Slavery: Phillis Wheatley
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Slavery in America
By Liane Hicks
Beginning in 1619, African men, women, and children were kidnapped from their homeland and shipped in brutal conditions to the American colonies to endure a life of hardship in bondage as slaves. While the international slave trade was outlawed in 1808, slavery continued in America, particularly in the southern states, throughout the 1800s. Slavery is an inextricable part of the story of America and it was rooted in racism that still impacts our society today.
Storyboard Description
Biography posters are a great way to highlight important events and accomplishments of a person's life using images and text. This biography poster focuses on Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who became a famous poet and the first published African American woman.
Storyboard Text
- Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1753. She was kidnapped and shipped to North America where she was auctioned as a slave in Boston. She was purchased by the Wheatley family to be an enslaved maid in their household. Phillis was so small and frail from the horrific journey that the slave catcher was happy to let her go for a "cheap" price. She was only seven years old.The Wheatley family named her "Phillis" after the name of the slave ship on which she came.
- The Wheatley family were relatively progressive for the time and allowed Phillis to pursue an education that was not common for an enslaved person. They taught her how to read and write, even instructing her in Greek and Latin. Phillis showed a great talent for writing poetry and the Wheatley family encouraged it. They helped her publish a book of her poems, which was published in 1773. The Wheatley family formally freed, or emancipated, Phillis shortly after her book was published.
- Despite, Phillis' talent and early success, she was unable to secure a living wage upon her emancipation because of racism and injustice against African Americans regardless of their status. She met and married John Peters, a free Black grocer, and they had two children. Her happiness was short lived, however. They lived in abject poverty, John was imprisoned for debt, and both of their babies died in infancy. Wheatley died of malnutrition and illness on December 5, 1784 at the age of 31.
- Phillis WheatleyEnslaved, Published Poet (1753 - 1784)
- "In every human Beast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance."- Phillis Wheatley
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