Phillis Wheatley

When she was 8 years old, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her native Senegal and brought on a slave ship to Boston, then sold to a prominent tailor who presented Wheatley to his wife as a “gift.”

Little did anyone know that 12 years later that frail and terrified girl would become the first black person and third American woman to publish a book.

Health challenges prevented Wheatley from being treated as a servant, but as a member of the Wheatley family upon her arrival in 1761 (slaves adopted the surname of their owner; The Phillis was the name of the slave ship on which she was transported to America). She was given an education — unprecedented for a slave or girl of any race — and excelled in English, Latin, Greek, literature and mythology.

Young girl learned quickly

The young girl learned quickly and in 1770, at age 12, had one of her poems published in the Newport Mercury, a story about two men who nearly drown at sea. More of her polished poems soon followed, with several being published in various publications.

Wheatley’s poems expressed Christian themes and were dedicated to well-known figures, such as King George III and evangelist George Whitfield. Most of her poems were elegies, with others being religious or classical and having abstract themes.

In 1773, Wheatley’s book, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” brought her international fame. She traveled to London and met the Lord Mayor of London, as well as other British dignitaries. The Countess of Huntingdon was so impressed with Wheatley’s work that she allowed a volume of Wheatley’s poems to be dedicated to her.

But Wheatley’s book also sparked controversy. Because of the high quality of her poetry, whites found it hard to believe that a slave was the author. Wheatley was forced to defend her work in court before an array of high-ranking officials – including John Hancock, John Irving and the governor of Massachusetts. The panel finally agreed that she indeed wrote the poems and signed an attestation, which was included in the preface of her book.

And, because Wheatley seldom referred to her life in her poetry or of the despair of slavery, historians believe Wheatley’s feelings towards slavery were not in line with most slaves because she never endured their hardships.

One of Wheatley’s most well-known poems is “On Being Brought From Africa to America”:

‘Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land, Taught my beknighted soul to understand that there’s a God, that there’s a Savior too: Once I redemption neither sought now knew. Some view our sable race with scornful eye, “Their color is a diabolic dye.” Remember Christians; Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.