1770s

Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman in Boston, published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral in London in 1773, the first book of poetry published by a Black American and only the third book published by an American woman. Her achievement prompted a celebrated examination by Boston's leading men who certified her authorship.

Crispus Attucks, a formerly enslaved man of African and Wampanoag descent, became the first person killed in the Boston Massacre when British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonial protesters. His death made him one of the first martyrs of the American Revolution, symbolizing Black sacrifice in the cause of American liberty long before Black people were granted its benefits.

Before her book can be published in London, Phillis Wheatley is examined by a panel of 18 prominent Boston men — including John Hancock and the governor's lieutenant — to verify that an enslaved girl actually authored the poems. She passes the examination. The attestation published in her 1773 book is itself a document of both her genius and her society's disbelief.

Prince Hall and 14 other free Black men in Boston are initiated into African Lodge No. 441 by a British military lodge attached to an Irish regiment stationed in Boston in 1775. After American Masonic lodges refuse them a charter, Hall obtains one directly from England's Grand Lodge in 1784, founding Prince Hall Freemasonry — the first Black civic organization in the United States.

Virginia's Royal Governor Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation offering freedom to enslaved men who escaped Patriot owners and joined British forces, leading to the formation of the Ethiopian Regiment of hundreds of Black soldiers. As many as 800 men joined and bore the motto 'Liberty to Slaves' on their uniforms, representing one of the largest freedom-seeking military actions in early American history.

Peter Salem, a formerly enslaved man from Framingham, Massachusetts who had been freed to serve in the militia, fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and is credited by multiple contemporaries with shooting British Major John Pitcairn at a pivotal moment in the battle. Salem went on to serve throughout the Revolutionary War, fighting at Saratoga and Stony Point, and became one of the most celebrated Black soldiers of the conflict.

Prince Hall and seven other free Black men submitted a petition to the Massachusetts General Court arguing that slavery violated the natural rights principles of the Revolution, and calling for gradual emancipation. Though the petition was tabled, it was one of the earliest formal anti-slavery petitions in American history and contributed to the eventual abolition of slavery in Massachusetts by 1783.

Eight Black men, described as 'a great number of Negroes who are detained in a state of slavery,' presented a formal petition to the Massachusetts General Court in January 1777 invoking the principles of the American Revolution to demand emancipation. Though unsuccessful immediately, the petitions helped build the legal argument that led to the 1783 Quock Walker ruling.

Rhode Island, facing a troop shortage, passed a law allowing enslaved men to enlist in the Continental Army in exchange for freedom, leading to the formation of the First Rhode Island Regiment — the only majority-Black regiment in the Continental Army. The regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778, repelling multiple British and Hessian assaults.

Fourteen officers of the Continental Army petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to formally recognize Salem Poor, a free Black soldier, for his exceptional bravery at the Battle of Bunker Hill, calling him a 'brave and gallant soldier.' This formal commendation by white officers was a rare and significant acknowledgment of Black military valor during the Revolutionary War.

The First Rhode Island Regiment, composed largely of formerly enslaved Black soldiers, successfully repelled three separate assaults by veteran Hessian troops at the Battle of Rhode Island, one of the hardest-fought engagements of the Revolutionary War. Their valor was praised by officers on both sides and earned the regiment a lasting reputation as one of the most effective units in the Continental Army.

Phillis Wheatley becomes the first African American to publish a book of poetry, refuting claims about Black intellect.

Enslaved and free Black Baptists found Silver Bluff Baptist Church in South Carolina, often called the first Black church in America.

George Liele and Andrew Bryan help establish one of the oldest continuous Black congregations in the nation.