U.S. Census Bureau Black History Month Feature for February 21

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21: PHILLIS WHEATLEY

Profile America for the 21st day of Black History Month.  Phillis Wheatley was brought to Colonial America as a young slave from Senegal and was purchased by a Boston tailor.  Unusual for the time, he allowed her to learn to read and write, and she wrote her first poetry at age 14. The first volume of her work, called "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," was published in England when she was 20 and was well received in Europe and the U.S. General George Washington invited Wheatley to visit his headquarters after he read a poem she had written about him in 1776. Each year in the U.S., books by African-American authors are among the more than $27 billion of new books sold across the country.  This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Sources:  www.masshist.org/endofslavery/?queryID=57
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1134

Profile America Special Edition:  Black History Month  2012  is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov  (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau