University of Texas at Arlington professor, graduate student discover poem written by 18th century slave from New York

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A University of Texas at Arlington English professor and his doctoral student have discovered a never-before published, handwritten manuscript by Jupiter Hammon, an 18th century slave from Long Island, N.Y., who many scholars consider one of the founders of early African-American literature. The poem is remarkable because it represents a major shift in the ideology that Hammon publicly advocated during his lifetime and perhaps internal conflict over whether slavery was “God’s will” or a “dark and dismal,” manmade state. Cedrick May, an associate English professor,