Phillis Wheatley

By Kira

The person I am researching is Phillis Wheatley.

Phillis Wheatley is a very important person because she was the first African American poet. First, Phillis was a slave on a slave ship. But then she was bought by Susannah Wheatley in 1761. She died in 1781.

When she was bought by Susannah Wheatley, the Wheatleys educated her. Then she loved words. She started to write poems. She wrote her first poem in 1770.

Phillis lived in Boston, Massachusetts. Her religion was Christian. She studied the Bible. This is how I imagine her personality: brave, strong, smart, and happy. She was African American, she had black hair, and she had brown eyes.

This is one of her poems:

"Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land

Taught my benighted soul to understand

That there's a god, that there's a savior too

Once I redemption neither sought nor knew

Some view our sable race with scornful eye;

Their color is a diabolic dye

Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,

May be refined and join the angelic train."

We still read some of Phillis Wheatley's poems. She was a very good poet and is a very important part of history.

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