Sojourner Truth Delivers 'Ain't I a Woman' at Akron Convention

At the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, Sojourner Truth delivered what became known as the 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech, linking the causes of racial and gender liberation in a single extemporaneous address. Born Isabella Baumfree and enslaved in New York until 1826, Truth had become a powerful public speaker. The speech created an enduring model for intersectional advocacy uniting abolitionism and women's suffrage.