Image courtesy of the New-York Historical Society.
Born on October 17, 1711, at Henry Lloyd Manor House (built ca. 1711), the first seat of the Manor of Queens Village, Hammon was born to enslaved parents. Though initially there were anti-literacy laws enacted in places like South Carolina to prevent enslaved and freed people of color from learning to read and write, Hammon was soon able to achieve heights in reading as well as writing. He was also known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American in North America. He published both poetry and prose after that. In addition, he was a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
Hammon's sermons, written in the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary eras, express the political and burgeoning significance of blacks in the period. He mentions the deaths of blacks in the War for Independence and suggests the possibility of a virtuous black nation within the American nation, and speaks of petitions for freedom on the part of black slaves.
His sermons mounted a firm appeal for black moral and social autonomy. Hammon said that Black people should maintain their high moral standards precisely because being slaves on Earth and their suffering had already secured their place in heaven. Hammon's speech also promoted the idea of a gradual emancipation as a way of ending slavery. He knew that slavery was deeply entrenched in American society and that immediate emancipation of all slaves would be difficult to achieve.
During his life, Jupiter Hammon wrote nine pieces of prose and poetry.
Adapted from allpoetry site.
An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries
The poem which was his first published work in 1769 made Hammon popular and today, very memorable in the fight to understand slaves and identify with slavery. An Evening Thought is a clear and resounding work of gospel clarity and devotion. Hammon was a convert to Jesus through the spiritual awakenings in the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. In a day when black people were seen by many as inferior to their European masters, Hammon’s thoughts drew his readers up to our common creator, judge and saviour Jesus Christ.
Jupiter Hammon’s An Evening Thought is a meditation on the qualities of Jesus Christ, and directly calls on the fact and his belief that “Salvation comes by Jesus Christ alone.” Hammon makes it quite clear that the master of his life is Jesus Christ and Him alone. His devotion is identifiable and draws devotees, especially Christians but maybe all those suffering from any anxiety, grief or bondage of soul or mind to call on Christ in prayer.
Salvation comes by Christ alone,
The only Son of God;
Redemption now to every one,
That love his holy Word.
Dear Jesus, we would fly to Thee,
And leave off every Sin,
Thy tender Mercy well agree;
Salvation from our King.
As the title goes, the poem is a prayer as well as a conversation between Hammon and Christ and offered on behalf of many believers and devotees.
Born on October 17, 1711, at Henry Lloyd Manor House (built ca. 1711), the first seat of the Manor of Queens Village, Hammon was born to enslaved parents. Though initially there were anti-literacy laws enacted in places like South Carolina to prevent enslaved and freed people of color from learning to read and write, Hammon was soon able to achieve heights in reading as well as writing. He was also known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American in North America. He published both poetry and prose after that. In addition, he was a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
Hammon's sermons, written in the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary eras, express the political and burgeoning significance of blacks in the period. He mentions the deaths of blacks in the War for Independence and suggests the possibility of a virtuous black nation within the American nation, and speaks of petitions for freedom on the part of black slaves.
His sermons mounted a firm appeal for black moral and social autonomy. Hammon said that Black people should maintain their high moral standards precisely because being slaves on Earth and their suffering had already secured their place in heaven. Hammon's speech also promoted the idea of a gradual emancipation as a way of ending slavery. He knew that slavery was deeply entrenched in American society and that immediate emancipation of all slaves would be difficult to achieve.
During his life, Jupiter Hammon wrote nine pieces of prose and poetry.
Adapted from allpoetry site.
An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries
The poem which was his first published work in 1769 made Hammon popular and today, very memorable in the fight to understand slaves and identify with slavery. An Evening Thought is a clear and resounding work of gospel clarity and devotion. Hammon was a convert to Jesus through the spiritual awakenings in the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. In a day when black people were seen by many as inferior to their European masters, Hammon’s thoughts drew his readers up to our common creator, judge and saviour Jesus Christ.
Jupiter Hammon’s An Evening Thought is a meditation on the qualities of Jesus Christ, and directly calls on the fact and his belief that “Salvation comes by Jesus Christ alone.” Hammon makes it quite clear that the master of his life is Jesus Christ and Him alone. His devotion is identifiable and draws devotees, especially Christians but maybe all those suffering from any anxiety, grief or bondage of soul or mind to call on Christ in prayer.
Salvation comes by Christ alone,
The only Son of God;
Redemption now to every one,
That love his holy Word.
Dear Jesus, we would fly to Thee,
And leave off every Sin,
Thy tender Mercy well agree;
Salvation from our King.
As the title goes, the poem is a prayer as well as a conversation between Hammon and Christ and offered on behalf of many believers and devotees.
No comments:
Post a Comment