis reflected on how her impoverished childhood shaped her powerful performances:
“When I was younger, I did not exert my voice because I did not feel worthy of having a voice.”
Now, she stands as a symbol of resilience and triumph, proving that history doesn’t define the future—it can be rewritten.
