“On Being Brought from Africa to America,” by Phillis Wheatley is a poem about an African slave in America. The speaker was brought to America from Africa as a slave. They indicate that they were educated. The speaker states that they learned of God (Christianity) when brought to America and they did not know of Christianity in Africa. The speaker states that their society views the speaker’s race negatively. Lastly, the speaker states that anyone, regardless of race, can be saved. The speaker uses a religious reference to explain that anybody can be saved by God and can go to Heaven once they die. When this work was published (1773) racism and slavery was prevalent, especially in the southern region of the United States. At this point in
