Power Writers

By THACMHO (Tower Hamlets African Caribbean Mental Health Organisation)
For copies of the book and details of the walk, contact the Humanities Education Centre, Tower Hamlets Professional Development Centre, English Street, London E3 4TA
Tel: 020 7364 6405
Fax: 020 7364 6422
E-mail: hec@gn.apc.org

Phillis Wheatley

Phyllis Wheatley was the first Black woman to have a book published in 1773. Her book, 'Poems on various subjects, religious and moral ' consisted of 39 poems.
She was born in the western coast of Africa in 1753. Her original name was "Fatou" She was kidnapped from the Senegal-Gambia region at the age of seven. In 1761 she was bought as a slave by a Mr John Wheatley and renamed Phillis. The Wheatley's lived in Boston and encouraged her to to study.

Phillis published her first poem on December 21st, 1767 in Newport Rhode Island Mercury. She became a sensation in Boston when her poem on the death of Reverend George Whitefield who happened to be a close friend of Countess Selina of Huntington. Unable to get her book of poems published in Boston, Phillis went to London for a publisher with the help of Countess Selina. The publisher of her first book was Archibald Bell, they were based in the East End of London in Aldgate. When she came to Britain in 1773, she was given star-status. The Lord Mayor Of London presented her with a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost to welcome her to the city.

Phillis Wheatley married a free black man in 1778. Non of the children she bore lived and she died in childbirth in poverty. Phillis was an inspiration for generations to come.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wheatley_phillis.shtml

More on the Countess Selina:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/

First verse of "On the Death of George Whitefield"

"Hail, happy saint! on thine immortal throne,
Possest of glory, life, and bliss unknown;
We hear no more the music of thy tongue;
Thy wonted auditories cease to throng.
Thy sermons in unequalled accents flowed,
And ev'ry bosom with devotion glowed;
Thou didst, in strains of eloquence refined,
Inflame the heart, and captivate the mind.
Unhappy, we the setting sun deplore,
So glorious once, but ah! it shines no more. "

Ukawsaw Gronniosaw

"A Preacher in St Giles" 1850

Ukawsaw Gronniosaw took the name James Albert when he arrived in England. He was originally from Borneo in Nigeria. His mother was the eldest daughter of the king of Zara. He was stolen at the age of 15 and was taken overseas and sold several times. He ended up in the service of a minister, who, on his deathbed, gave Gronniosaw his freedom and left him 10 pounds. He joined the British Army and later moved to London and married a poor English woman named Betty. He became famous for writing "A NARRATIVE OF THE Most Remarkable Particulars In the LIFE of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, AN AFRICAN PRINCE, As related by HIMSELF" which was published in 1772. It was the first Slave narrative to be published. He dedicated it to the Countess Selina of Huntingdon. Nothing more is known about him after he wrote the book. After 1924, the slave narrative became a major way of exposing the horrors of slavery. He lived in Petticoat Lane

More on the Countess Selina:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/

John Marrant

John marrant was an African born free in New York in 1755. he was a gifted musician, master of the violin and French horn.

A Methodist George Whitefield converted him to Christianity. After falling out with his family John wandered the countryside converting people and did work at a Native American (Cherokee) settlement. He was then press-ganged into the navy. After surviving many battles he searched out George Whitefield who he told his story to.

He was ordained as a minister in the Countess Selina of Huntington connexion, the countess's friends published his story A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, now going to preach the Gospel in Nova Scotia (1785). It was incredibly successful.

A few years after he published his missionary diary A Journal of the Rev. John Marrant from August 1785 to the 16th March 1790,which was the most detailed and extensive account of black evangelism and community life in the eighteenth century. He lived in 69 Mile End Road and 60 Prescott Street.

Olaudah Equiano

Nearly 300 years ago when slavery was still at its height, a former slave, living in London wrote a book promoting the anti-slavery cause in 1789, called The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. Olaudah was born in Africa in 1745 in what is now eastern Nigeria where he was kidnapped at the age of ten. He was sold into slavery and worked on a plantation in Virginia in 1757

He was then purchased by a lieutenant in the royal navy as a present for friends back in England. It was during this time that he was given the name of Gustavus Vassa. After a brief spell in England he spent the next eleven years mainly at sea were he became a skilled seamen, and in 1766 at the age of 21 he bought his freedom. As a free man Equiano lived a life of adventure: he was involved in a shipwreck in the Bahamas in 1767, and worked as a hairdresser in Pall Mall, London in 1768.

In 1786 he was involved in the "Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor in London", based in Whitechapel. In 1786 Equiano was appointed by the government as a Commissioner in a scheme to resettle poor black people from London in West Africa. The Sierra Leone settlement project. The scheme attracted much controversy and Equiano resigned before the expedition set sail in April 1787. It was a disaster, as many people died.

For more detail of The Sierra Leone settlement project see the National Archives:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/

Equiano's stand against slavery made him many enemies, where people doubted his African birth and whether he really wrote his book. His name means "When he speaks, others listen"
For more details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/equiano_olaudah.shtml

Quobna Ottobah Cugoano

Born in what is now Ghana. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He was first sent to the Caribbean but obtained his freedom when he came to England working as a servant. He became a Christian and took the name of John Stewart. He was the first African to publish an abolitionist (anti-slavery) book. It was called Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic on the commerce of the human species published in London in 1787. In it he argued that slavery and Christianity are incompatible and demolished one by one each of the pro-slavery arguments. It is said that Cugoano's work is more than just an anti slavery text for it has lasted the test of time. He was involved in the "Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor in London", based in Whitechapel.
In later editions Cugoano proposed establishing a school for Africans living in London, for those who could not afford it or had not had the opportunity. Although he died before it happened his vision became a reality in 1807.

Other useful links
Archive and Museum of Black Heritage
http://www.aambh.org.uk

Black & Asian Londoners links
http://www.corpoflondon.gov.uk/

Westminster Archive-Black Presence
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/libraries/archives/blackpresence/