Did you know that one of the earliest published African American authors was born on Long Island in 1711 and that he survived four generations of enslavement? His name was Jupiter Hammon. 

The Jupiter Hammon Project, is a major initiative to develop a more relevant and equitable interpretation of Joseph Lloyd Manor, one of Preservation Long Island’s historic houses and a site of Black enslavement. While enslaved at the Manor, Jupiter Hammon (1711–ca.1806) wrote powerfully about the social and moral conflicts slavery raised in the newly formed United States.

Through a series of three virtual public roundtables and supplemental Q & A sessions conducted during the late summer and early fall of 2020, Preservation Long Island brought together renowned scholars and professionals with local residents, descendant communities, and other stakeholders to explore the legacy of slavery on Long Island and the life of Jupiter Hammon. Recordings of the webinars are available here. Please visit our Vimeo channel for additional content produced by Preservation Long Island for the Jupiter Hammon Project. A comprehensive report will be shared summarizing what was learned during the public roundtable phase of the project.

Roundtable #1: Long Island in the Black Atlantic World


In partnership with Weeksville Heritage Center (Brooklyn)
WATCH August 15, 2020 webinar recording

 

Roundtable #2: The Voice of Jupiter Hammon


In partnership with Suffolk County Historical Society (Riverhead)
WATCH September 19, 2020 webinar recording

Roundtable #3: Confronting Slavery at Joseph Lloyd Manor


In partnership with Lloyd Harbor Historical Society
(Huntington)
WATCH October 24, 2020 webinar recording

Literary Landmark Event

On October 17th, 2020, Jupiter Hammon’s 309th birthday, United for Libraries and Empire State Center for the Book recognized Joseph Lloyd Manor, as a National Literary Landmark!  Watch the ceremony!

Learn More

The most comprehensive volume on Hammon’s works to date, The Collected Works of Jupiter Hammon carefully reconstructs the historical, political, social, and religious contexts that shaped his essays and poems throughout the late eighteenth century.

Visit our Jupiter Hammon Project Resources webpage for a collection of primary, secondary, and interactive sources to learn more about the life of Jupiter Hammon and the history and legacy of enslavement on Long Island. Here, you can also find our Jupiter Hammon Project Bibliography.

Take a virtual tour of the house and grounds where Jupiter Hammon wrote and lived. The house was completed in 1767 but less than ten years later, British soldiers occupied it after the devastating American defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn/Long Island on August 27, 1776.

Explore some of the fascinating people and places in Jupiter Hammon’s world with our interactive story map (click on the image below):

Help Us Tell the Full Story

Your contribution to the Jupiter Hammon Project will help us to expand interpretive programming at the 18th-century Joseph Lloyd Manor to encourage more rigorous and relevant encounters with Jupiter Hammon’s story and the legacy of enslavement on Long Island.

Support the Jupiter Hammon Project

Preservation Long Island thanks the following sponsors and advisory council members for supporting the Jupiter Hammon Project:

Jupiter Hammon Project Advisory Council:

Charleen Francis
Dr. David Byer-Tyre
Denice Evans-Sheppard
Edward Dugger

Dr. Georgette Grier-Key
Irene Moore
Joan McGee
Julia Keiser

 

 

Melisa Chioma Emeghebo Rousseau
Zenzelé Cooper

Jupiter Hammon Project Sponsors: 

 

DeLaCour Family Foundation

Lloyd Harbor Historical Society