African American poet, Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), was trafficked on a slave ship called The Phillis from West Africa when she was about 7 years of age

She was “purchased” in August 1761 by Susanna Wheatley, the wife of a successful Boston, Massachusetts tailor, John Wheatley.

Phillis worked as a domestic for the Wheatleys, but they also taught her to read and write.

By the time she was 18, Phillis Wheatley had a collection of poems which were, eventually, published as Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). She was the first African American woman to have a book published.

The poem for which Phillis Wheatley is best known today is “On Being Brought from Africa to America (1768).

A stature of Phillis Wheatley forms part of the Boston Women’s Memorial on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.

Image from here: https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/2023/03/01/womenshistory-phillis-wheatley-march-1-2023/