Sojourner Truth, originally known as Isabelle, was a courageous woman who fearlessly expressed her beliefs. Born into slavery around 1797 in Ulster County, New York, Isabella married Thomas and had five children: Diana, Peter, Elizabeth, Sophia, and possibly another child who may have died during infancy.
After relocating to New York City in 1843 and adopting the name Sojourner Truth. She declared her intention to journey across the country as an itinerant preacher, tirelessly speaking out against injustice and advocating for truth. Eventually settling in Northampton, Massachusetts where she resided and preached about the significance of human rights.
This individual, despite lacking literacy skills, played a significant role in national social movements. These included advocating for women’s rights and suffrage, fighting for freedmen’s rights, actively opposing slavery, and promoting temperance. One of her most famous speeches occurred at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio on May 28, 1851. The speech titled “Ain’t I A Woman” strongly advocated for gender equality. Fearlessly proclaiming her worth and abilities, she declared “I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?”
The argument stated that Christ originated from both God and a woman, highlighting the absence of man in His creation.
Sojourner Truth supported herself financially by selling portraits with the caption “I sell the Shadow to support the Substance.” She also earned money from her friend Olive Gilbert’s biography about her, titled The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A North Slave. After a decade, she relocated to Battle Creek and converted a small barn on College Street into her residence where she lived with her daughters, Diana and Elizabeth, until she passed away. Throughout her lifetime, she initiated and successfully resolved three lawsuits. One of these lawsuits involved reclaiming her son, Peter, who had been unlawfully sold from New York to Alabama as a slave. Additionally, in New York City she won a defamation lawsuit and in Washington D.C., she won a personal injury case resulting from an accident involving a streetcar.
On November 26, 1883, Sojourner Truth died at her College Street residence. Around 1,000 people attended the funeral held at the Congregational-Presbyterian Church. She was buried at Battle Creek’s Oak Hill Cemetery.
The chosen Photograph below depicts Sojourner Truth, and the accompanying description explains the significance and how she would be described.
This acrylic on canvas artwork features a diverse collection of names belonging to individuals who have contributed to civil justice and freedom. These names are positioned behind the image of Sojourner Truth. The bottom section of the painting consists of a repeated phrase from her renowned speech at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851. Symbolism is employed to communicate ancestral histories and cultural perspectives.
