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{{Short description|African-American activist (1797–1883)}} | |||
{{Infobox Biography | |||
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} | |||
| subject_name = Sojourner Truth | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} | |||
| image_name = Sojourner_Truth_2.jpg | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| image_size = 200px | |||
| name = Sojourner Truth | |||
| image_caption = Sojourner Truth, engraving from 1897 book<ref> | |||
| image = Sojourner Truth, 1870 (cropped, restored).jpg | |||
Wood, Norman B. ''White Side of a Black Subject'' Chicago: American Publishing, 1897. sourced from {{cite web|url=http://utopia.utexas.edu/project/portraits/index.html?img=379|title=Portrait page|work=UTOPIA.utexas.edu|accessmonthday=December 30|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
| image_size = | |||
| date_of_birth = circa. ] | |||
| caption = Truth, {{circa|1870}} | |||
| date_of_death = ], ] | |||
| birth_name = Isabella Baumfree | |||
| place_of_birth = Hardenbergh estate in<br/> ], ] | |||
| birth_date = {{circa|1797}} | |||
| birth_place = ], U.S. | |||
| place_of_death = ], ] | |||
| death_date = {{death date and given age|1883|11|26|86|mf=y}} | |||
| occupation = ], ], ] | |||
| |
| death_place = ], U.S. | ||
| occupation = ], ] | |||
| parents = James Baumfree <br>Elizabeth Baumfree | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Sojourner Truth''' ({{IPAc-en|s|oʊ|ˈ|dʒ|ɜːr|n|ər|,_|ˈ|s|oʊ|dʒ|ɜːr|n|ər}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref> born '''Isabella Baumfree'''; {{circa|1797}}{{spnd}}November 26, 1883) was an American ] and activist for African-American civil rights, ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sojourner Truth Was a 'Double Woman' in More Ways than One |author= |work=ChristianityToday.com |date=November 3, 2023 |access-date=April 3, 2024 |url= https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/november-web-only/sojourner-truth-nancy-koester-religious-biography.html}}</ref> Truth was born into ] in ], but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first ] woman to win such a case against a white man. | |||
'''Sojourner Truth''' (c. ]–], ]) was the self-given name, from ], of '''Isabella Baumfree''', an ] ]. Sojourner Truth was born into ] in ], ]. Her most famous speech, which became known as ''],'' was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in ]. | |||
She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying to the hope that was in her."<ref>''The Norton Anthology of African American Literature'', 3rd ed., Vol. 1, {{page?|date=December 2024}}</ref> Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in ]. The speech became widely known during the ] by the title "]", a variation of the original speech that was published in 1863 as being spoken in a stereotypical ], then more commonly spoken in the South.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Rural White Southern Accents |last=Thomas |first=Erik R. |publisher=] |year=2006 |location=New York |pages=6 |title=Atlas of North American English (online) |editor-last=Labov |editor-first=William |editor-last2=Ash |editor-first2=Sharon |editor-last3=Boberg |editor-first3=Charles |url=http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222004531/http://www.atlas.mouton-content.com/secure/generalmodules/varieties/unit0000/virtualsession/vslessons/thomas.pdf |archive-date=2014-12-22}}</ref> Sojourner Truth, however, grew up speaking ] as her first language.<ref name="margaretwashington">{{cite book |title=Sojourner Truth's America|author=Margaret Washington|publisher=University of Illinois Press|date=2011|pages=13, 14}}</ref><ref name="marygracealbanese">{{cite book |title=Black Women and Energies of Resistance in Nineteenth-Century Haitian and American Literature|author=Mary Grace Albanese|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2023|pages=15, 100–101 ,105–107, 166–167}}</ref><ref name="kimberlyraeconnor">{{cite book |title=Conversions and Visions in the Writings of African-American Women|author=Kimberly Rae Connor|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|date=2023|pages=75, 284}}</ref> | |||
== Early years == | |||
Isabella Baumfree was born around the year 1797. She was born into slavery on the Hardenbergh estate in ], ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute">{{cite web|url=http://www.sojournertruth.org/History/Biography/NY.htm|title=Amazing Life page|work=Sojourner Truth Institute site|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> Her parents were James and Betsy Baumfree, slaves of Colonel Hardenbergh. She was one of thirteen children. She spoke only ] until she was sold.<ref name="WiH">{{cite web|url=http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm|title=Sojourner Truth page | |||
|work=Women in History site|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> Ownership of the family slaves passed to the Colonel's son, Charles Hardenbergh, at the death of the colonel. | |||
], Civil War-era print]] | |||
In 1806 Isabella was sold to John Neely, along with a herd of sheep, near ], ] for $100. Then she was sold in 1808, for $105, to Martinus Schryver of ], ], where she stayed for 18 months. She was sold again in 1810, for $175, to John Dumont of ], ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> Isabella suffered many hardships at the hands of Mr. Dumont, whom Isabella later described as cruel and harsh. | |||
Around 1815, Isabella met and fell in love with a slave named Robert from a neighboring farm, Robert's owner forbade the relationship because he did not want his slave having children with a slave he did not own (and therefore would not own the new 'property'). Robert was savagely beaten and never returned. Soon after that, Isabella had a daughter, named Diana (1815).<ref name="Narrative">{{cite web|url= | |||
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html|title=Sojourner Truth page | |||
|work=Narrative of Sojourner Truth|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
In 1817, Isabella was forced, by her owner Dumont, to marry an older slave named Thomas. They had four children, Peter (1822), James (1823), Elizabeth (1825), and Sophia (1826).<ref name="WiH"/> | |||
During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the ]; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure ]s from the ] for formerly enslaved people (summarized as the promise of "]"). She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. As her biographer ] wrote, "At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks."<ref>{{cite web|last=National Women's History Museum|title=Sojourner Truth|date=January 24, 2019 |url=https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/sojourner-truth}}</ref> | |||
== Freedom == | |||
The state of New York began, in 1799, to legislate the abolition of slavery, which was to take place ], ]. Dumont had promised Isabella freedom a year before the state emancipation, "if she would do well and be faithful." However, he changed his mind, claiming a hand injury had made her less productive. She was infuriated. She continued working until she felt she had done enough to satisfy her sense of obligation to him by spinning 100 pounds of wool. | |||
] was unveiled in 2009 in Emancipation Hall in the ]. She is the first African American woman to have a statue in the Capitol building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollcall.com/2009/04/28/sojourner-truth-bust-unveiled-in-capitol/|title=Sojourner Truth Bust Unveiled in Capitol|website=Roll Call|date=April 28, 2009|language=en|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> In 2014, Truth was included in '']'' magazine's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time."<ref name="smith">"". The Smithsonian. November 17, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2015.</ref> | |||
Late in 1826, Isabella escaped to freedom with her infant daughter, Sophia. She had to leave her other children behind because they were not legally freed in the emancipation order until they had served as bound servants into their twenties.<ref name="WiH"/> | |||
==Early years== | |||
:''"I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right"''.<ref name="WiH"/> | |||
] | |||
Sojourner Truth once estimated that she was born between 1797 and 1800.<ref>Olive Gilbert's ''Narrative of Sojourner Truth'', p. 13.</ref> Truth was one of the 10 or 12<ref>The "ten or twelve" figure is from the section "Her brothers and sisters" in the ''Narrative'' (p. 10 in the 1998 Penguin Classics edition edited by ]); it is also used in Painter's biography, ''Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol'' (Norton, 1996), p. 11; and in Carleton Mabee with Susan Mabee Newhouse's biography, ''Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend'' (New York University Press, 1993), p. 3.</ref> children born to James and Elizabeth Baumfree (or Bomefree). Her father was an enslaved man captured from present-day ], while her mother – nicknamed "Mau-Mau Bet" – was the daughter of slaves captured from ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyslavery.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2017/07/04/sojourner-truth-identifying-her_family-and-slave-owners/|title=Sojourner Truth – Identifying Her Family and Owners|first=Ned|last=Benton|date=2017|work=New York Slavery Records Index|publisher=City University of New York|access-date=December 27, 2023}}</ref> Colonel Hardenbergh bought James and Elizabeth Baumfree from slave traders and kept their family at his estate in a big hilly area called by the Dutch name ] (just north of present-day ]), in the town of ], {{convert|95|mi}} north of New York City.<ref name="book">{{cite book|last= Whalin |first= W. Terry |title= Sojourner Truth |publisher= Barbour Publishing, Inc.|year= 1997 |isbn= 978-1-59310-629-4}}</ref> Her first language was Dutch, and she continued to speak with a Dutch accent for the rest of her life.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sojournertruthacademy.org/about-us/our-namesake | title=Sojourner Truth Academy | Our Namesake }}</ref> Charles Hardenbergh inherited his father's estate and continued to enslave people as a part of that estate's property.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute">{{cite web|url=http://www.sojournertruth.org/History/Biography/NY.htm|title=Amazing Life page|work=Sojourner Truth Institute site|access-date=December 28, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812075501/http://www.sojournertruth.org/History/Biography/NY.htm|archive-date=August 12, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
When Charles Hardenbergh died in 1806, nine-year-old Truth (known as Belle), was sold at an auction with a flock of sheep for $100 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=100|start_year=1806}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) to John Neely, near ]. Until that time, Truth spoke only Dutch,<ref name="WiH">{{cite web|url=http://www.womeninhistoryohio.com/sojourner-truth-isabella-baumfree.html|title=Women in History – Sojourner Truth|date=February 27, 2013|work=Women in History Ohio|access-date=March 10, 2017}}</ref> and after learning English, she spoke with a Dutch accent and not a stereotypical dialect.<ref>{{cite journal | |||
