Ann Plato facts for kids

Ann Plato (born around 1824) was an amazing Black (African American) and Native American teacher and author. She was a very important person because she was the second woman of color in the United States to publish a book. Even more special, she was the first to publish a book of essays and poems.

People sometimes compare her to Phillis Wheatley, another young Black writer from earlier times. We don't know much about Ann Plato's life. Most of what we know comes from her only book, called Essays; including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry. A famous leader named Reverend James W. C. Pennington, who was against slavery, wrote the introduction to her book.

Ann Plato's Early Life

Ann Plato was born around 1820 or 1824 in Hartford, Connecticut. She was probably the oldest daughter of Henry and Deborah Plato. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a seamstress. Ann had one sister and a brother who died young.

Like many people of color in the 1800s, there isn't much information about her early life. Most details come from the introduction of her book. This introduction was written by Reverend James W. C. Pennington. He was a pastor at the Colored Congregational Church in Hartford. He was also the first Black man to attend classes at Yale University. Pennington was a big influence on Ann Plato as a teacher. He wrote about her in her book, saying she was "a colored lady, a member of my church, of pleasing piety and modest worth."

Teacher and Writer

Ann Plato taught at the Free African Schools. These schools were located in the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church. She taught there from 1840 until 1847. She was also a member of the Talcott Street Congregational Church in Hartford.

In 1841, when she was about 16 years old, she published her only known book. It was titled Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces in Prose and Poetry. Her essays showed the New England Puritan values of her time. She wrote about topics like "Benevolence," "Education," "Employment," and "Religion." Her essays strongly emphasized how important education was. They also stressed living a good, hardworking life. The book also included some poems. Plus, it had short biographies of female friends who had passed away.

Some people who read her work later on found her essays and poems to be too preachy. They also thought her writing was ordinary and not very original. Many critics also disliked that she did not mention slavery in America. Other writers of her time, like Frances Harper and Charlotte Forten Grimke, did write about slavery.

Ann Plato's book only mentions slavery once. She talks about its abolition in the West Indies in 1838. This was likely a reference to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 in the British Empire. However, she did write several times in her essays about how all people are equal, no matter their race.

We don't know anything about Ann Plato's life after her book was published in 1841. The year she died is also unknown. One book suggests that a 46-year-old woman named "Miss Plato" in the 1870 Iowa census might be Ann Plato. This woman lived in Decorah Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa.

Legacy

In 1988, Oxford University Press released a special collection of books. It was called The Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women Writers. Professor Henry Louis Gates was the main editor for this series. Ann Plato's book was reprinted as part of this important collection.

Trinity College in Connecticut also honored her. In 1988, they created the Ann Plato Fellowship. This fellowship helps support students.

Quotes

"A good education is that which prepares us for our future sphere of action and makes us contented with that situation in life in which God, in his infinite mercy, has seen fit to place us, to be perfectly resigned to our lot in life, whatever it may be." –Ann Plato

"A good education is another name for happiness" –Ann Plato

"Although there are many nations, and many stations in life, yet he watches over us, he has given us immortal souls. Some have white complexions, some are red, like our wandering natives, others have sable or olive complexions. But God hath made of one blood all who dwell upon the face of the earth." –Ann Plato, "Benevolence," Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces of Prose and Poetry

Published Work

Ann Plato's book, Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces of Prose and Poetry (1841), has three main parts. It includes four biographies, 16 short essays, and 20 poems. This collection shows Ann Plato's work and her interest in schools before the Civil War. It also shows her strong connection to religion.

The "Prose" section shares Plato’s ideas about education. It explains how Christian beliefs are part of the classroom. In the "Biographies" section, Plato writes about four Black girls. Their names were Louisa Sebury, Julia Ann Pell, Eliza Loomis Sherman, and Elizabeth Low. They likely died from consumption. Plato uses their stories to show how to live a good and righteous life. Finally, her "Poetry" section is a collection of poems. These poems explore ideas about life, death, and suffering.