Jupiter Hammon was a preacher and a famous 18th-century American author. But there was something else about him that makes his story even more extraordinary.
He was an enslaved man! Over the course of his life, he watched as white supremacists told the story of a young America, forging its own identity and fighting for its freedom. But he didn’t just watch – because he knew this propaganda was pure BS.
Hammon WROTE about it. How could a “free” country keep people enslaved, he reasoned? His poetry and essays held up a mirror to these self-righteous racists. So how did an enslaved man become literate when it was forbidden?
Hammon charmed his captors into allowing him to attend school with their children! He was then able to publish his work, right under his captors’ noses. He ushered in a new part of the American experience – writing from the Black viewpoint. He even wrote letters to encourage other Black writers to do the same!
Though Hammon was never freed, he still used every opportunity he had to raise his voice in opposition to the oppression and enslavement of our people. We must remember that we can always fight for liberation – even in the most difficult circumstances.