US PREMIERE: In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters

‘In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters’ is a 35-minute documentary that reclaims the life of Phillis Wheatley Peters—America’s first published Black poet—by illuminating a largely overlooked chapter of her story: her marriage to John Peters and the radical choices she made in pursuit of autonomy, dignity, and love.

Drawing on groundbreaking archival research by historian Dr. Cornelia Dayton, the film brings newly uncovered documents and historical evidence to life, challenging long-standing narratives that have framed Phillis primarily as a literary prodigy shaped by others. Instead, the film situates her as an abolitionist actively navigating the political, economic, and racial constraints of Revolutionary-era Boston.

At the center of the film is Phillis’s 1778 marriage to John Peters, a free Black man, entrepreneur, and advocate who shared her belief in self-determination. Together, they confronted poverty, racism, and legal precarity in a society that offered little protection to Black families in the aftermath of the American Revolution. Their partnership emerges not as a footnote, but as a deliberate and meaningful act—one that reshapes how we understand Phillis’s later life and work.

Featuring insights from leading scholars, poets, and cultural historians, ‘In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters’ reframes Phillis not only as a foundational literary figure, but as a revolutionary woman whose choices—intellectual, emotional, and political—continue to resonate today.

This screening is free, donations are encouraged.

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Host or Publisher Museum of African American History