Person · 1797–1883
Sojourner Truth
Born enslaved in New York as Isabella Baumfree, she became a spellbinding preacher, abolitionist, and women's-rights orator.
A bridge between [[abolitionism]] and the women's-rights movement.
Freed when New York abolished slavery, Isabella Baumfree renamed herself Sojourner Truth in 1843 and set out to "travel up and down the land" preaching against slavery and for the rights of women. She could neither read nor write, but her plainspoken power made her unforgettable.
Her 1851 address at a women's-rights convention in Akron, Ohio — later remembered as "Ain't I a Woman?" — fused the causes of abolition and women's equality. She recruited Black troops during the Civil War and met with President Lincoln.
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Resources
Primary sources·1
Videos·1
The electrifying speeches of Sojourner Truth
TED-Ed