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In a famous poem about her enslavement, Wheatley wrote
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Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

In a famous poem about her enslavement, Wheatley wrote, "'Twas mercy brought me from my...

In a famous poem about her enslavement, Wheatley wrote, "'Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land, "taught my benighted soul to understand that there's a God, "and there's a Savior too, once I redemption neither sought nor knew." So we can see why Thomas Jefferson in the Notes on the State of Virginia, might have written that, "Religion indeed has produced a Phillis Wheatley, but it could not produce a poet." But this was not the only judgment of her made by one of the founders

Full Transcript

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In a famous poem about her enslavement, Wheatley wrote,
00:00:04.542 --> 00:00:07.666
"'Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,
00:00:07.667 --> 00:00:11.832
"taught my benighted soul to understand that there's a God,
00:00:11.833 --> 00:00:13.999
"and there's a Savior too,
00:00:13.041 --> 00:00:17.499
once I redemption neither sought nor knew."
00:00:17.005 --> 00:00:18.957
So we can see why Thomas Jefferson
00:00:18.958 --> 00:00:20.915
in the Notes on the State of Virginia,
00:00:20.916 --> 00:00:21.833
might have written that,
00:00:21.833 --> 00:00:25.165
"Religion indeed has produced a Phillis Wheatley,
00:00:25.166 --> 00:00:27.582
but it could not produce a poet."
00:00:27.583 --> 00:00:29.789
But this was not the only judgment of her
00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:31.499
made by one of the founders.
Duration
32 seconds
Views
23
Timestamp in Movie
02:57:02
Uploaded
Oct 29, 2025
Genres
documentary
Production
Zipporah Films,JustFilms / Ford Foundation,PBS

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Movie Summary

A look within the walls of the New York Public Library.
In 1776 Wheatley wrote a letter and a poem - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:28
In 1776 Wheatley wrote a letter and a poem
Unless there is other business before the board, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:09
Unless there is other business before the board,
Yes, that's, I always forget the smile part. - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:05
Yes, that's, I always forget the smile part.
Eyes wide open, smiles. - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:05
Eyes wide open, smiles.
You've talked about reparations, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:18
You've talked about reparations,
That's... that's... Either these are explorations - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:08
That's... that's... Either these are explorations
But here, and probably surprising to many, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:09
But here, and probably surprising to many,
And that seems to me to be an explicit response - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:09
And that seems to me to be an explicit response
Right, well, as you said, it's very much a response - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:10
Right, well, as you said, it's very much a response
And I think people who regrettably, you know, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:16
And I think people who regrettably, you know,
Neighbor on neighbor crime that happens - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:12
Neighbor on neighbor crime that happens
That has always been true in black communities - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:05
That has always been true in black communities
People don't tend to, you know, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:10
People don't tend to, you know,
And in that sense, the black community - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:06
And in that sense, the black community
And the fact that the black community - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:10
And the fact that the black community
It is part of what happens - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:13
It is part of what happens
The expectation that the amount of crime - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:11
The expectation that the amount of crime
I don't find it hard to explain, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:10
I don't find it hard to explain,
You know, I'm black, I'm African American, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:14
You know, I'm black, I'm African American,
You know, Malcolm's belief, his anger, his rage, - Ex Libris: The New York Public Library 00:29
You know, Malcolm's belief, his anger, his rage,