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\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nA Life Shaped\u00a0by Enslavement and\u00a0Faith<\/h5>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s early exposure to reading and writing helped shape a lifelong devotion to Christianity and literature.<\/p>\n
Hammon\u2019s education and\u00a0literacy were unusual for someone in his position, but they served\u00a0the Lloyd\u00a0family\u2019s interests as well. He worked\u00a0closely with the family as a bookkeeper, clerk, and\u00a0negotiator on business trips. Letters from the Lloyd\u00a0sons referred\u00a0to him as \u201cBrother Jupiter,\u201d reflecting a kind\u00a0of familiarity\u2014though not equality. Jupiter Hammon was never legally a free man. However, his command\u00a0of language allowed\u00a0him to find\u00a0a space of agency within the system that bound\u00a0him.<\/p>\n
Life in Connecticut\u00a0During the Revolutionary War<\/h5>\n
After the death of Henry Lloyd in 1763, Jupiter was enslaved by Henry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s role as a preacher placed him in a position of respect within that community.<\/p>\n
Connecticut was also a site of growing abolitionist sentiment, particularly among Quakers and\u00a0other religious groups. While Hammon\u00a0did\u00a0not publicly\u00a0demand\u00a0immediate freedom, his speeches and\u00a0writings showed\u00a0a clear\u00a0desire for spiritual equality and\u00a0hope for eventual liberation. His time in Hartford\u00a0helped\u00a0deepen his commitment to using literature as a moral and\u00a0religious tool for both critique and\u00a0uplift.<\/p>\n
The Power of the Written Word<\/h5>\n
In 1761, Hammon became the first Black poet published in the United States when his poem, \u201cAn Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Hammon believed\u00a0that literature offered\u00a0a safe and\u00a0powerful space to express ideas that were often unwelcome in public speech. He wrote poetry and\u00a0essays that blended\u00a0religious\u00a0devotion with careful critique of slavery, often using Biblical references, parables, and\u00a0metaphors to highlight the injustice of his condition. His writing style may appear cautious, but his words show\u00a0deep intellectual awareness and\u00a0a steady call for moral responsibility.<\/p>\n
During his time in Hartford, Hammon wrote some of his most important and widely read works.\u00a0In addition to\u00a0\u201cAn Evening Thought,\u201d\u00a0he published\u00a0a poem\u00a0dedicated to fellow African American poet Phillis Wheatley\u00a0(1778),\u00a0in which he encourages her to continue writing and to stay true to her Christian faith, and \u201cA Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death\u201d\u00a0(1782),\u00a0a kind of Christian moral guide for children that reveals much about African American religious believe in this era.\u00a0All\u00a0three of\u00a0these poems are included in this anthology with brief introductions.<\/p>\n
Two of his widely read essays, \u201cThe Kind Master and Dutiful Servant\u201d (1778) and \u201cAn Essay on the Ten Virgins\u201d (1779),\u00a0reflect Hammon\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
An example of Hammon\u2019s oratory strength is found in \u201cAn Address to the Negroes in the State of New York\u201d (1786, included in this anthology).\u00a0This speech,\u00a0delivered when\u00a0Hammon 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\u00a0public recognition.<\/p>\n
Legacy and Influence\u00a0in Hartford and Beyond<\/h5>\n
Jupiter Hammon wrote at least ten known works\u2014four 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Jupiter Hammon\u2019s 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\u2019s intellectual and religious climate during\u00a0the Revolutionary\u00a0War allowed Hammon to connect with a broader audience, giving him the platform to express ideas that reached beyond the boundaries of enslavement.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s history and in the history of this country.<\/p>\n
Anthology Selections<\/h5>\n
An Evening Thought (1761)<\/a><\/p>\n An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley (1778)<\/a><\/p>\n A Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death (1782)<\/a><\/p>\n An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York (1786)<\/a><\/p>\n Jupiter Hammon – Biographical and Critical Sources<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" America\u2019s First Published Black Poet: Faith, Literacy, and Resistance by Joy Lee A Life Shaped\u00a0by Enslavement and\u00a0Faith 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 … Continue reading Jupiter Hammon (1711-c.1806)<\/span>