“Ain’t I a woman?” (Truth, 1851). In Sojourner Truth’s famous speech, Ain’t I a Woman?, she addressed the lack freedom and inequality that women faced in American society. In 1967, Aretha Franklin released the song, Respect, which practically became an anthem for women’s empowerment at the time. The meaning of the speech and song provided a message for all people in America to follow, with both women as spokespeople. Truth and Franklin each were important figures who tried to bring awareness and solidify the idea of equal rights for all women.
In the early 19th century, two great social movements known as the Abolitionist Movement and Women’s Suffrage had formed. The fight for Anti-Slavery began shortly after the American Revolution, but became much more prominent all the way throughout the Civil War. It effectively led to the end of slavery, but it also managed to somewhat buffer the women’s rights movement. Abolitionists had decided to take command by using their rights, such as voting, to win their battle. Seeking their own rights, women also decided to add suffrage to their arsenal of tools. Both movements were essential to the expansion upon the American promise of liberty and equality.
Throughout Truth’s speech, there are multiple instances in which she brings up these issues of inequality and slavery. For example, “I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!” (Truth). Here she is referring to the fact that women have enough strength and power to endure all the same hardships as men, therefore they should have equal rights. This could also infer that it was prominently black women who had to endure labor and punishment whereas white women would never be seen performing physical labor such as this. In another instance, she states, “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!” She strongly believed that women should be able to do things of “authority” such as vote, being that it was a woman in the first place who caused humanity to be the way it is.
Many people recognize Sojourner Truth as a famous historical figure because of her speech, but there are many other reasons as well. Throughout her life as a slave, she had borne five children that had to grow up as slaves just as she did. In 1828, her five year old son was illegally sold to a slave owner in Alabama. This led to multiple court cases and months of legal proceedings that she ended up winning, causing her to be one of the only few black women at the time to challenge a white man in court and win. In the 1840s, Truth had accomplished many things such as, joining the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, publishing her own book, and even buying her own home. In 1851, she attended the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in which she gave her most famous speech on the rights of women and slaves, causing her to become an American icon in the 19th century.
Just as Truth challenges society to re-evaluate its attitude towards sexism and racism, so too does Aretha Franklin in her song, Respect. In 1967, Franklin had released her own recreation of the song, originally recorded by Otis Redding in 1965. The song was about something that could no longer be denied to any woman or person of color. It soared up to the top of the music charts and was played all around the country for everyone to hear the message. The song was picked up and had started to be associated with the black-power movement and feminists and human rights activists across the world.
Even before the release of her song, Aretha Franklin was a known activist who fought against prejudice and inequality for the rights of freedom and justice. “She used song, and the platform it provided her, as a way of advancing feminism and social activism in powerful and often overlooked ways” (Watson). As she was growing up, she would always participate in events and movements with her father, who was a reverend that preached black-liberation theology. Her father was a friend and colleague of people such as Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and other key figures, allowing for her to receive a lot of experience and knowledge. As a teenager, she had joined King on his tour across the country, preaching nonviolence in the movement for civil rights. “Well I don’t think anyone knew how significant he would be in history, but everyone knew what he was trying to do and certainly trying to gain equal rights for African Americans and minorities,” Franklin said about King in an interview.
Both Truth and Franklin have lived lives that challenge social conventions, and encourage society to examine the inequalities that pervade the United States. Each of them as individuals accomplished many feats during their lives that have provoked social change. Sojourner Truth was an abolitionist and women’s rights activist who spent most of her life fighting against those in opposition of equalization. Aretha Franklin was an unparalleled talent who played a special role as a cultural mover whose signature song, Respect, became a defining anthem for the marginalized. Her recreation of the song spoke directly to the civil rights movement, which she embodies throughout the track. Altogether, they were each iconic figures in the eyes of everyone who hoped for a unified society.
