Born in West Africa around 1753, a young girl was forced onto a ship named the Phillis.


 In Boston, she was purchased by the Wheatley family — and thus became Phillis Wheatley.


Something extraordinary unfolded in their household. By the age of thirteen, Phillis was writing poetry in English, a language she had only recently learned. Her words shone with such brilliance that many refused to believe she was the author.


At twenty, she was brought before a tribunal of Boston’s most prominent men. They tested her knowledge of Milton, Virgil, and the Bible, demanding proof that the poems were truly hers. She endured their scrutiny and prevailed.


In 1773, Phillis Wheatley published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral — becoming the first African-American writer to publish a book in what would become the United States.


Against unimaginable odds, she left a legacy of courage, genius, and the lasting power of words.

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