 
Senate Resolution No. 478
 
BY: Senator GAUGHRAN
 
        RECOGNIZING  October  17,  2021, as National Black
        Poetry Day
 
  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body, in  keeping  with
its  time-honored  traditions, to recognize and pay tribute to those who
seek to preserve and celebrate  the  African-American  heritage  of  our
State and Nation; and
 
  WHEREAS,  This Legislative Body is justly proud to recognize Sunday,
October 17, 2021, as National Black Poetry Day; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Established  in  1985,  National  Black  Poetry   Day   is
celebrated  annually  on  October  17th, the birthdate of renowned poet,
writer and preacher Jupiter Hammon, to celebrate not only  his  work  as
the first published Black poet in America and the contributions of Black
poets  thereafter,  but  to commemorate the importance of Black heritage
and literacy; and
 
  WHEREAS, Today,  we  celebrate  this  day  to  pay  respect  to  the
significance  of Black voices throughout history, both past and present,
and to recognize the indelible mark Black poets have made on the arts of
this State and Nation, as well as to show appreciation for their  effect
on the world; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Jupiter  Hammon was born into slavery on October 17, 1711,
at the Lloyd Manor on Long Island, which is now known as  Lloyd  Harbor,
New  York;  with  the  facts  of  his  personal life very limited, it is
thought he was the son of Opium and Rose, the  first  set  of  male  and
female slaves to serve the Lloyd family; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  his  early years, Jupiter Hammon was enslaved by Henry
Lloyd, during  which  time  he  was  heavily  influenced  by  the  Great
Awakening,  a  major  religious revival of the time, and became a devout
Christian; and
 
  WHEREAS, Jupiter Hammon attended school where he learned to read and
write, and  went  on  to  work  alongside  Henry  as  a  bookkeeper  and
negotiator  for  the  family's  business; he served the Lloyd family his
entire life, working under four generations of the family masters; and
 
  WHEREAS, Overcoming inconceivable adversity, this extraordinary  man
published  his first poem, "An Evening Thought. Salvation by Christ with
Penitential Cries: Composed by Jupiter Hammon, a Negro belonging to  Mr.
Lloyd  of  Queen's Village, on Long Island, the 25th of December, 1760,"
as a broadside in 1761; and
 
  WHEREAS, Eighteen years passed before the publication of his  second
work,  "An  Address  to  Miss  Phillis  Wheatley"; in this poem, Jupiter
Hammon addresses a series of quatrains with accompanying Bible verses to
Wheatley, the most prominent African-American poet of the time; in 1782,
he published "A Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death"; and
 
  WHEREAS, After the death of Henry  Lloyd  in  1763,  Jupiter  Hammon
remained  enslaved  by  Lloyd's  son,  Joseph,  with  whom  he  moved to
Connecticut; there, he became a leader in the African-American community
and attended abolitionist and Revolutionary War societies; and
 
  WHEREAS,  At  the  inaugural  meeting  of the Spartan Project of the
African Society of New York City on September 24, 1786,  Jupiter  Hammon
delivered  his  most famous sermon, "Address to the Negroes of the State
of New York," at the age of 76 after a lifetime of slavery; his  writing
was  reprinted by several abolitionist societies, including the New York
Quakers and the Pennsylvania Society  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of
Slavery; and
 
  WHEREAS,   Widely   considered   the   founder  of  African-American
literature, Jupiter Hammon's date of death is unknown,  although  he  is
believed  to  have  died sometime around 1806; he is likely buried in an
unmarked grave on what was once the Lloyd property and is  now  Caumsett
State Historic Park Preserve in Long Island, New York; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Throughout the course of American history, Black poets and
writers have used their great talents  to  share  the  richness  of  the
African-American  experience and to develop a uniquely American style of
literature enjoyed throughout the world; on October 17, 2021,  we  honor
Jupiter  Hammon,  a  true pioneer of African-American poetry, along with
today's artists who continue his legacy; and
 
  WHEREAS, Events which provide a means of preserving a  part  of  our
rich  American  past and which contribute to the community in such noble
endeavors, are held in the highest regard by this Legislative Body; now,
therefore, be it
 
  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
recognize  October  17,  2021,  as  National Black Poetry Day; and be it
further
 
  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to Preservation Long Island.
recognizing October 17, 2021, As National Black Poetry Day

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