Phillis Wheatley smiles at Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
’Twas mercy brought me from Miami-Dade,
Taught my beautiful mind to refuse to be afraid
That there’s the Law, and therefore there’s hope too:
Once I redemption sought, and sentences commute.
Some view my appointment with scornful eye,
“This shallow token, pandering, votes to buy.”
Remember, Americans, Black women led the way
Push past simplistic judgments, listen to what they say.¹
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. Speaking today on the White House lawn, she declared: “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (Strong recommendation to listen to all the rest she had to say before judging one way or the other.)
The first Black woman to publish poetry while she had been enslaved is Phyllis Wheatley. Let’s juxtapose these two historic women.
Wheatley’s “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” can be hard to read today, particularly “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” The first lines praise the people who enslaved her — the so-called ‘moral uplift’ notion that justified the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Enough to make skin crawl. My ‘parody’ of her poem tries to subvert those lines.
But the last two lines of the original poem — “REMEMBER, Christians”…an imperative command from a slave?!?! A challenge to (other) Christians to acknowledge her faith and humanity? It’s easy to dismiss her poem as an apology, given the first lines. It’s easy to pass judgment without reading just a little bit further. But imagine the sort of 13 year old enslaved child who could throw down a gauntlet to all of Christianity?
What role did Phillis Wheatley play in the abolition of slavery? Undoubtedly, her voice was one of several relevant ones in the struggle. The British Empire abolished the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807, and abolished slavery itself in 1833 (interesting movie on that topic: ‘Amazing Grace’ — Benedict Cumberbatch was shockingly magnificent). Wheatley’s poetry would have been better known in London, where her work could be published, than in America, at least until American abolitionists (and others) decided to try to revive/reinvent Wheatley.
Wheatley offered her voice to the world. She influenced it for the better.
In a few weeks, Justice Brown Jackson will add her voice as one of nine on the US Supreme Court. When we hear her voice, we should imagine Phillis Wheatley smiling.
It is indeed a moment in which all Americans may take pride.
- Justice Brown Jackson starts her speech at about 25 minutes into this C-Span clip. CNN and other media sources clip her down to 30 seconds or 2 minute ‘best of’ speeches. I suggest listening to what she has to say.
