Jupiter Hammon Becomes First Published Black American Poet

Jupiter Hammon, an enslaved man on Long Island, New York, publishes 'An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penetential Cries' on Christmas Day 1761 — an 88-line broadside poem. He becomes the first Black American to have his writing published in print, predating Phillis Wheatley's debut and launching an African American literary tradition.