edHelper.com Black History and Blacks in U.S. History Colonial America (1492-1765)

Black Literature Leaders

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Black Literature Leaders
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.6

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		slave, capacity, devout, scornful, unjust, slavery, newly, directly, dealt, wealthy, reading, writing, colonial, poetry, impressive, gain
	content words:		Long Island, New York, Jupiter Hammon, When Jupiter, Evening Thought, Penitential Cries, Christmas Day, Miss Phillis Wheatly, Winter Piece, United States

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Black Literature Leaders By Jane Runyon

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¹     Many slave owners in colonial times believed in keeping their slaves uneducated. It was their belief that it was a waste of time to teach these newly arrived Africans how to read or write. They had no capacity to learn, anyway.
 
²     Some slave owners taught their slaves basic reading skills. It was their belief that they could turn these "heathens" into Christians. They wanted their "property" to be able to read the Bible. This was the way to their salvation. It would also civilize them.
 
³     Fortunately, there were slave owners with a much more open point of view. They believed that slaves could and should be educated. The Lloyd family of Long Island, New York, was one such family. Jupiter Hammon was born around 1711. He was sold to the Lloyd family as a very young boy. Jupiter was a slave for four generations of the Lloyd family. They sent Jupiter to school to learn to read and write.
 
⁴     Jupiter had much more freedom than many slaves. He could tend his own garden and sell the produce for spending money. When Jupiter was twenty-two, he purchased his own Bible from the Lloyd family. He was a devout Christian.

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