She found her way to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagener, a Quaker family,<ref name="MWH">{{cite web|url=http://hall.michiganwomenshalloffame.org/honoree.php?C=198&A=20~114~96~172~79~2~62~113~46~80~3~152~167~74~138~63~92~196~4~32~121~84~48~153~192~41~129~82~69~109~42~93~97~56~175~103~13~207~21~126~104~5~98~131~27~53~38~195~139~219~106~57~22~147~58~107~127~6~173~144~85~17~148~47~208~49~221~43~205~135~168~181~33~115~176~23~14~75~169~130~162~44~198~204~99~7~118~119~8~136~222~50~15~157~65~150~108~24~154~170~163~76~9~209~110~140~70~59~51~155~16~158~156~60~182~191~116~190~28~164~125~160~197~86~193~223~29~134~39~159~111~61~177~132~87~52~199~54~35~210~211~64~112~200~183~165~100~10~122~71~77~94~120~11~36~25~224~151~178~55~88~45~184~128~72~78~171~141~180~206~189~73~123~83~89~145~18~66~26~30~212~188~142~220~90~19~40~161~218~133~81~225~67~37~146~217~91~143~12~31~68~1~213~101~117~214~174~102~137~185~124~95~216~166~187 | |||
|title=Black America's Neglected Origin Stories | |||
|title=Sojourner Truth page|work=Michigan Womens Hall of Fame|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> who took her and her baby in. Isaac offered to buy her services for the remainder of the year (until the state's emancipation took effect), which her owner, Dumont, accepted for $20.<ref name="WiH"/> She resided there until the New York State Emancipation Act was approved a year later. | |||
|first=Annette | |||
|last=Gordon-Reed | |||
|date=June 2021 | |||
|journal=] | |||
|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/06/estebanico-first-africans-america/618714/}}</ref> She later described Neely as cruel and harsh, relating how he beat her daily and once even with a bundle of rods. In 1808 Neely sold her for $105 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=105|start_year=1808}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) to tavern keeper Martinus Schryver of ], who owned her for 18 months. Schryver then sold Truth in 1810 to John Dumont of ].<ref name="suny">{{cite web |url=http://www.newpaltz.edu/sojourner_truth/ |title=State University of New York at New Paltz |work=On the trail of Sojourner Truth in Ulster County, New York by Corinne Nyquist Librarian, Sojourner Truth Library |access-date=March 6, 2008}}</ref> John Dumont raped her repeatedly, and considerable tension existed between Truth and Dumont's wife, Elizabeth Waring Dumont, who harassed her and made her life more difficult.<ref name="Washington">{{Cite book | |||
|title = Sojourner Truth's America | |||
|last = Washington | |||
|first = Margaret | |||
|publisher = ] | |||
|year = 2009|isbn = 978-0252034190|location = ] | |||
|pages = 39–53|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QYf7wggeliAC}}</ref> | |||
Around 1815, Truth met and fell in love with an enslaved man named Robert from a neighboring farm. Robert's owner (], a landscape painter) forbade their relationship; he did not want the people he enslaved to have children with people he was not enslaving, because he would not own the children. One day Robert sneaked over to see Truth. When Catton and his son found him, they savagely beat Robert until Dumont finally intervened. Truth never saw Robert again after that day and he died a few years later.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html |title=The Narrative of Sojourner Truth |publisher=Digital.library.upenn.edu |access-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref> The experience haunted Truth throughout her life. Truth eventually married an older enslaved man named Thomas. She bore five children: James, her firstborn, who died in childhood; Diana (1815), the result of a rape by John Dumont; and Peter (1821), Elizabeth (1825), and Sophia ({{circa|1826}}), all born after she and Thomas united.<ref>], ''Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol'' (Norton, 1996), p. 19, and Margaret Washington, ''Sojourner Truth's America'' (Illinois, 2009), 51–52.</ref> | |||
Isabella learned that her son Peter, now 5 years old, had been sold illegally by Dumont to an owner in Alabama. With the help of Quaker activists, she took the issue to court, after months of legal proceedings, she got her son back.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
==Freedom== | |||
Isabella had a life-changing religious experience during her stay with the Van Wageners, and became a devout ]. In 1829 she moved with her son Peter to ], where she worked for Elijah Pierson, a Christian Evangelist, as a housekeeper. In 1834 she met ], also known as Matthias Kingdom, or as Prophet Matthias, and went to work for him<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> as a housekeeper. In a bizarre twist of fate, Elijah Pierson died, and Robert Matthews and Isabella were accused of stealing and poisoning Pierson. Both were acquitted and Robert Matthews moved to the west.<ref name="WiH"/> | |||
{{further|History of slavery in New York (state)}} | |||
In 1799, the State of New York began to legislate the abolition of slavery, although the process of emancipating those people enslaved in New York was not complete until July 4, 1827. Dumont had promised to grant Truth her freedom a year before the state emancipation, "if she would do well and be faithful". However, he changed his mind, claiming a hand injury had made her less productive. She was infuriated but continued working, spinning {{Convert|100|lb|kg|abbr=out}} of wool, to satisfy her sense of obligation to him.<ref name="WiH" /> | |||
Late in 1826, Truth escaped to freedom with her infant daughter, Sophia. She had to leave her other children behind because they were not legally freed in the emancipation order until they had served as bound servants into their twenties. She later said, "I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right."<ref name="WiH"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fauset |first=Arthur |date=November 26, 1933 |title=Sturdy Child-Like Faith of Sojourner Truth Made Her Leader of Race |page=14 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108536066/ |access-date=2022-08-29}}</ref> | |||
In 1839, Isabella's son, Peter, took a job on a whaling ship called the Zone of Nantucket. | |||
From 1840 to 1841, she received five letters from him. When the ship returned to port in 1842, Peter was not on board and Isabella never heard from him again.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
She found her way to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen in New Paltz, who took her and her baby in. Isaac offered to buy her services for the remainder of the year (until the state's emancipation took effect), which Dumont accepted for $20. She lived there until the New York State Emancipation Act was approved a year later.<ref name="WiH"/><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://davidrugglescenter.org/sojourner-truth/|title=Sojourner Truth|last=Andrew Pasquale|website=David Ruggles Center for History and Education|language=en-US|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> | |||
== The Spirit calls me == | |||
On ], ], Isabella changed her name to '''Sojourner Truth''' and told friends, "The Spirit calls me, and I must go." She left to make her way traveling and preaching about abolition. In 1844, she joined the ] Association of Education and Industry in ]. Founded by abolitionists, they supported women's rights and religious tolerance, as well as being pacifists. There were 210 members and they lived on 500 acres, raising livestock, running a ], a ], and a silk factory. While there, Sojourner Truth met ], ], and David Ruggles (an African-American Printer). In 1846, the group disbanded, unable to support itself.<ref name="WiH"/> In 1847, | |||
she went to work for ] as a housekeeper. He was the brother-in-law of | |||
William Lloyd Garrison. | |||
In 1849, Sojourner visited her former owner, John Dumont, before he moved west.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
Truth learned that her son Peter, then five years old, had been sold by Dumont and then illegally resold to an owner in ].<ref name=":2" /> With the help of the Van Wagenens, she took the issue to the New York Supreme Court. Using the name Isabella van Wagenen, she filed a suit against Peter's new owner Solomon Gedney. In 1828, after months of legal proceedings, she got back her son, who had been abused by those who were enslaving him.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|author=Kenneth C. Crowe II |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/State-Archives-find-documents-Sojourner-Truth-s-16816351.php |title=State Archives find Sojourner Truth's historic court case |publisher=Timesunion.com |date=February 1, 2022 |accessdate=2022-02-16}}</ref><ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> Truth became one of the first black women to go to court against a white man and win the case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Truth-Sojourner.html|title=Sojourner Truth Biography|website=Encyclopedia of World Biography|publisher=Advameg, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awlaw3/slavery.html|title=Slavery and Indentured Servants:Law Library of Congress|work=loc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://westchestermagazine.com/publications/a-timeline-of-black-history-in-westchester|title=A Timeline of Black History in Westchester|author=Nichelle Rascoe|date=January 18, 2018|accessdate=December 27, 2021|publisher=Westchester Magazine}}</ref> The court documents related to this lawsuit were rediscovered by the staff at the New York State Archives {{circa|2022}}.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
She started dictating her memoirs to her friend, Olive Gilbert, and in 1850, William Lloyd Garrison privately published her book, ''The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave''.<ref name="WiH"/> That same year she purchased a home in Northampton for $300. | |||
In 1827, she became a Christian and participated in the founding of the ] church of ].<ref>Shearer Davis Bowman, ''At the Precipice: Americans North and South during the Secession Crisis'', University of North Carolina Press, 2010, p. 252</ref> | |||
In 1851 she left Northampton to join George Thompson, an abolitionist and speaker. In May she attended the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in ] where she delivered her famous speech. ''Ain't I a Woman'', a slogan she adopted from one of the most famous abolitionist images, that of a kneeling female slave with the caption "Am I Not a Woman and a Sister".<ref name="dar">{{cite web|url=http://www.dar.org/museum/exhibitions.cfm|title=Virtual Exhibitions - artifacts of the Abolitionist movement page|work=Daughters of the American Revolution site|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref><ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
In 1829, she moved to ] and joined the ] (]).<ref>Larry G. Murphy, ''Sojourner Truth: A Biography'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. xviii </ref> | |||
:''Reminiscences by Frances D. Gage'' | |||
:''Akron Convention, Akron, Ohio, May 1851'' | |||
In 1833, she was hired by ], also known as the Prophet Matthias, leader of a sect who identified with ],<ref>Larry G. Murphy, ''Sojourner Truth: A Biography'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 35</ref> went to work for him as a housekeeper in the communal settlement, and became a member of the group.<ref name="auto">Helen Rappaport, ''Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers, Volume 1'', ABC-CLIO, 2001, p. 716</ref> In 1834, Matthews and Truth were charged with the murder of Elijah Pierson, but were acquitted due to lack of evidence and Truth's presentation of several letters confirming her reliability as a servant.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hernandez |first1=Miguel |title=The Prophet Matthias and Elijah the Tishbite |url=https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2019/12/westchester-the-prophet-matthias-and-elijah-the-tishbite/ |website=New York Almanack |date=23 December 2019 |access-date=February 7, 2022}}</ref> The trial then focused on the reported beating of his daughter of which he was found guilty and sentenced to three months and an additional thirty days for contempt of court. This event prompted Truth to leave the sect in 1835.<ref name="auto"/> Afterwards, she retired to ] until 1843. | |||
