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Honoring two for the price of one?
By adamg on Fri, 09/08/2023 - 9:32am
The newest of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's three harbor ferries is the Phillis Wheatley, named for the Boston woman who became a famous poet in the colonial era even as she remained enslaved (yes, here in Boston).
The authority put a plaque on the boat to let people know about the person for whom it was named, complete with a short biography and a photograph.
Only problem, as local historian Jocelyn Gould notes: That's not Wheatley in the photo, since she died 40 years before the invention of photography. It's Sarah Forbes Bonetta, goddaughter of Queen Victoria.
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Comments
History by Facebook
Evidently there was a "let's recognize Phillis Wheatley" type post on Facebook that went viral that used this picture of Bonetta incorrectly and that's likely where the consultant/employee who designed this plaque got the information for it.
There's a portrait drawing in her book that they should probably use instead.
OMG. So let me get this
OMG. So let me get this straight....the boat is named after a slave ship and no one at the MBTA had any common sense to do any research...a google search or Mass Historical. contact, may ships registry...unbelievable.
Whats the cost to taxpayers btw, ridership, etc., now that the tunnel is open?
The sad part of this
There is a very famous portrait of her, likely drawn by another enslaved person and artist, Scipio Moorhead.
It came up immediately in a quick internet search: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39...
This was so easy to find that I can't help but wonder about the research skills of whomever picked this photograph - this portrait is so rich in history and to not find it is truly beyond lazy.
Phillis Peters
After 1778, she consistently went by her married name, Peters, not Wheatley.
The poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (among others) questions why people continue to identify her by a name she chose to no longer use:
https://twitter.com/BlkLibraryGirl/status/1310765506840932352
S/O to the Phyllis Wheatley
S/O to the Phyllis Wheatley Middle School formerly in Roxbury
Love the history lesson
Wrong picture aside; I wish more stuff that is named-after-someone included a little history lesson like this.
Including and especially all the little street intersection / squares.
Missed the mark here
The discussion on much of Black social media about this is how inappropriate it is to name a *boat* after her, indicating whomever did this knows nothing of her story.