She Was The First

Do you know who this woman is? Neither did we. But she has the distinction of being the first at doing something. Can you guess what that is?

Our dear chum Carol shared this story with us:

“She was called Phillis, because that was the name of the ship that brought her, and Wheatley, which was the name of the merchant who bought her. She was born in Senegal. In Boston, the slave traders put her up for sale:
“She’s seven years old! She will be a good mare!”
She was felt, naked, by many hands. At thirteen, she was already writing
poems in a language that was not her own. No one believed that she was the author. At the age of twenty, Phillis was questioned by a court of eighteen enlightened men in robes and wigs.
She had to recite texts from Virgil and Milton and some pssages from the
Bible, and she also had to swear that the poems she had written were not
plagiarized. From a chair, she gave her long examination, until the court
accepted her: she was a woman, she was black, she was a slave, and she was a poet.”
Phillis Wheatley, was the first African-American writer to publish a book in the United States. What an astonishing accomplishment for anyone let alone a black woman brought here from Africa at age 7 and who was a slave. The Wheatleys, whose household she worked in, educated her along with their own children and recognized quickly her extraordinary talent. Mrs. Wheatley ultimately freed Phillis and helped her to have a book of her poems published. Indeed what an accomplishment.

To Phillis for her incredible spirit and remarkable perseverance and unmistakable talent, we say “Well Done…VERY Well Done”!

And now you know 🙂