:''"There were very few women in those days who dared to "speak in meeting"; and the august teachers of the people were seemingly getting the better of us, while the boys in the galleries, and the sneerers among the pews, were hugely enjoying the discomfiture, as they supposed, of the "strong-minded." Some of the tender-skinned friends were on the point of losing dignity, and the atmosphere betokened a storm. When, slowly from her seat in the corner rose Sojourner Truth, who, till now, had scarcely lifted her head. "Don't let her speak!" gasped half a dozen in my ear. She moved slowly and solemnly to the front, laid her old bonnet at her feet, and turned her great speaking eyes to me. There was a hissing sound of disapprobation above and below. I rose and announced "Sojourner Truth," and begged the audience to keep silence for a few moments."'' | |||
In 1839, Truth's son Peter took a job on a ] called the ''Zone of ]''. From 1840 to 1841, she received three letters from him, though in his third letter he told her he had sent five. Peter said he also never received any of her letters. When the ship returned to port in 1842, Peter was not on board and Truth never heard from him again.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
:''"The tumult subsided at once, and every eye was fixed on this almost Amazon form, which stood nearly six feet high, head erect, and eyes piercing the upper air like one in a dream. At her first word there was a profound hush. She spoke in deep tones, which, though not loud, reached every ear in the house, and away through the throng at the doors and windows."''<ref name="WomenHistory">{{cite web|url=http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/dubois/classes/995/98F/doc7.html|title=Sojourner Truth page|work=Women History|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
==The result of freedom== | |||
From 1851 to 1853, she worked with Marius Robinson, the editor of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Bugle, travelling around the state speaking. In 1853, she spoke at a suffragist "mob convention" at the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City and she met ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> In 1856, Sojourner traveled to ], ], to speak to Friends of Human Progress arranged by a ] ] ]. And in 1858, someone accused her of being a man while she was speaking in Indiana, so she opened her blouse and revealed her breasts.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/><ref name="WiH"/> | |||
The year 1843 was a turning point for her. On June 1, Pentecost Sunday, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She chose the name because she heard the Spirit of God calling on her to preach the truth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth|title=Sojourner Truth|website=National Women's History Museum|language=en|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/sojourner_truth.html|title=This Far by Faith . Sojourner Truth {{!}} PBS|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> She told her friends: "The Spirit calls me, and I must go", and left to make her way traveling and preaching about the abolition of slavery.<ref> | |||
{{cite book |title=Sojourner Truth – A Life, A Symbol |last=Painter |first=Nell Irvin |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |location=New York |date=1996 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/sojournertruthli00pain |url-access=registration |access-date=September 14, 2017 |isbn=978-0393027396 }}</ref> Taking along only a few possessions in a pillowcase, she traveled north, working her way up through the Connecticut River Valley, towards Massachusetts.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
At that time, Truth began attending ] Adventist camp meetings. Millerites followed the teachings of ] of New York, who preached that Jesus would appear in 1843–1844, bringing about the end of the world. Many in the Millerite community greatly appreciated Truth's preaching and singing, and she drew large crowds when she spoke.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Truth, Sojourner (ca. 1797–1883)|date=2017|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion|publisher=ABC_CLIO|edition=2nd|isbn=978-1440839870|last=Benowitz|first=June Melby|pages=603–604}}</ref> Like many others ] when the anticipated second coming did not arrive, Truth distanced herself from her Millerite friends for a time.<ref name="Cervenak">{{cite journal | url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/300136947/ | title=Gender, Class, And the Performance of a Black (Anti) Enlightenment- Resistances of David Walker and Sojourner Truth | author=Cervenak, Sarah Jane | journal=Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International | year=2012 | volume=1 | issue=1 | pages=68–86 | doi=10.1353/pal.2012.0010| s2cid=142842646 }}</ref><ref name="Painter's Introduction">{{cite journal | url=https://sample-2b258f72266e35a7524e8db86daaeeec.read.overdrive.com/?p=narrative-of-sojourner | title=Introduction: Narrative of Sojourner Truth | author=Painter, Nell Irvin | journal=Narrative of Sojourner Truth | year=1998}}</ref> | |||
In 1844, she joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in ].<ref name=":1" /> Founded by abolitionists, the organization supported ] and ] as well as ]. There were, in its four-and-a-half-year history, a total of 240 members, though no more than 120 at any one time.<ref>Clark, Christopher. "The Communitarian Moment: The Radical Challenge of the Northampton Association", Cornell University Press, 1995, p. 2. {{ISBN|0-8014-2730-4}}</ref> They lived on {{convert|470|acres|km2}}, raising livestock, running a ], a ], and a silk factory. Truth lived and worked in the community and oversaw the laundry, supervising both men and women.<ref name=":1" /> While there, Truth met ], ], and ]. Encouraged by the community, Truth delivered her first anti-slavery speech that year. | |||
In 1845, she joined the household of ], the brother-in-law of William Lloyd Garrison. In 1846, the Northampton Association of Education and Industry disbanded, unable to support itself.<ref name="WiH" /> In 1849, she visited John Dumont before he moved west.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute" /> | |||
Truth started dictating her memoirs to her friend Olive Gilbert and in 1850 William Lloyd Garrison privately published her book, ''The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a Northern Slave''.<ref name="WiH" /> That same year, she purchased a home in Florence for $300 and spoke at the first ] in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1854, with proceeds from sales of the narrative and '']'' captioned, "I sell the shadow to support the substance", she paid off the mortgage held by her friend from the community, Samuel L. Hill.<ref name="Grigsby">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spckCgAAQBAJ&q=%22I+sell+the+shadow+to+support+the+substance%2C%22&pg=PT186 | title=Enduring Truths: Sojourner's Shadows and Substance | publisher=University of Chicago Press | author=Grigsby, Darcy Grimaldo | year=2015 | location=Chicago | pages=Chapter 5 | isbn=978-0226257389}}</ref><ref name="King">{{cite book | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTjhCgAAQBAJ&q=%22I+sell+the+shadow+to+support+the+substance%2C%22&pg=PA26 | chapter=I am not here|title= Existentialist Thought in African American Literature before 1940 | publisher=Lexington Books |first= Jeannine |last= King |editor-first= Melvin |editor-last= Hill | year=2015 | page=26 | isbn=978-1498514811}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> | |||
=="Ain't I a Woman?"== | =="Ain't I a Woman?"== | ||
{{Further|Ain't I a Woman?}} | |||
Sojourner Truth gave her famous speech (alternatively known as ]) in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention.<ref name="Suffragist">{{cite web|url=http://www.suffragist.com/docs.htm|title=Sojourner Truth Page|work=American Suffragist Movement|accessmonthday=December 29|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
In 1851, Truth joined ], an abolitionist and speaker, on a lecture tour through central and western New York State. In May, she attended the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in ], where she delivered her famous extemporaneous speech on women's rights, later known as "]". Her speech demanded equal human rights for all women. She also spoke as a former enslaved woman, combining calls for abolitionism with women's rights, and drawing from her strength as a laborer to make her equal rights claims. | |||
(The speech has been revised from the 19th century dialect style it is often recorded in and several different versions exist.) | |||
The convention was organized by ] and ], who both were present when Truth spoke. Different versions of Truth's words have been recorded, with the first one published a month later in the ''Anti-Slavery Bugle'' by Rev. ], the newspaper owner and editor who was in the audience.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ |title=Women's Rights Convention. Sojourner Truth. |page=160 |date=June 21, 1851 |work=Anti-Slavery Bugle |via=''Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers'', ] |access-date=May 9, 2017 }}</ref> Robinson's recounting of the speech included no instance of the question "Ain't I a Woman?", nor did any of the other newspapers reporting of her speech at the time. Twelve years later, in May 1863, Gage published another, very different, version. In it, Truth's speech pattern appeared to have characteristics of Black slaves located in the southern United States, and the speech was vastly different from the one Robinson had reported. Gage's version of the speech became the most widely circulated version, and is known as "Ain't I a Woman?" because that question was repeated four times.<ref>Craig, Maxine Leeds. ''Ain't I A Beauty Queen: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race'', Oxford University Press 2002, p. 7. {{ISBN|0-19-515262-X}}</ref> It is highly unlikely that Truth's own speech pattern was like this, as she was born and raised in New York, and she spoke only upper New York State low-Dutch until she was nine years old.<ref name="Mabee" /> | |||
{{cquote|Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about? | |||
