Sojourner Truth: 1797-1883
As a woman, as a human being, I, and not just I, was born with rights. But as I grew older, those rights were stripped from me like a piece of clothing. Why? What is the point of buying human beings? Does one man not have better knowledge, better judgment? That I don't? Through my hardships, punishments, torture, I persevered, raised five children. With the brains given to be by God, I ran away with her baby girl Sophia, to a nearby abolitionist family, who were the Van Wagenens, Issac, and Maria. Thankfully with their loving hearts, the family bought my freedom for twenty dollars. Not only were we able to sue Dumont but also won the case for the return of my five-year-old son Peter and for that, I am forever grateful. This also made me the first Black woman to sue a white man in a United States court and prevail.
Issac And Maria Van Wagenen
After I got my son back into my arms, we moved to New York City in 1828. Luckily I got a job working for a local minister. By the early 1830s, I participated in the religious revivals that were sweeping the state and became a charismatic speaker. My government name is Isabella Bomfree but in 1843, I declared that the Spirit called on me to preach the truth therefore I renamed myself Sojourner Truth. I chose Sojourner because I was to travel up and down the land showing people their sins and being a sign to them, and Truth because I was to declare the truth unto the people." This new name reflected a new mission to spread the word of God and speak out against slavery. As a women's rights activist, I faced additional burdens that white women did not have, plus the challenge of combating a suffrage movement which did not want to be linked to anti-slavery causes, believing it might hurt their cause. Yet, I prevailed, traveling thousands of miles making powerful speeches against slavery, and for women's suffrage (even though it was considered improper for a women to speak publicly). In a speech given at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851, I proclaimed that "If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right-side up again."
In 1844, I joined a Massachusetts abolitionist organization called the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, where met leading abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and effectively launched my career as an equal rights activist.
I remember saying "If women want any rights more than they's got, why don't they just take them, and not be talking about it." My powerful rhetoric and words won me audiences with leading women’s rights activists of my day, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. In 1851, I gave my famous “Ain’t I A Woman” speech at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio and I'm glad when it hit the ears of everyone in the room, they spread the word outside the room for everyone to hear.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony
I didn’t want to only help the African American women but also the men. So during the Civil War, I helped recruit Black soldiers, alongside the famous escaped enslaved woman, Harriet Tubman.
Bibliography
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sojourner-truth
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/elizabeth-cady-stanton
https://www.biography.com/activist/susan-b-anthony
https://www.audubon.org/news/harriet-tubman-unsung-naturalist-used-owl-calls-signal-underground-railroad
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/truth-sojourner-isabella-baumfree-ca-1797-1883/
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