Imagination! Who can sing thy force? Or who describe the swiftness of thy course? Soaring through the air to find the bright abode, Th’ empyreal palace of the thund’ring God, We on thy pinions can surpass the wind, And leave the rolling universe behind. — Phillis Wheatley, “On Imagination,” 1773 The imagination is the most powerful tool of a subjugated people. For the enslaved, it was a tool that provided solace and hope — one that helped African Americans envision realities of personal freedom.