In the version recorded by Rev. Marius Robinson, Truth said:{{blockquote|I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. ]''] I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart – why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, – for we can't take more than our pint'll hold. The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the Bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sojourner Truth Project|url=https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/|work=www.thesojournertruthproject.com|access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref>}}In contrast to Robinson's report, Gage's 1863 version included Truth saying her 13 children were sold away from her into slavery. Truth is widely believed to have had five children, with one sold away, and was never known to boast more children.<ref name="Mabee">Mabee, Carleton; Susan Mabee New house. ''Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend'', NYU Press, 1995, pp. 67–82. {{ISBN|0-8147-5525-9}}</ref> Gage's 1863 recollection of the convention conflicts with her own report directly after the convention: Gage wrote in 1851 that Akron in general and the press, in particular, were largely friendly to the woman's rights convention, but in 1863 she wrote that the convention leaders were fearful of the "mobbish" opponents.<ref name="Mabee" /> Other eyewitness reports of Truth's speech told a calm story, one where all faces were "beaming with joyous gladness" at the session where Truth spoke; that not "one discordant note" interrupted the harmony of the proceedings.<ref name="Mabee" /> In contemporary reports, Truth was warmly received by the convention-goers, the majority of whom were long-standing abolitionists, friendly to progressive ideas of race and civil rights.<ref name="Mabee" /> In Gage's 1863 version, Truth was met with hisses, with voices calling to prevent her from speaking.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Stanton|editor-first1=Elizabeth Cady|editor-link1=Elizabeth Cady Stanton|editor-last2=Anthony|editor-first2=Susan B.|editor-link2=Susan B. Anthony|editor-last3=Gage|editor-first3=Matilda Joslyn|editor-link3=Matilda Joslyn Gage|title=History of Woman Suffrage| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O4kEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA115 |access-date=December 3, 2014 |edition=2|volume=1|year=1889|publisher=Susan B. Anthony|location=Rochester, N.Y|pages=115–116|lccn=93838249}}</ref> Other interracial gatherings of black and white abolitionist women had in fact been met with violence, including the burning of ] | |||
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! 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? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? | |||
According to Frances Gage's recount in 1863, Truth argued, "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody helps ''me'' any best place. ''And ain't I a woman?"''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/255207?webSiteCode=SLN_AMHIST&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f255207&token=01CE12D3C06E488B455F883D9DE91E77&casError=False|title=Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? speech (1851)|website=ABC-CLIO|access-date=October 26, 2017}}{{dead link|date=June 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" showed the lack of recognition that black women received during this time and whose lack of recognition will continue to be seen long after her time. "Black women, of course, were virtually invisible within the protracted campaign for woman suffrage", wrote ], supporting Truth's argument that nobody gives her "any best place"; and not just her, but black women in general.<ref>{{Cite book|title=]|last=Davis|first=Angela|publisher=Vintage Books A Division of Random House|year=1981|page=140}}</ref> | |||
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full? | |||
Over the next 10 years, Truth spoke before dozens, perhaps hundreds, of audiences. From 1851 to 1853, Truth worked with Marius Robinson, the editor of the Ohio ''Anti-Slavery Bugle'', and traveled around that state speaking. In 1853, she spoke at a ] "mob convention" at the ] in New York City; that year she also met ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> In 1856, she traveled to ], to speak to a group called the ]. | |||
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. | |||
==Other speeches== | |||
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! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them. | |||
]'' and ]s, such as this one, to raise money for her work. The text above her name reads "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Creswell |first1=Marilyn |title=Sojourner Truth and the Power of Copyright Registration |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2020/12/sojourner-truth-and-the-power-of-copyright-registration/ |website=Library of Congress |date=December 8, 2020 |access-date=March 1, 2022}}</ref><ref name="King"/>]] | |||
'''Northampton Camp Meeting''' – 1844, Northampton, Massachusetts: At a ] where she was participating as an itinerant preacher, a band of "wild young men" disrupted the camp meeting, refused to leave, and threatened to burn down the tents. Truth caught the sense of fear pervading the worshipers and hid behind a trunk in her tent, thinking that since she was the only black person present, the mob would attack her first. However, she reasoned with herself and resolved to do something: as the noise of the mob increased and a female preacher was "trembling on the preachers' stand", Truth went to a small hill and began to sing "in her most fervid manner, with all the strength of her most powerful voice, the hymn on the resurrection of Christ". Her song, "It was Early in the Morning", gathered the rioters to her and quieted them. They urged her to sing, preach, and pray for their entertainment. After singing songs and preaching for about an hour, Truth bargained with them to leave after one final song. The mob agreed and left the camp meeting.<ref>Sojourner Truth, ''Narrative of Sojourner Truth; A Bondswoman of Olden Time, with a History of Her Labors and Correspondence Drawn from her "Book of Life"'' (New York: Oxford UP, 1991).</ref> | |||
'''Abolitionist Convention''' – 1840s, Boston, Massachusetts: ] invited Sojourner Truth to give a speech at an annual antislavery convention. Wendell Phillips was supposed to speak after her, which made her nervous since he was known as such a good orator. So Truth sang a song, "I am Pleading for My people", which was her own original composition sung to the tune of ].<ref>"Sojourner Truth. An Interesting Talk with this Famous Colored Woman", Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean, August 13, 1879.</ref> | |||
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.|cquote<ref name="Fordham">{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.html|title=Sojourner Truth Page|work=Fordham University|accessmonthday=December 30|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
::--Sojourner Truth | |||
'''Mob Convention''' – September 7, 1853: At the convention, young men greeted her with "a perfect storm", hissing and groaning. In response, Truth said, "You may hiss as much as you please, but women will get their rights anyway. You can't stop us, neither".<ref name=Mabee/> Sojourner, like other public speakers, often adapted her speeches to how the audience was responding to her. In her speech, Sojourner speaks out for women's rights. She incorporates religious references in her speech, particularly the story of ]. She then goes on to say that, just as women in scripture, women today are fighting for their rights. Moreover, Sojourner scolds the crowd for all their hissing and rude behavior, reminding them that God says to "Honor thy father and thy mother".<ref name=Montgomery>{{cite book|last=Montgomery|first=Janey|title=A Comparative Analysis of the Rhetoric of Two Negro Women Orators – Sojourner Truth and Frances E. Watkins Harper|year=1968|publisher=Fort Hays Kansas State College|location=Hays, Kansas|pages=25–103}}</ref> | |||
== On a mission == | |||
Sojourner sold her home in Northampton in 1857, and bought a house in Harmonia, Michigan, just west of ].<ref name="WiH"/> Sojourner's family in 1860, was listed by a Calhoun County, Michigan census as Elizabeth Banks, age 35, grandsons Sammy Banks, age 8 and James "Colvin" (Caldwell), age 16.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
], which she sold to raise money (see inscription).]] | |||
<!--] same image but not as CdV> | |||
<!-- Image with questionable copyright removed: --> | |||
During the ], she helped recruit black troops for the ]. James Caldwell, her grandson, enlisted in the 54th Regiment, Massachusetts. In 1864 she was employed by the National Freedman's Relief Association in Washington, D.C., where she worked diligently to better conditions for African-Americans. In October of that year she met (then ]) ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
In 1865, while working at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., she rode in the streetcars to help force ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
'''American Equal Rights Association''' – May 9–10, 1867: Her speech was addressed to the ], and divided into three sessions. Sojourner was received with loud cheers instead of hisses, now that she had a better-formed reputation established. ''The Call'' had advertised her name as one of the main convention speakers.<ref name=Montgomery/> For the first part of her speech, she spoke mainly about the rights of black women. Sojourner argued that because the push for equal rights had led to black men winning new rights, now was the best time to give black women the rights they deserve too. Throughout her speech she kept stressing that "we should keep things going while things are stirring" and fears that once the fight for colored rights settles down, it would take a long time to warm people back up to the idea of colored women's having equal rights.<ref name=Montgomery/> | |||
In 1867, she moved from Harmonia to Battle Creek. In 1868, she traveled to western New York and visited with ], and continued traveling all over the east coast. When she was invited to speak at a meeting in Florence, Massachusetts, she had just returned from a very tiring trip. When she was called upon to speak, she stood up and said, | |||
In the second sessions of Sojourner's speech, she used a story from the Bible to help strengthen her argument for equal rights for women. She ended her argument by accusing men of being self-centered, saying: "Man is so selfish that he has got women's rights and his own too, and yet he won't give women their rights. He keeps them all to himself." For the final session of Sojourner's speech, the center of her attention was mainly on women's right to vote. Sojourner told her audience that she owned her own house, as did other women, and must, therefore, pay taxes. Nevertheless, they were still unable to vote because they were women. Black women who were enslaved were made to do hard manual work, such as building roads. Sojourner argues that if these women were able to perform such tasks, then they should be allowed to vote because surely voting is easier than building roads. | |||
:'' "Children, I have come here like the rest of you, to hear what I have to say."''<ref name="SJBIO">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9840/sojourn.html|title=Sojourner Truth page|work=Sojourner Truth Biography|accessmonthday=December 28|accessyear=2006}}</ref> | |||
In 1870, she asked the Federal Government to grant land, in the west, to former slaves, a project she worked on for seven years, with no results. While in Washington, D.C. she met with President ] in the ]. | |||
'''Eighth Anniversary of Negro Freedom''' – New Year's Day, 1871: On this occasion the Boston papers related that "...seldom is there an occasion of more attraction or greater general interest. Every available space of sitting and standing room was crowded".<ref name=Montgomery/> She starts off her speech by giving a little background about her own life. Sojourner recounts how her mother told her to pray to God that she may have good masters and mistresses. She goes on to retell how her masters were not good to her, about how she was whipped for not understanding English, and how she would question God why he had not made her masters be good to her. Sojourner admits to the audience that she had once hated white people, but she says once she met her final master, Jesus, she was filled with love for everyone. Once enslaved folks were emancipated, she tells the crowd she knew her prayers had been answered. | |||
