Why did Phillis Wheatley slip away? - Charita Gainey episode artwork

EPISODE · May 7, 2026 · 6 MIN

Why did Phillis Wheatley slip away? - Charita Gainey

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Get to know the life and works of poet Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who became one of colonial America’s most famous writers.--In 1775, General George Washington received a poem from one of colonial America’s most famous writers. Its verses praised the burgeoning revolution, invoking the goddess of their new nation to aid the general’s cause. But this ode to liberty wasn’t written by some aloof aristocratic admirer. Its author was a young enslaved Black woman. Charita Gainey details the works of poet Phillis Wheatley.Lesson by Charita Gainey, directed by Gavin Edwards, Movult.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-phillis-wheatley-captured-the-attention-of-the-world-charita-gaineyDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-phillis-wheatley-captured-the-attention-of-the-world-charita-gainey#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.movult.comMusic: https://www.wonderboyaudio.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman and Kurt Paolo Sevillano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get to know the life and works of poet Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who became one of colonial America’s most famous writers.--In 1775, General George Washington received a poem from one of colonial America’s most famous writers. Its verses praised the burgeoning revolution, invoking the goddess of their new nation to aid the general’s cause. But this ode to liberty wasn’t written by some aloof aristocratic admirer. Its author was a young enslaved Black woman. Charita Gainey details the works of poet Phillis Wheatley.Lesson by Charita Gainey, directed by Gavin Edwards, Movult.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-phillis-wheatley-captured-the-attention-of-the-world-charita-gaineyDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-phillis-wheatley-captured-the-attention-of-the-world-charita-gainey#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.movult.comMusic: https://www.wonderboyaudio.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman and Kurt Paolo Sevillano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why did Phillis Wheatley slip away? - Charita Gainey

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This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

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Get to know the life and works of poet Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who became one of colonial America’s most famous writers.--In 1775, General George Washington received a poem from one of colonial America’s most famous writers. Its verses...

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