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1700 |
Samuel Sewell, a Massachusetts judge, publishes The Selling of Joseph, probably the first antislavery book published in the British colonies.
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1733 |
In Massachusetts Elihu Colman, publishes Testimony Against the Antichristian Practice of Making Slaves of Men.
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1746 |
Lucy Terry composes “Bar's Fight,” the earliest known poem by a black person in North America.
Learn more
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1754 |
The Quaker John Woolman publishes Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes, which has a powerful impact beyond the Quaker community in persuading many whites that slavery is wrong. The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting publishes An Epistle of Caution and Advice, Concerning the Buying and Keeping of Slaves, written almost entirely by Woolman and Anthony Benezet.
Learn more
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1760 |
The first known slave narrative is published in the American colonies: Britton Hammon, A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surpizing Deliverance of Britton Hammon, a Negro Man, published in Boston.
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1761 |
The New York slave Jupiter Hammon publishes An Evening Thought, Salvation, by Christ, with Penitential Cries.
Learn more
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1762 |
Anthony Benezet publishes A Short Account of That Part of Africa Inhabited by the Negroes.
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1767 |
Phillis Wheatley, a slave in Boston who was probably born in Senegal, publishes her first poem, “On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,” in the Newport Mercury.
Learn more
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1770 |
James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, a former slave in New York, publishes his autobiography in England, titled Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince.
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1770 |
Phillis Wheatley gains recognition as a poet when the University of Cambridge in New England publishes the poem “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield.”
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1772 |
Anthony Benezet publishes Some Historical Account of Guinea, which is probably the most important literary attack on the African Slave Trade to appear before the American Revolution.
Learn more
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1773 |
Phillis Wheatley becomes the second American woman (and the first black woman) to publish a book, with the appearance of her collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Born in West Africa (probably in present-day Senegal), the twenty-year-old Wheatley is still a slave when the book appears.
Learn more
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1789 |
Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, is published. It tells of his childhood in West Africa, his capture and subsequent enslavement, his experience during the infamous Middle Passage, and his eventual purchase of his own freedom. Literary historians in 2005 uncover evidence that much of the first part of the book is fictional.
Learn more
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1798 |
Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture Smith, A Native of Africa is published in New London, Connecticut.
Learn more
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1821 |
Benjamin Lundy begins publication of The Genius of Universal Emancipation, the first antislavery newspaper in the nation. Publication continues until 1833. |
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1825 |
The Life of William Grimes, A Runaway Slave, Written by Himself, is published in New York.
Learn more
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1827 |
Samuel Cornish and John Russworm publish Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper. The elder, Cornish, is a Presbyterian minister. Russwurm, a recent graduate of Bowdoin (Maine), is one of the nation’s first black college graduates. Among its main financial supporters is the Female Literary Society of New York City.
Learn more
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1829 |
David Walker publishes his Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the United States, a radical indictment of slavery, in which he urges American slaves to revolt.
Learn more
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1831 |
William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first issue of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper; Georgia puts a price on Garrison's head.
Learn more
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1831 |
The first slave narrative by a black woman, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, is published in London.
Learn more
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1831 |
The Female Literary Association for free black women in Philadelphia is founded, and Sarah Mapps Douglass becomes secretary of the organization. Weekly meetings are devoted to reading and recitation for the purpose of “mental cultivation.” Black women in Boston establish the Afric-American Female Intelligence Society, a benevolent and literary organization. |
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1833 |
The actor Ira Aldridge performs the title role in Shakespeare's Othello in London, becoming the first black person to gain international acclaim in that role.
Learn more
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1833 |
Blacks in Philadelphia establish the Philadelphia Library of Colored Persons to provide books and to sponsor concerts, lectures, and debates. |
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1834 |
David Ruggles opens the first black-owned bookstore in New York. A white mob burns it down a year later.
Learn more
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1836 |
Jarena Lee publishes The Life and Religious Experiences of Jarena Lee, a Couloured Lady, the first autobiography by an African American woman.
Learn more
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1837 |
The first Antislavery Convention of American Women meets in New York; at least 10 percent of the attendees are black. Sarah Forten's poem “We Are Thy Sisters” is printed by the convention.
Learn more
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1837 |
Victor Séjour writes “Le mulâtre” (“The Mulatto”), perhaps the first story published by an African American.
Learn more
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1838 |
Memoirs of Elleanor Eldridge is published. It is one of only a few narratives of the life of an early nineteenth-century free black woman. Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince (1850) is another.
Learn more
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1838 |
Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.
Learn more
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1838 |
Narrative of Moses Roper is published in Philadelphia; the Narrative of William James, an American Slave is published in New York and Boston.
Learn more
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Print
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)
Phillis Wheatley, a slave in Boston who was probably born in Senegal, publishes her first poem, “On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,” in the Newport Mercury.
Learn more
)
Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, is published. It tells of his childhood in West Africa, his capture and subsequent enslavement, his experience during the infamous Middle Passage, and his eventual purchase of his own freedom. Literary historians in 2005 uncover evidence that much of the first part of the book is fictional.
Learn more
)
Samuel Cornish and John Russworm publish Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper. The elder, Cornish, is a Presbyterian minister. Russwurm, a recent graduate of Bowdoin (Maine), is one of the nation’s first black college graduates. Among its main financial supporters is the Female Literary Society of New York City.
Learn more
)
David Walker publishes his Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the United States, a radical indictment of slavery, in which he urges American slaves to revolt.
Learn more
)
William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first issue of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper; Georgia puts a price on Garrison's head.
Learn more
)
The actor Ira Aldridge performs the title role in Shakespeare's Othello in London, becoming the first black person to gain international acclaim in that role.
Learn more
)
Jarena Lee publishes The Life and Religious Experiences of Jarena Lee, a Couloured Lady, the first autobiography by an African American woman.
Learn more
)
Memoirs of Elleanor Eldridge is published. It is one of only a few narratives of the life of an early nineteenth-century free black woman. Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince (1850) is another.
Learn more
)
Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.
Learn more
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