Birth: 1753-05-08
, Senegal
Death: 1784-12-05
, Boston
Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved African woman who became the first African American author of a published book of poetry in the United States. Despite the immense limitations imposed by slavery and societal prejudice, her work demonstrated remarkable literary skill and intellectual depth. Her poems, often neoclassical in style, explored themes of freedom, religion, and the African experience, challenging prevailing racist notions of the time and paving the way for future Black writers.