In 1872, Sojourner returned to Battle Creek, she attempted to vote in the U.S. Presidential election for Grant, but was turned away at the polling place.<ref name="Suffragist"/> | |||
That last part of Sojourner's speech brings in her main focus. Some freed enslaved people were living on government aid at that time, paid for by taxpayers. Sojourner announces that this is not any better for those colored people than it is for the members of her audience. She then proposes that black people are given their own land. Because a portion of the South's population contained rebels that were unhappy with the abolishment of slavery, that region of the United States was not well suited for colored people. She goes on to suggest that colored people be given land out west to build homes and prosper on. | |||
'''Second Annual Convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association''' – Boston, 1871: In a brief speech, Truth argued that women's rights were essential, not only to their own well-being, but "for the benefit of the whole creation, not only the women, but all the men on the face of the earth, for they were the mother of them".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Votes for Women|last=Baker|first=Jean|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|location=New York|page=52}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> | |||
Sojourner spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Not everyone welcomed her preaching and lectures, but she had many friends and staunch support among many influential people at the time, including ], ], Mrs. ], ], ], ], ], and ]."<ref name="SJBIO"/> | |||
==On a mission== | |||
Sojourner died on November 26, 1883 at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan. Her remains were buried at there at Oak Hill Cemetery beside other family members. Her last words were "be a follower of the Lord Jesus."<ref name="Lastwords">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/sojourner_truth.html|title=People of Faith: Sojourner Truth|work=Public Broadcasting Service|accessmonthday=February 22|accessyear=2007}}</ref> | |||
Truth dedicated her life to fighting for a more equal society for African Americans and for women, including abolition, voting rights, and property rights. She was at the vanguard of efforts to address intersecting social justice issues. As historian Martha Jones wrote, "hen Black women like Truth spoke of rights, they mixed their ideas with challenges to slavery and to racism. Truth told her own stories, ones that suggested that a women's movement might take another direction, one that championed the broad interests of all humanity."<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Martha|date=September 10, 2020<!--checked vs source code of ref webpage, 2021/12/26-->|title='I Am Women's Rights': How Sojourner Truth Advocated for Black Women|url=https://theattic.jezebel.com/i-am-womens-rights-how-sojourner-truth-advocated-for-b-1844948277|access-date=March 29, 2021|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502042404/https://theattic.jezebel.com/i-am-womens-rights-how-sojourner-truth-advocated-for-b-1844948277|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
Truth{{snd}}along with ] and ], ], Marius Robinson, and ]{{snd}}reorganized the ] in 1853 in ].<ref name="Coggan">{{Cite journal |last=Coggan |first=Blanche |date=1964 |title=The Underground Railroad In Michigan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44174961 |journal=Negro History Bulletin |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=125–126 |jstor=44174961 |issn=0028-2529 }}</ref> The state society was founded in 1836 in ].<ref name="Mull">{{Cite web |last=Mull |first=Carol E. |title=Signal of Liberty |url=https://aadl.org/signalofliberty |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Ann Arbor District Library}}</ref> | |||
== Cultural/modern references == | |||
* 1862 -- ]'s statue, The Libyan Sibyl", inspired by Sojourner Truth, won an award at the London World Exhibition.<ref name="WiH"/> | |||
* 1892 -- Albion artist Frank Courter is commissioned to paint the meeting between Truth and ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
* 1975 -- Philosopher ] uses Truth's quotes in his book ''Animal Liberation ''<ref>See . Accessed 4 December 2006.</ref> | |||
* 1981 -- Truth is inducted into the ] in Seneca Falls, New York.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
* 1983 -- Truth is in the first group of women inducted into the ] in Lansing.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
* 1986 -- U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring Sojourner Truth.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
* 1997 -- The ] ] mission's robotic rover was named "Sojourner" after her.<ref>NASA, . Accessed 4 December 2006.</ref> | |||
* The leftist group the ] is named after her. | |||
* The ] commemorates her as a renewer of society on March 10, with ]. | |||
In 1856, Truth bought a neighboring lot in Northampton, but she did not keep the new property for long. On September 3, 1857, she sold all her possessions, new and old, to Daniel Ives and moved to ], where she rejoined former members of the Millerite movement who had formed the ]. Antislavery movements had begun early in Michigan and Ohio. Here, she also joined the nucleus of the Michigan abolitionists, the ], some who she had already met at national conventions.<ref name="Washington"/> From 1857 to 1867 Truth lived in the village of Harmonia, Michigan, a ] utopia. She then moved into nearby Battle Creek, Michigan, living at her home on 38 College St. until her death in 1883.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/life/2019/01/16/rise-and-fall-harmonia-battle-creeks-spiritualist-utopia/2214809002/|title=The rise and fall of Harmonia, a Spiritualist utopia and home to Sojourner Truth|last=Buckley|first=Nick|website=Battle Creek Enquirer|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2020}}</ref> According to the 1860 ], her household in Harmonia included her daughter, Elizabeth Banks (age 35), and her grandsons James Caldwell (misspelled as "Colvin"; age 16) and Sammy Banks (age 8).<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
==Books== | |||
*''Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave'' (1850). | |||
**Dover Publications 1997 edition: ISBN 0-486-29899-X | |||
**Penguin Classics 1998 edition: ISBN 0-14-043678-2. Introduction & notes by Nell Irvin Painter. | |||
**University of Pennsylvania (] format, one chapter per page) | |||
**University of Virginia (html format, 207 kB, entire book on one page) | |||
*Carleton Mabee with Susan Mabee Newhouse, ''Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend'' (New York and London: New York University Press, 1993) ISBN 0-8147-5525-9 | |||
*Nell Irvin Painter, ''Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol'' (New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1996) ISBN 0-393-31708-0 | |||
*Erlene Stetson and Linda David, ''Glorying in Tribulation: The Lifework of Sojourner Truth'' (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1994) ISBN 0-87013-337-3 | |||
Truth helped recruit black troops for the ] during the ]. Her grandson, James Caldwell, enlisted in the ]. In 1864, Truth was employed by the National Freedman's Relief Association in Washington, D.C., where she worked diligently to improve conditions for African-Americans. In October of that year, she was invited to the ] by President ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Sojourner Truth |url=https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sojourner-truth |website=History.com |access-date=April 4, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In 1865, while working at the ] in Washington, Truth rode in the streetcars to help force their ].<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
== References == | |||
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<references /> | |||
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Truth is credited with writing a song, "]", for the ]; it was said to be composed during the war and sung by her in Detroit and Washington, D.C. It is sung to the tune of "]" or "]".<ref name="DocSouth">{{cite web |url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/truth84/truth84.html |title=Documenting the American South |work=Narrative of Sojourner Truth |access-date=November 7, 2007}}</ref> Although Truth claimed to have written the words, it has been disputed (see "]"). | |||
== External links == | |||
{{wikisource author}} | |||
* {{gutenberg author| id=Truth+Sojourner | name=Sojourner Truth}} | |||
* ] Sojourner Truth Library | |||
* | |||
In 1867, Truth moved from Harmonia to Battle Creek. In 1868, she traveled to western New York and visited with ], and continued traveling all over the ]. At a speaking engagement in Florence, Massachusetts, after she had just returned from a very tiring trip, when Truth was called upon to speak she stood up and said, "Children, I have come here like the rest of you, to hear what I have to say."<ref name="SJBIO">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9840/sojourn.html|title=Sojourner Truth page|work=Sojourner Truth Biography |access-date=December 28, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051222032347/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9840/sojourn.html|archive-date=December 22, 2005}}</ref> | |||
* form of ] | |||
* at ] ''Learning to Give'' site | |||
<!-- *http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.html --> | |||
In 1870, Truth tried to secure ]s from the ] to former enslaved people, a project she pursued for seven years without success. While in Washington, D.C., she had a meeting with President ] in the ]. In 1872, she returned to Battle Creek, became active in Grant's presidential re-election campaign, and even tried to vote on Election Day, but was turned away at the polling place.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
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Truth spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Not everyone welcomed her preaching and lectures, but she had many friends and staunch support among many influential people at the time, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="SJBIO"/> | |||
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==Illness and death== | |||
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] | |||
http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/truth.htm --> | |||
Truth was cared for by two of her daughters in the last years of her life. Several days before Sojourner Truth died, a reporter came from the ''Grand Rapids Eagle'' to interview her. "Her face was drawn and emaciated and she was apparently suffering great pain. Her eyes were very bright and mind alert although it was difficult for her to talk."<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute"/> | |||
{{Persondata | |||
|NAME=Truth, Sojourner | |||
Truth died early in the morning on November 26, 1883, at her Battle Creek home.<ref>{{cite web|title=Today in History – November 26|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-26/|website=The Library of Congress|access-date=November 25, 2017|language=en}}</ref> On November 28, 1883, her funeral was held at the ] officiated by its pastor, the Reverend Reed Stuart. Some of the prominent citizens of Battle Creek acted as pall-bearers; nearly one thousand people attended the service. Truth was buried in the city's Oak Hill Cemetery.<ref>Titus, Frances. "In Memoriam". '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118163236/http://www.mocavo.com/Narrative-of-Sojourner-Truth-a-Bondswoman-of-Olden-Time-Emancipated-by-the-New-York-Legislature-in-the-Early-Part-of-the-Present-Century-With-a-History-of-Her-Labors-and-Correspondence-Drawn-From-Her-Book-of-Life-Also-a-Memorial-Chapter-Giving-the-Particulars-of-Her-Last-Sickness-and-Death/490987/336#337 |date=November 18, 2015 }}''. 1884 edition, pp. 7, 9–10.</ref> | |||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Isabella Baumfree | |||
