How Phillis Wheatley captured the attention of the world
175,203 views | Charita Gainey • TED-Ed
In 1775, General George Washington received a poem from one of colonial America's most famous writers. Its verses praised the burgeoning revolution, invoking the goddess of their new nation to aid the general's cause. But this ode to liberty wasn't written by some aloof aristocratic admirer. Its author was a young enslaved Black woman. Charita Gainey details the works of poet Phillis Wheatley. [Directed by Gavin Edwards, Movult, narrated by Christina Greer, music by Stephen LaRosa].