[Ads-l] Earliest American Use of the Noun "Black" Referring to a Person

[Shapiro, Fred]

In 2015 I discovered a 63-year antedating of the term "African-American,"  occurring in a 1782 Philadelphia sermon by an author described as "the African American."  The New York Times ran a prominent story reporting the discovery.  Now, ten years later, I have focused on the fact that there was another 1782 sermon by the same person in which he was described as "a Black."  This antedates by 74 years the OED's earliest American citation for the noun "Black" referring to a person.

The two sermons were mentioned in the Pennsylvania Journal, May 15, 1782, advertising for "Two SERMONS, written by the African American; one on the capture of Lord Cornwallis, to be SOLD by W. Woodhouse, A. Smith, & S. Saviel."  The title of the second sermon was "A Sermon on the Present Situation of the Affairs of America and Great-Britain, Written by a Black, and Printed at the Request of Several Persons of Distinguished Characters."  It seems that the split between the terms "African American" and "Black", the two leading terms today, was present from the very beginning, even in the same author's mind !

I am indebted to George Thompson, who back in 2015 helped me by tracking down the title of the second sermon.  George is also immortal as the discoverer of the earliest use of the word "jazz" (the earliest use referring to a musical genre was found by me).

Fred Shapiro


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