Phillis Wheatley Peters: "The path to freedom through a cultural and aesthetic revolution"

The abolition of slavery and the change of perspective regarding African Americans is a hotly-debated topic and one of the most studied ones in schools. However, it would be interesting to ask ourselves: “How is it taught?” “Is this the right way?” The key points which are always reiterated are dates, laws and politicians. Nevertheless little attention is paid to the actual protagonists behind the scenes; the ones who provided food for thought not by raising their voice in the streets but by raising awareness on the words they were using. Phillis Wheatley Peters is a highly significant name in this context for she was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems. Her aulic style with clear classical and neoclassical techniques aroused the astonishment of the literary critics, most of whom did not even believe the poems were indeed written by her. Thus, Wheatley not only appears as a remarkable poet but a crucial figure who, through her extraordinary life and character, started to break down deeply rooted stereotypes about enslaved people. This is the part in which the cultural revolution was made possible since it was the first step: offering new perspectives with which to look at the African American people and re-establish a new relationship with them after the slavery era