Not a Man, and Yet a Man

Not a Man, and Yet a Man (1877) is a collection of poems by A.A. Whitman. A former slave, Whitman worked as a laborer before finding employment as a financial agent and fundraiser for Wilberforce University, the first historically black college owned and operated by African Americans. In these poems, Whitman depicts the story of the nation on an epic scale, weaving history and personal experience into a compelling narrative of hope, promise, and betrayal. Intended to promote the mission of Wilberforce, Not a Man, and Yet a Man has been praised for its scope and Romantic style since its publication. “My pen appeals to right and common sense. / The black man has a cause, deny who dares, / And him to vindicate my muse prepares.” Freed from slavery during the Civil War, A.A. Whitman worked and obtained an education in the early days of Reconstruction, a period of immense progress that nevertheless proved the dire need to change the hearts and minds of white Americans. Although they had been freed by law, many African Americans, whether born free or formerly enslaved, suffered violence and prejudice as they attempted to enter the workforce, build their families, and establish themselves as property owners around the country. For Whitman, it had to be made clear how their “sweat has poured to swell our ample stores, / [their] blood run freely to defend our shores; / And prayers ascended to the Lord of all, / To save the nation of a direful fall.” Not only had African Americans built the nation, they joined the Union Army by the thousands to protect it―in one way or another, the debt had to be repaid. Not a Man, and Yet a Man is a brilliant debut from a pioneering voice in nineteenth century American poetry. This edition of A.A. Whitman’s Not a Man, and Yet a Man is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

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A.A. Whitman (1851-1901) was an African American poet and minister. Born into slavery in Kentucky, Whitman was freed after the Emancipation Proclamation and worked for years as a laborer and teacher. He studied under Bishop Daniel Payne at Wilberforce University in 1870 before becoming a financial agent for the institution and a pastor in Springfield, Ohio. With his wife Caddie, he raised four daughters who eventually formed The Whitman Sisters, a famous vaudeville troupe that toured for over forty years beginning in 1900. In 1877, he published his debut collection Not a Man, and Yet a Man, which earned him a reputation as a leading African American poet in the tradition of Phillis Wheatley and Jupiter Hammon. Throughout his career, he published three collections of poems, including An Idyl of the South: An Epic Poem in Two Parts (1901), which appeared shortly before his death from pneumonia in 1901.