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=], ], ] | |||
Frederick Douglass offered a eulogy for her in Washington, D.C. "Venerable for age, distinguished for insight into human nature, remarkable for independence and courageous self-assertion, devoted to the welfare of her race, she has been for the last forty years an object of respect and admiration to social reformers everywhere."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Russell|first=Dick|title=Black Genius: Inspirational Portraits of African-American Leaders|date=2009|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Inc.|isbn=978-1-60239-369-1|page=419|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunn|first=John F.|date=January 19, 1986|title=Stamps; Human Rights Activist Honored|language=en-US|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/19/arts/stamps-human-rights-activist-honored.html|access-date=September 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
|DATE OF BIRTH=Circa ] | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
== Legacy == | |||
|DATE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
|PLACE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
=== Monuments and statues === | |||
}} | |||
There have been many memorials erected in honor of Sojourner Truth, commemorating her life and work. These include memorial plaques, busts, and full-sized statues. | |||
==== Michigan ==== | |||
The first historical marker honoring Truth was established in ] in 1935, when a stone memorial was placed in Stone History Tower, in Monument Park. The State of Michigan further recognized her legacy by naming highway ] in ] the Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway, running from the county line south of ] to Morgan Road in ], northeast of Battle Creek.<ref>{{cite web |author = ] |title = 250.1028 'Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway' |date = 2001 |publisher = ] |url = https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-250-1028 |access-date = July 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Barnett |first = LeRoy |year = 2004 |title = A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan |location = Allegan Forest, Michigan |publisher = Priscilla Press |page = 201 |isbn = 1-886167-24-9 |oclc = 57425393 }}</ref> | |||
1999 marked the estimated bicentennial of Sojourner's birth. To honor the occasion, a larger-than-life sculpture of Sojourner Truth<ref>{{cite journal|year=1995|title=Sojourner Truth|url=https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/mhc_mitten_sojourner-truth_308425_7.pdf|journal=Eos Transactions|volume=76|issue=30|page=298|bibcode=1995EOSTr..76R.298.|doi=10.1029/95eo00179|access-date=September 18, 2017 |last1=Anonymous }}</ref> by ] was added to Monument Park in Battle Creek. The 12-foot tall Sojourner monument is cast in bronze.<ref>{{cite web|title=Monument Park|url=http://www.heritagebattlecreek.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132&Itemid=73|access-date=September 18, 2017|publisher=Heritagebattlecreek.org}}</ref> | |||
==== Ohio ==== | |||
In 1981, an Ohio Historical Marker was unveiled on the site of the Universalist "Old Stone" Church in ] where Sojourner Truth gave her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech on May 29, 1851.<ref>{{cite web|title=Site of Sojourner Truth's 'Ain't I A Woman' Speech|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/site-of-sojourner-truths-aint-i-woman-speech|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite sign |author=Remarkable Ohio |url=https://remarkableohio.org/marker/6-77-site-of-sojourner-truths-speech-on-womens-rights/ |title=6-77 Site of Sojourner Truth's Speech on Women's Rights |location=] |publisher=] |date=1981 |access-date=July 20, 2024 |medium=Ohio Historical Marker}}</ref> Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza, which includes a statue of her by sculptor and Akron native Woodrow Nash, opened in Akron in 2024.<ref>{{cite news|first=Kerry|last=Clawson|title=Akron sculptor inspired by Sojourner Truth<!-- using print edition title -->|url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/arts/2024/07/19/sojourner-truth-statue-created-by-akron-native-woodrow-nash/74238393007/|work=]|date=July 19, 2024|access-date=July 20, 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Megan|last=Becka|title=Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza, statue unveiled in Akron|url=https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2024/05/sojourner-truth-legacy-plaza-statue-unveiled-in-akron.html|work=]|date=May 30, 2024|access-date=July 22, 2024}}</ref> | |||
==== New York ==== | |||
In 1862, American sculptor ] completed a marble statue, inspired by Sojourner Truth, named ''The Libyan Sibyl''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stowe|first=Harriet Beecher|date=February 3, 2012|title=Sojourner Truth, The Libyan Sibyl|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/02/sojourner-truth-the-libyan-sibyl/308872/|access-date=February 11, 2020|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US}}</ref> The work won an award at the ]. The original sculpture was gifted to the ], in New York City, by the Erving Wolf Foundation in 1978. | |||
In 1983, a plaque honoring Sojourner Truth was unveiled in front of the historic Ulster County Courthouse in ]. The plaque was given by the Sojourner Truth Day Committee to commemorate the centennial of her death.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=March 12, 2019|title=Sculptor chosen for Sojourner Truth monument at Walkway Over the Hudson|url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/sculptor-chosen-for-sojourner-truth-monument-at-walkway-over-the/article_da203836-44da-11e9-b961-1b51f6be6070.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323201634/https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/sculptor-chosen-for-sojourner-truth-monument-at-walkway-over-the/article_da203836-44da-11e9-b961-1b51f6be6070.html|archive-date=March 23, 2021|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Daily Freeman|language=en}}</ref> | |||
In 1990, New York Governor ] presented a two-foot statue of Sojourner Truth, made by New York sculptor ], to Nelson Mandela during his visit to New York City.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=April 5, 2016|title=Inge Hardison, Actress and Sculptor of Heroes, Dies at 102|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/arts/design/inge-hardison-actress-and-sculptor-of-heroes-dies-at-102.html|access-date=February 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
In 1998, on the 150th anniversary of the ], a life-sized, terracotta statue of Truth by artists A. Lloyd Lillie, Jr., and Victoria Guerina was unveiled at the ] visitor center. Although Truth did not attend the convention, the statue marked Truth's famous 1851 speech in Akron, Ohio, and recognized her important role in the fight for women's suffrage. | |||
In 2013, a bronze statue of Truth as an 11-year-old girl was installed at ], where Truth lived for several years while still enslaved. The sculpture was created by New Paltz, New York, sculptor ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner Truth in Ulster County|url=http://www2.newpaltz.edu/sojourner_truth/|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=www2.newpaltz.edu}}</ref> | |||
In 2015, the Klyne Esopus Museum installed a historical marker in ] commemorating Truth's walk to freedom in 1826. She walked about 14 miles from Esopus, up what is now Floyd Ackert Road, to Rifton, New York.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sojourner Truth marker to be unveiled Aug. 3 in West Park |url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2015/07/19/sojourner-truth-marker-to-be-unveiled-aug-3-in-west-park/ |access-date=March 1, 2022 |work=Daily Freeman |date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> | |||
In 2020, a statue was unveiled at the ] park in ]. It was created by Yonkers sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, commissioned by the New York State Women's Suffrage Commission.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner Truth|url=https://parks.ny.gov/history/women/|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> The statue includes text, braille, and symbols. The folds of her skirt act as a canvas to depict Sojourner's life experiences, including images of a young enslaved mother comforting her child, a slavery sale sign, images of her abolitionist peers, and a poster for a women's suffrage march.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 26, 2020|title=Sojourner Truth Statue Unveiled at Ulster Welcome Center Plaza|url=https://walkway.org/sojourner-truth-statue-unveiled-at-walkways-ulster-welcome-center-plaza/|website=Walkway Over the Hudson}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzbG9KtvtHE&feature=youtu.be |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nzbG9KtvtHE| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Have you met Sojourner Truth?|date=August 20, 2020|publisher=NY State Parks|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=August 26, 2020|title=Sojourner Truth statue unveiled at Walkway Over the Hudson|work=Daily Freeman|url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/sojourner-truth-statue-unveiled-at-walkway-over-the-hudson/article_9e49985e-e7c5-11ea-bfcd-d7445afb7d84.html|access-date=August 28, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230024629/https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/sojourner-truth-statue-unveiled-at-walkway-over-the-hudson/article_9e49985e-e7c5-11ea-bfcd-d7445afb7d84.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAH0tidNDkc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/FAH0tidNDkc| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Sojourner Truth Statue Unveiled at Walkway Over the Hudson in Highland, NY|date=August 26, 2020|publisher=Daily Freeman|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | |||
On August 26, 2020, on the 100th anniversary of the passage of the ], a statue honoring Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony was unveiled in ] in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|title=Central Park unveils statue of women's rights pioneers – its first statue of real-life women|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/central-park-unveils-statue-womens-rights-pioneers-equality-day/|access-date=August 28, 2020|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=August 26, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref> The sculpture, entitled "]", was created by American artist ]. It is the first sculpture in Central Park to depict historical women. A statue to the fictional character ] is the only other female figure depicted in the park.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Eric |last1=Levenson |first2=Tawanda |last2=Scott Sambou |first3=Deborah |last3=Brunswick|title=Central Park is unveiling a statue of women's rights pioneers. It's the park's first statue of real women|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/central-park-womens-rights-statue/index.html|access-date=August 28, 2020|website=CNN|language=en}}</ref> Original plans for the memorial included only Stanton and Anthony, but after critics raised objections to the lack of inclusion of women of color, Truth was added to the design.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 21, 2019|title=Sculptor crafting first women's statue for Central Park|url=https://apnews.com/c38e222130264408ab047bbcddca438c|access-date=February 14, 2020|agency=AP News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Thompson|first=Erin|authorlink=Erin L. Thompson|date=August 25, 2020|title=The Problem With NYC's New Women's Rights Monument|journal=The Nation|language=en-US|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/nyc-suffrage-central-park/|access-date=August 28, 2020|issn=0027-8378}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Martha S.|title=Perspective {{!}} How New York's new monument whitewashes the women's rights movement|language=en-US|newspaper=]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/03/22/how-new-yorks-new-monument-whitewashes-womens-rights-movement/|access-date=August 28, 2020|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> | |||
