Phillis Wheatley was the first African American and first African enslaved in America to publish a book of poems in 1773. As the first published African American writer, her ability to write eloquently in English challenged the racist beliefs of the time that blacks were incapable of intellectual thought or artistic expression, beliefs which helped support the institution of slavery. In 1772, Wheatley underwent a trial where she had to prove her authorship of poems to 18 influential men, as her accomplishments questioned whether blacks were intellectually capable of literature.