UNSUNG: JUPITER HAMMON

When we think of African-Americans,who have made major impacts throughout history, the usual names come to mind: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Barack Obama, and George Washington Carver. However, there are many who go unrecognized over the span of time.

One such man was Jupiter Hammon, the first African-American to be published in the United States and one the founders of African-American literature. In addition to being an amazing poet, Hammon was a very devout Christian man, holding strong to solid Reformed teaching. Here is a wonderful piece that shows both his literary skill, as well as his Christ-Centered beliefs entitled, "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries", published in 1760.