Phillis Wheatley on Racism

Although Wheatley was a woman of African descent and a slave, it is argued that she was sometimes out of touch with her African roots because of how she was treated as a slave. The treatment from her masters caused her to be uncomfortably submissive to white men and women, while also making her negligent of the fact that there were women and men like her in horrible, terrifying, life-threatening enslaving conditions. Often times, Wheatley was able to display her consideration for her race and other black men and women through her poetry; however, sometimes she missed the mark and her idolization of white men and women shined through.

In "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Wheatley mentions race in the second half of the short poem.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their color is a diabolic dye."
Remember Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refined, and join the angelic train (5-8).

By using the word "our" when referring to the "sable race" (5), Wheatley is offering a more inclusive outlook on racism and African American slaves. The first two lines "are indicative of some awareness of the existing attitudes of Whites towards Blacks" (Jamison 412). Additionally, in the first two lines Wheatley also highlights the worth of blacks - especially black Christians. Her use of the word "sable" (5) to describe blacks "imparts a suggestion of rarity and richness," making blacks a group that is "to be desired and even sought after" (Balkun 131). She mentions the "scornful eye" (5) not only to display that she too has been a victim of it despite her experience and position as a slave, but to also show that "she knows that refinement furnished at least partial escape from that evil" scornful eye (Davis 194). In the last two lines,  Wheatley references religion and race. Jamison suggests that Wheatley's allusion to Cain, the murder of Able, "indicates [her] acceptance of the curse of Cain and its racist implication (412). Conversely, Balkun believes that Wheatley's reference to Cain is used to argue against the justification of the existence of black slavery" (131). Lastly, Wheatley uses the word "refined" (8) to inspire and self-reflect. Wheatley realizes that as a black slave, refinement from her white counterparts is the reason why she is able to be a Christian and is offered opportunities most slaves aren't. By refinement, Wheatley has in mind "not only Christian salvation but intellectual and cultural improvement as well" (Davis 194) for her fellow African Americans who were also enslaved.