On February 28, 2022, New York Governor ] dedicated ] near the site of her birthplace.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doxsey |first1=Patricia R. |title=New state park in Kingston, town of Ulster named after Sojourner Truth |url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2022/02/28/new-state-park-in-kingston-town-of-ulster-named-after-sojourner-truth/ |access-date=March 1, 2022 |work=Daily Freeman |date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> | |||
==== California ==== | |||
In 1999, ''Sojourner'', a Mexican limestone statue of Sojourner Truth by sculptor ], was unveiled in ], California on the corner of K and 13th Street.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barrow|first=Genoa|date=October 20, 1999|title='Sojourner' Sculptor Honored: Sojourner Truth was 'a Heroine of Mine' Artist Elizabeth Catlett Says|work=Sacramento Observer|via=ProQuest}}</ref> It was vandalized in 2013, where it was found smashed into pieces.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Antonio |title=Local Artists Join with Arts Organization to Restore Sculpture by Black Artist |url=https://sacobserver.com/2013/05/local-artists-join-with-arts-organization-in-effort-to-restore-sculpture-by-black-artist/ |access-date=September 29, 2020 |agency=] |date=May 6, 2013}}</ref> | |||
A bronze statue by San Diego sculptor ] was dedicated on January 22, 2015, on the campus of the ] College of Law, of the ], California. The artist donated the sculpture to the college.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 1, 2019|title=Sojourner Truth Statue in San Diego|url=https://wanderwomenproject.com/places/sojourner-truth-statue-in-san-diego/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=WWP|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=January 23, 2015|title=Enriching Our Campus Climate through Art|url=http://chancellor.ucsd.edu/chancellor-khosla/blog/enriching-our-campus-climate-through-art|access-date=January 25, 2015}}</ref> | |||
==== Massachusetts ==== | |||
In 2002, the Sojourner Truth Memorial statue by Oregon sculptor Thomas "Jay" Warren was installed in Florence, Massachusetts, in a small park located on Pine Street and Park Street, on which she lived for ten years.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 1, 2005|title=Northampton Dedicates Sojourner Truth Statue|url=http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=287|access-date=September 18, 2017|publisher=Mass Moments}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=February 11, 2013|title=Memorial Statue|url=https://sojournertruthmemorial.org/about-us/memorial-statue/|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==== Washington, D.C. ==== | |||
{{Main|Bust of Sojourner Truth (U.S. Capitol)}} | |||
In 2009, a ] was installed in the ].<ref>PRNewswire. . {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322113904/http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F04-28-2009%2F0005014813&EDATE=|date=March 22, 2012}}. Retrieved on April 28, 2009.</ref> The bust was sculpted by noted artist ]. It is in ] of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. With this installation, Truth became the first black woman to be honored with a statue in the Capitol building.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner Truth Bust|url=https://www.aoc.gov/art/busts/sojourner-truth-bust|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531230645/http://www.aoc.gov/art/busts/sojourner-truth-bust|archive-date=May 31, 2016|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Architect of the Capitol|language=en}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
=== Additional recognition === | |||
In regard to the magazine '']'', which began in 1972,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msmagazine.com/about.asp |title=Ms magazine website |work=About Ms.|date=December 14, 2009 |access-date=August 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Steinem|first=Gloria|title=Who is Gloria?|url=http://www.gloriasteinem.com/who-is-gloria/|work=Gloria Steinem Official Website|access-date=August 15, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221110011/http://www.gloriasteinem.com/who-is-gloria|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> ] has stated, "We were going to call it ''Sojourner'', after Sojourner Truth, but that was perceived as a travel magazine.<ref>''Gloria: In Her Own Words'' (2011 documentary, directed by Peter Kunhardt)</ref> | |||
Truth was posthumously inducted into the ] in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1981.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute" /> She was also inducted to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, in Lansing, Michigan. She was part of the inaugural class of inductees when the museum was established in 1983.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute" /> | |||
The ] issued a commemorative, 22-cent postage stamp honoring Sojourner Truth in 1986.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute" /><ref>] # 2203, first day of issue on February 4, 1986.</ref> The original artwork was created by ], and features a double portrait of Truth. The stamp was part of the Black Heritage series. The first day of issue was February 4, 1986.<ref>{{cite web|title=Black Heritage: Sojourner Truth {{!}} National Postal Museum|url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/art-of-the-stamp-the-artwork-legends/black-heritage-sojourner-truth|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=postalmuseum.si.edu}}</ref> | |||
Truth was included in a monument of "Michigan Legal Milestones" erected by the ] in 1987, honoring her historic court case.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 29, 1997|title=Michigan Legal Milestones: 6. Sojourner Truth|url=http://www.michbar.org/programs/milestone/milestones_SojournerTruth.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110210537/http://www.michbar.org/programs/milestone/milestones_SojournerTruth.cfm|archive-date=November 10, 2013|access-date=November 10, 2013|publisher=Michbar.org}}</ref> | |||
The ] remembers Sojourner Truth annually, together with ], ] and ], on July 20.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |year= 2019 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref> The ] remembers Sojourner Truth together with Harriet Tubman on March 10.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 26, 2018|title=Sojourner|url=https://www.gathermagazine.org/sojourner/|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Gather Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
In 1997, The ] ] mission's robotic rover was named ].<ref>NASA, . Retrieved December 4, 2006.</ref> The following year, S.T. Writes Home<ref>{{cite web|title=S.T. Writes Home|url=http://www.suekientz.com/st|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514160251/http://www.suekientz.com/st|archive-date=May 14, 2008}}</ref> appeared on the web offering "Letters to Mom from Sojourner Truth", in which the Mars Pathfinder Rover at times echoes its namesake. | |||
In 2002, Temple University scholar ] published a list of ], which includes Sojourner Truth.<ref>Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). ''100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-57392-963-8}} {{page?|date=December 2024}}.</ref> | |||
In 2009 Truth was inducted into the ], in ]. | |||
In 2014, the asteroid ] was named in her honor.<ref>Minor Planet Center. , Retrieved on July 15, 2014.</ref> | |||
Truth was included in the ]'s list of the "100 Most Significant Americans", published 2014.<ref name="smith" /> | |||
The ] announced in 2016 that an image of Sojourner Truth will appear on the back of a newly designed ] along with ], ], ], ] and the ]. Designs for new $5, $10 and $20 bills were originally scheduled to be unveiled in 2020 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of American women winning the right to vote via the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0436.aspx|title=Treasury Secretary Lew Announces Front of New $20 to Feature Harriet Tubman, Lays Out Plans for New $20, $10 and $5|date=April 20, 2016|publisher=Dept. of the Treasury|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813154541/https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0436.aspx|archive-date=August 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Treasury Secretary ] announced that plans for the $20 redesign, which was to feature Harriet Tubman, have been postponed. | |||
On September 19, 2016, the ] ] announced the name of the last ship of a six unit construction contract as ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://navaltoday.com/2016/09/20/us-navy-names-two-fleet-tankers-after-civil-and-human-rights-icons/|title=US Navy names two fleet tankers after civil and human rights icons|website=Naval Today|language=en-US|date=September 20, 2016|access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref> This ship will be part of the latest ] of ] named in honor of U.S. civil and human rights heroes currently under construction at ] in San Diego, CA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.naval-technology.com/uncategorised/newsgeneral-dynamics-awarded-640m-contract-to-build-fleet-oilers-for-us-navy-4939612/|title=General Dynamics awarded $640m contract to build fleet oilers for US Navy|date=July 3, 2016|website=Naval Technology|language=en-GB|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110010926/https://www.naval-technology.com/uncategorised/newsgeneral-dynamics-awarded-640m-contract-to-build-fleet-oilers-for-us-navy-4939612/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
A ] was featured on February 1, 2019, in honor of Sojourner Truth.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vagianos|first=Alanna|date=February 1, 2019|title=Google Celebrates First Day Of Black History Month With Sojourner Truth Doodle|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/google-celebrates-the-first-day-of-black-history-month-with-sojourner-truth-doodle_n_5c54540ce4b01d3c1f12dc0f|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308091059/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/google-celebrates-the-first-day-of-black-history-month-with-sojourner-truth-doodle_n_5c54540ce4b01d3c1f12dc0f|archive-date=March 8, 2021|access-date=December 12, 2021|website=]}}</ref> The doodle was showcased in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel, Ireland and Germany.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrating Sojourner Truth|url=https://doodles.google/doodle/celebrating-sojourner-truth/|access-date=February 1, 2019|website=Google|language=en}}</ref> | |||
