{"id":11,"date":"2022-07-06T20:38:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T20:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/teagle-sokolofsky\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2022-08-16T01:34:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T01:34:52","slug":"first-reading","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/teagle-sokolofsky\/first-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"First Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

“On Being Brought from Africa”\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/em>Phillis Wheatley (1773)<\/h2>\n

Jake Sokolofsky<\/h4>\n
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Phillis Wheatley poem book (Library of Congress)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the words of Phillis Wheatley, “in every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call love of freedom; it is impatient of oppression, and pants for deliverance” [1]. Wheatley was a Black female poet in the Revolutionary United States widely recognized for her intellect, literary prowess, and anti-slavery message. Enslaved at age seven, Wheatley grew up in Boston <\/span>in the mid-1700s with a family who nurtured her intellectual curiosity and in part contributed to her later success [2]. <\/span>Though <\/span>creating poems denouncing racism and commenting on the <\/span>hypocrisy of American Christianity, <\/span>Wheatley gained public <\/span>prominence in the late 1760s and early 1770s before finally being freed in 1774 shortly after publishing her first book of poems, <\/span>Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral<\/span><\/i> [3]. <\/span>Part of the larger collection was Wheatley\u2019s “<\/span>On Being Brought from Africa,” <\/span>a poem deconstructing racism and slavery disguised in diplomatic and passive rhetoric. Through specific rhetorical style and progress, Wheatley made a distinct case for the injustice of slavery by drawing on Christianity and foundational American values, thus using the tools of oppression as a tool for liberation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The progression of Wheatley\u2019s poetic strategy, just like her impeccable word choice, was carefully crafted to amplify the critical sting of her final underlying meaning and message. In a diplomatic posture, Wheatley wrote in the first two lines:<\/span><\/p>\n

Twas mercy brought me from my <\/span><\/i>Pagan <\/span>land<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Taught my benighted soul to understand\u00a0<\/span><\/i>[4]<\/span><\/p>\n

Her utilization of the words \u201cmercy\u201d and \u201cbenighted\u201d at the beginning of the poem emphasize the juxtaposed position of the White and Black man in the White man\u2019s mind, with Black people requiring the Whites’ help to bring them out of their moral and intellectual darkness (benightedness). The next line considered the same fact, particularly regarding the italicization of the word \u201cPagan\u201d and \u201cSaviour\u201d in lines 1 and 3, respectively. Wheatley\u2019s apparent \u201cgratefulness\u201d for slavery insofar as it conferred Christianity upon her is highlighted by the duality between Pagan (those who must be saved: Black people) and the Saviour (those doing the saving: White people). In lines 3-4, Wheatley wrote:<\/span><\/p>\n

That there\u2019s a God, that there\u2019s a Saviour too:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Phillis Wheatley portrait (Library of Congress)<\/p><\/div>\n

Her distinction between \u201cGod\u201d and \u201cSaviour\u201d therefore served a deeper purpose: she distinguished between the force of \u201cGod,\u201d an ultimate being operating outside of the norms of inequality and the constructions of man, and the \u201cSaviour,\u201d who in the Christian faith enters into the realm of man and acts upon humans. In this way, \u201cGod\u201d for Wheatley served as the force behind her later exposition and critique of racial inequality, though not the only force at play. In the same way that her later italicization of \u201cChristians\u201d employed sarcasm and authority over religion as a method of critique, \u201cSaviour\u201d marked a transition away from her initial \u201cgratefulness\u201d for slavery: gratefulness serving only to soften the minds of readers to accept her true critique.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her critique transitioned into fullness as she exposed the racism of the White man:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some view our sable race with scornful eye,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir colour is a diabolic die.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Again, Wheatley drew on White Christianity to make her point: \u201cdiabolic\u201d emphasizes the \u201cdevilishness\u201d of the black skin color, implicitly juxtaposing it with the purity and sanctity of the White race. Itself a reference to the social construction of race, the argument falls back on principles of equality and universality which challenged the foundations of her society. Wheatley again referenced a prior allusion to benightedness as a reclamation from \u201cevil” and \u201csin,\u201d contributing to her explicit condemnation of Christian and American hypocrisy in the next lines:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, <\/span><\/i>Christians, Negros,<\/span> black as <\/span><\/i>Cain,<\/span><\/p>\n

May be refin\u2019d, and join th\u2019 angelic train.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Her use of italics in the line, \u201c<\/span>Remember, <\/span>Christians<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Negros<\/span><\/i>, black as <\/span>Cain<\/span><\/i>,\u201d emphasized the similarities between popularly incompatible terms: Christians to Negroes and Cain. The allusions to evil and devilishness culminate in Cain, one of the ultimate evils of the Bible, and displayed White racism through the connection to Blackness. In addition, the use of italics on \u201cChristians\u201d created a tone of authority, lecturing Christians about what the Bible entails following her distinction between God and Saviour earlier in the poem. The burgeoning critique manifested fully in the last two lines, effectively concluding her strategy of an attack first disguised as grateful emotion but revealed as sarcastic indictment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wheatley\u2019s “<\/span>On Being Brought From Africa” <\/span>does more than merely the title would suggest. Drawing on the ideas of White saviorhood and Christianity, Wheatley made a profound critique of slavery’s hypocrisy yet dialectically emphasized how that system produced her own consciousness. In this way, though describing the most sinister of human activities, Wheatley made a compelling case for hope in the face of it: systems such as slavery produce people like her willing to stand up and turn the tools of their oppressors against them, a revolutionary potential that could lead to radical change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n