-
Lucy Terry: Bars Fight
Encyclopedia Britannica
Though not published untill 100 years later, Lucy Terry's poem “Bars Fight” is the earliest existing poem by an African American. -
Jupiter Hammon
California State University
The first African-American author to be published in America, Jupiter Hammon authored "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries." Date Approx. -
Phillis Wheatley
Encyclopedia Britannica
Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American poet of note. Her first book, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religous and Moral," was published in 1773. Date Approx. -
Victor Séjour
Encyclopedia.com
In 1837, Revue de Colonies publishes Victor Séjour's "Le Mulâtre," the first fictional text from an African American writer. Date Approx. -
Frederick Douglass
LibriVox
In 1845, African-American and abolitionist Frederick Douglass published the autobiographical "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave," the most famous and influential narrative of the abolitionist movement. Date Approx. -
Harriet Wilson
Encyclopedia Britannica
"Our Nig," published in 1859 by Harriet Wilson, is the first instance of a novel written by an African-American being published in America. Date Approx. -
Harriet Jacobs
Enyclopedia Britannica
Harriet Jacobs published "Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself," the first autobiography written by a formerly enslaved woman. Date Approx. -
Booker T. Washington
Encyclopedia Britannica
During the Post-Slavery era, Booker T. Washington's self-help autobiography "Up from Slavery" is adopted as a guide for African-Americans to be succesful in an increasingly segregated United States. Date Approx. -
W.E.B. Du Bois
Encyclopedia Britannica
W.E.B Du Bois, founding member of the NAACP, challenges Booker T. Washington's view of economic prosperity as a means of progress, instead pushing for civil rights and equality in his book "The Souls of Black Folk." Date Approx.