Sojourner Truth
c. 1797–1883 · Formerly enslaved preacher who spoke for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, best remembered for her 1851 speech at Akron.
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Bomefree about 1797 on an estate in Ulster County, New York, where she grew up enslaved and speaking Dutch. At about nine she was sold away from her parents, and she was sold again several times. Late in 1826 she walked away to freedom with her baby daughter, Sophia. When her young son Peter was illegally sold to Alabama, she went to court and in 1828 won him back, becoming one of the first Black women to win such a case against a white man. She became a Christian in 1827. On Pentecost Sunday 1843 she took the name Sojourner Truth, believing God had called her to travel and preach. Though she never learned to read, she became a famous speaker against slavery and for women's rights, and in 1851 she gave her best-known speech at a women's convention in Akron, Ohio. During the Civil War she helped recruit Black soldiers, and in 1864 she met President Lincoln. She died in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1883.
Sojourner Truth is also an author in the library: author page and works.
Faith: Became a Christian in 1827 and helped found a Methodist church in Kingston, New York. Source: Wikipedia
Key dates
- c. 1797 Born enslaved in Ulster County, New York
- 1826 Walks away to freedom with her infant daughter
- 1828 Wins a court case to recover her son Peter
- 1843 Takes the name Sojourner Truth
- 1850 Narrative of Sojourner Truth published
- 1851 Speaks at the women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio
- 1864 Meets President Lincoln at the White House
- 1883 Dies in Battle Creek, Michigan
Fun facts
- Her first language was Dutch, and she spoke English with a Dutch accent for the rest of her life. (Source: Sojourner Truth (Wikipedia))
- She helped pay off her house by selling small photograph cards of herself captioned "I sell the shadow to support the substance." (Source: Sojourner Truth (Wikipedia))
Record-breaker
Firsts and records, worded as the sources give them ("first known", "at the time").
- In 1828 she became one of the first Black women to go to court against a white man and win, recovering her son Peter. (Source: Sojourner Truth (Wikipedia))
- A bust unveiled in Emancipation Hall in 2009 made her the first African American woman honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol. (Source: Sojourner Truth (Wikipedia))
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In their words
“Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again.”
Read about them
Grades 6–8
- Ain't I a Woman? · In the library
More lives
Jane Addams · Susan B. Anthony · Clara Barton · William and Catherine Booth · William Carey · Saint Damien of Molokai