America’s First Published Black Poet: Faith, Literacy, and Resistance
by Joy Lee
A Life Shaped by Enslavement and Faith
Jupiter Hammon was born on October 17, 1711, at Lloyd Manor on Long Island, New York. His parents, Opium and Rose, were enslaved by the Lloyd family. His paternal grandparents, Tamero and Oyou, had been kidnapped from West Africa and brought to the American colonies through the transatlantic slave trade. Like his family members before him, Hammon spent his entire life in bondage under four generations of the Lloyd family.
During his childhood, Hammon had access to a rudimentary education. He lived in the Lloyd household and was educated through the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, an Anglican missionary organization that promoted literacy so that enslaved people could read the Bible. Religion was central to both his education and worldview. Hammon’s early exposure to reading and writing helped shape a lifelong devotion to Christianity and literature.
Hammon’s education and literacy were unusual for someone in his position, but they served the Lloyd family’s interests as well. He worked closely with the family as a bookkeeper, clerk, and negotiator on business trips. Letters from the Lloyd sons referred to him as “Brother Jupiter,” reflecting a kind of familiarity—though not equality. Jupiter Hammon was never legally a free man. However, his command of language allowed him to find a space of agency within the system that bound him.
Life in Connecticut During the Revolutionary War
After the death of Henry Lloyd in 1763, Jupiter was enslaved by Henry’s son, Joseph Lloyd. During the Revolutionary War, Joseph moved from Long Island to Hartford, Connecticut, to escape British occupation. Hammon moved with him, leaving behind family members, including the children of his brother Obediah.
While living in Hartford, Hammon became an important figure in the African American community. He continued to work as a clerk and preacher, and he was known for delivering sermons and religious addresses to other enslaved people. Hartford, like many New England cities at the time, had a growing free Black population, and Hammon’s role as a preacher placed him in a position of respect within that community.
Connecticut was also a site of growing abolitionist sentiment, particularly among Quakers and other religious groups. While Hammon did not publicly demand immediate freedom, his speeches and writings showed a clear desire for spiritual equality and hope for eventual liberation. His time in Hartford helped deepen his commitment to using literature as a moral and religious tool for both critique and uplift.
The Power of the Written Word
In 1761, Hammon became the first Black poet published in the United States when his poem, “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries,” was printed as a broadside in Hartford. Written on Christmas Day in 1760, the poem expresses his deep Christian faith and marks the beginning of a decades-long literary career.
Hammon believed that literature offered a safe and powerful space to express ideas that were often unwelcome in public speech. He wrote poetry and essays that blended religious devotion with careful critique of slavery, often using Biblical references, parables, and metaphors to highlight the injustice of his condition. His writing style may appear cautious, but his words show deep intellectual awareness and a steady call for moral responsibility.
During his time in Hartford, Hammon wrote some of his most important and widely read works. In addition to “An Evening Thought,” he published a poem dedicated to fellow African American poet Phillis Wheatley (1778), in which he encourages her to continue writing and to stay true to her Christian faith, and “A Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death” (1782), a kind of Christian moral guide for children that reveals much about African American religious believe in this era. All three of these poems are included in this anthology with brief introductions.
Two of his widely read essays, “The Kind Master and Dutiful Servant” (1778) and “An Essay on the Ten Virgins” (1779), reflect Hammon’s ongoing engagement with Christian themes. He used parables and lessons from the Bible to examine moral duty, obedience, and the responsibilities of both enslaved people and their enslavers. While Hammon never openly condemns his own enslavement in these works, he urges both parties to live according to Christian principles.
An example of Hammon’s oratory strength is found in “An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York” (1786, included in this anthology). This speech, delivered when Hammon was 76 to an audience of free and enslaved Black individuals marked the inauguration of the African Society in New York City. The address was widely circulated by abolition societies and brought Hammon further public recognition.
Legacy and Influence in Hartford and Beyond
Jupiter Hammon wrote at least ten known works—four poems and four essays during his lifetime, and two unpublished poems discovered later. Each work reflects his Christian worldview, his subtle moral critique of slavery, and his commitment to the power of language. Though he remained enslaved until his death, he used the gift of literacy not just for himself, but to uplift others.
He returned to Long Island later in life and died somewhere around 1806. His writings remain an essential part of American literary history, especially for understanding the lives and voices of enslaved people in the colonial and revolutionary periods.
Jupiter Hammon’s years in Hartford were some of his most productive. In this city, he lived dual lives as an enslaved man and a spiritual leader, influencing both enslaved and free residents. Hartford’s intellectual and religious climate during the Revolutionary War allowed Hammon to connect with a broader audience, giving him the platform to express ideas that reached beyond the boundaries of enslavement.
His presence in Connecticut places him in the center of early African American religious and literary movements. His ability to challenge injustice with his literary works while remaining deeply rooted in Christian belief made him a unique and powerful figure in Hartford’s history and in the history of this country.
Anthology Selections
An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley (1778)
A Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death (1782)
An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York (1786)
Jupiter Hammon – Biographical and Critical Sources