Sojourner Truth

American abolitionist and women activist

Sojourner Truth (1797–1883) was an African American abolitionist, women's rights activist, and powerful orator. Born into slavery in New York, she escaped with her infant daughter in 1826 and later won a landmark court case to free her son. After gaining her freedom, she renamed herself Sojourner Truth and dedicated her life to traveling and speaking out against slavery and injustice. Truth became widely known for her powerful speeches that combined personal experiences with calls for racial and gender equality. Her most famous speech, "Ain't I a Woman?" delivered in 1851, challenged societal views on race and gender. Through her deep voice and commanding presence, she influenced both the abolitionist and early women’s rights movements. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit Black soldiers for the Union Army and worked to improve conditions for freed African Americans. After the war, she advocated for land grants for formerly enslaved people and continued pushing for civil rights and women's suffrage. Her lifelong dedication to justice left a lasting legacy that still inspires activism today.

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" I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man".

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Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (/soʊˈdʒɜːrnər, ˈsoʊdʒɜːrnər/; born Isabella Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and alcohol temperance. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying to the hope that was in her." Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?", a variation of the original speech that was published in 1863 as being spoken in a stereotypical Black dialect, then more commonly spoken in the South.Sojourner Truth, however, grew up speaking Dutch as her first language.

During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for formerly enslaved people (summarized as the promise of "forty acres and a mule"). She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. As her biographer Nell Irvin Painterwrote, "At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks."

A memorial bust of Truth was unveiled in 2009 in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. She is the first African American woman to have a statue in the Capitol building.[9] In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonianmagazine's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time."

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Sojourner Truth

" I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man".

Sojourner Truth (/soʊˈdʒɜːrnər, ˈsoʊdʒɜːrnər/; born Isabella Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and alcohol temperance. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying to the hope that was in her." Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?", a variation of the original speech that was published in 1863 as being spoken in a stereotypical Black dialect, then more commonly spoken in the South.Sojourner Truth, however, grew up speaking Dutch as her first language.

During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for formerly enslaved people (summarized as the promise of "forty acres and a mule"). She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. As her biographer Nell Irvin Painterwrote, "At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks."

A memorial bust of Truth was unveiled in 2009 in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. She is the first African American woman to have a statue in the Capitol building.[9] In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonianmagazine's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time."

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Song:
I'm A Sojourner
Lyric Video
Performance Video
" I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man".