Imagine being put on trial to prove that you were capable of producing a piece of work. To prove that your intelligence was not forged or plagiarised. Imagine having to prove yourself worthy of something you know that you produced. Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American and first African-American woman to publish a book was.
Born in West Africa around 1753, Phillis Wheatley was named after the
slave ship that brought her to Boston between the ages of seven and eight, on
11th July 1761. There she was sold to the Wheatley family by the slave trader,
John Avery. She spoke no English upon her arrival in Boston however,
she proved to be an intelligent young girl. The Wheatley's recognised Phillis' talents which lead her to be tutored in various subjects including: English, Latin, Biblical
Studies, Religion, History and Geography. She was treated
more like a family member as opposed to a servant, and acquired an
education deemed suitable for a young woman raised in an 'elite Boston family'..
The idea that people below a particular 'level of humanity' were incapable of reading, writing poetry and other intellectual activities was
widespread during the 18th Century, as seen through the well-known
"declaration attributed to the American politician John C. Calhoun: “Show
me a nigger who can parse a Greek verb, and I’ll admit he’s a human being”. Wheatley, however, challenged such narrow minded beliefs by
surrounding herself in Western Literature and demonstrating knowledge of
Classical authors like: Ovid, Virgil and Homer, and the ability to adopt a
particular writing style familiar to such authors.
Because Phillis was deemed to be 'below a particular level of humanity', she was put on trial to prove that she was
the author of her collection of work and actually capable of producing poetry.
There was a lot of speculation as to whether the manuscript of poems (Poems on various
subjects, religious and moral) were really the writings of Phillis. She was thus examined by some of the
best judges and only after examination was she thought qualified to have written them.
Are you worthy of intelligence? Who says it's not a 'Black' trait? How can any race of people have come to own intellect? Phillis Wheatley should be an inspiration to everyone, somebody who fought for their right to be a clever and talented individual. Just because somebody tries to tell you that you are stupid, does not mean that you are. People told Phillis that she was 'stupid' and incapable, look at what she achieved.
Yours,
EACS x