For their first match of March 2019, the women of the ] each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back; ] chose the name of Sojourner Truth.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ennis|first=Dawn|title=Lesbian icons honored with jerseys worn by USWNT|date=March 4, 2019|url=https://www.outsports.com/2019/3/4/18248520/lesbian-icons-honored-with-jerseys-worn-uswnt|access-date=March 4, 2019|publisher=Outsports}}</ref> | |||
] named one of its ] passenger cars – No.6188 – in honor of Sojourner Truth.<ref>{{cite web|title=Railroad.net Railroad Forums|date=June 3, 2013 |url=https://railroad.net/shoreliner-discussion-t13664-75.html#p1244024|access-date=October 19, 2023}}</ref> | |||
=== Works of art === | |||
In 1892, Albion artist Frank Courter was commissioned by ] to paint the meeting between Truth and President ] that occurred on October 29, 1864.<ref name="Sojourner TruthInstitute" /> | |||
In 1945, Elizabeth Catlett created a print entitled ''I'm Sojourner Truth'' as part of a series honoring the labor of black women. The print is in the ]'s collection.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elizabeth Catlett {{!}} I'm Sojourner Truth|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/491319|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref> She would later create a full-size statue of Truth, which was displayed in Sacramento, California. | |||
In 1958, African-American artist ] created a mural called the ''Contribution of Negro Woman to American Life and Education'' as his doctoral dissertation. It was unveiled at the Blue Triangle Community Center (former YWCA) – ], Texas and features Sojourner Truth, ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 22, 2016|title=Beloved painting by Houston muralist in peril|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Beloved-painting-in-peril-6775736.php|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=HoustonChronicle.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Mural – The Blue Triangle|date=March 14, 2017 |url=http://www.the-bluetriangle.org/the-mural/|access-date=February 14, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
Inspired by the work of pioneer women's historian ], feminist artist ] (Judith Sylvia Cohen) created a collaborative masterpiece – ''The Dinner Party'', a mixed-media art installation, between the years 1974 and 1979. The Sojourner Truth placesetting is one of 39. '']'' is gifted by the ] Foundation to the ], ] – New York in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brooklyn Museum: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=www.brooklynmuseum.org}}</ref> | |||
Feminist theorist and author ]<!-- bell hooks real name uses all lower case letters. please do not try to correct it. --> titled her ] after Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lee|first=Min Jin|date=February 28, 2019|title=In Praise of bell hooks|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/books/bell-hooks-min-jin-lee-aint-i-a-woman.html|access-date=February 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The book was published in 1981. | |||
African-American composer Gary Powell Nash composed ''In Memoriam: Sojourner Truth,'' in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|last=jpgadmin|date=February 26, 2003|title=Gary Nash|url=https://musicalics.com/en/composer/Gary-Nash|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=musicalics.com|language=en}}</ref>'' | |||
The Broadway musical '']'', which premiered in 1999, includes an abridged version of Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech as a spoken-word segment. On the 1999 cast recording, the track was performed by ].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Civil War: The Complete Work by various artists|url=https://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Complete-Work/dp/B01KFR7PPK|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=www.amazon.com}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, a crocheted mural, ''Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman?'', was hung on display at the Akron Civic Theatre's outer wall at Lock 3 Park in Ohio. It was one of four projects in New York and North Carolina as part of the "Love Across the U.S.A.", spearheaded by fiber artist OLEK.<ref>{{cite web|title=Installations|url=http://www.loveacrosstheusa.com/current|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104043650/http://www.loveacrosstheusa.com/current|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2017|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Love Across the USA|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
=== Libraries, schools, and buildings === | |||
* Sojourner Truth Library at ] was named in Truth's honor in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.newpaltz.edu/banner/archives/stcoll2.html |title=About Sojourner Truth |publisher=Library.newpaltz.edu |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110203833/http://library.newpaltz.edu/banner/archives/stcoll2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
* In 1980, the Inter Cooperative Council at the ] and the residents of the then Lenny Bruce House rename it as Sojourner Truth House<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.icc.coop/prospective/houses/truth/truth3.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170923151009/http://www.icc.coop/prospective/houses/truth/truth3.html | archive-date= September 23, 2017 |title = Sojourner Truth House}}</ref> in her honor. | |||
* Summit County, Ohio, dedicates the renovated Danner Press Building as the Sojourner Truth Building in Akron in 1991 and unveils the reinstalled Ohio Historical Marker on the building wall.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sojourner Truth Building |url=https://www.downtownakron.com/property/sojourner-truth-building |access-date=February 14, 2020 |publisher=Downtown Akron Partnership}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.summitmemory.org/digital/collection/ABJarchives/id/2373/|title=Sojourner Truth Building Dedication in Downtown Akron, 1991|website=www.summitmemory.org|language=en|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> | |||
* ], located inside the ] in New York City, names one of their houses "The House of Sojourner Truth" in 2004.<ref> The Kings College, ''truth.tkc.edu''</ref> | |||
* In recognition that Truth and her parents were enslaved by people related to their first president, ] renamed its College Avenue Apartments to the Sojourner Truth Apartments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://goodblacknews.org/2017/09/16/abolitionist-sojourner-truth-and-rutgers-1st-black-graduate-james-carr-have-buildings-named-after-them-on-campus/ |title=Abolitionist Sojourner Truth and Rutgers' 1st Black Graduate James Carr Have Buildings Named After Them on Campus |publisher=Good Black News |date= September 17, 2017|access-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/education/2017/02/rutgers_renames_campus_spaces_after_former_slaves.html |title=Rutgers confronts ties to slavery by renaming buildings, walkway |first=Adam|last=Clark|publisher=NJ.com |date=February 10, 2017 |access-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref> | |||
* ] in ], which closed in 2019, was named after Truth and Frederick Douglass. | |||
* As of February 2020, elementary schools and ] in several states are named after Truth.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} | |||
=== Organizations === | |||
* In 1969, the left-wing political group ] was established. | |||
* In 1996, visual artist and community activist Shonna McDaniels establishes the Sojourner Truth African American (Art) Heritage Museum in South ], California (popularly known as "SOJO" Museum).''<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum {{!}} Home|url=https://www.sojoartsmuseum.org/|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=www.sojoartsmuseum.org|language=en}}</ref>'' | |||
* In 1998, Velma Laws Clay founded the Sojourner Truth Institute in Battle Creek, to "expand the historical and biographical knowledge of Sojourner Truth's life work and carry on her mission by teaching, demonstrating and promoting projects that accentuate the ideals and principles for which she stood."<ref>{{cite web|last=Institute|first=Sojourner Truth|title=Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek|url=https://sojournertruth.org/|access-date=February 14, 2020|website=Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek|language=en-US|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217015645/https://sojournertruth.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
* Sojourner Truth Houses have been established in many U.S. cities to provide shelter and services to women facing homelessness or domestic abuse. These include Sojourner Truth Houses in Boston, MA,<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner house family homeless shelter Boston|url=https://www.sojournerhouseboston.org/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=Sojourner House|language=en}}</ref> Providence, RI,<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner House|url=http://www.sojournerri.org/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=Sojourner House|language=en-US}}</ref> and Pittsburgh.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sojourner House History|url=http://www.sojournerhousepa.org/about/history/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=Sojourner House|language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==== Study Clubs ==== | |||
Starting in 1895, numerous black civic associations adopted the name Sojourner Truth Club or similar titles to honor her. | |||
Examples listing club names, places, years founded:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.m4f.community/m4f-projects/stsc-1938 |title=About the Sojourner Truth Study Club |website=Memory for the Future |access-date=2024-03-29}}</ref> | |||
* Sojourner Truth Club, Birmingham, AL, 1895 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Club, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1897 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Club, Los Angeles, CA, 1906 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Club, Denver, CO, by 1916 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Study Club, Omaha, NE, by 1933 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Study Club, St. Louis, MO, by 1938 | |||
* Women's Sojourner Truth Study Club, Pasadena, CA by 1945 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Political Study Club, Los Angeles, CA, by 1946 | |||
* Sojourner Truth Club, Richmond, IN, by 1974 | |||
==Writings== | |||
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooks=yes|viaf=74657903}} | |||
* (1850). | |||
** ] 1997 edition: {{ISBN|0-486-29899-X}} | |||
** ] 1998 edition: {{ISBN|0-14-043678-2}}. Introduction & notes by Nell Irvin Painter. | |||
** ] online edition (] format, one chapter per page) | |||
** ] online edition (HTML format, 207 kB, entire book on one page) | |||
==See also== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* Andrews, William L., ed. ''Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century'' (Indiana University Press, 1986). | |||
* Bernard, Jacqueline. ''Journey toward freedom: The story of Sojourner Truth'' (Feminist Press at CUNY, 1990). | |||
* Field, Corinne T. "Old-Age Justice and Black Feminist History: Sojourner Truth's and Harriet Tubman's Intersectional Legacies." ''Radical History Review'' 2021.139 (2021): 37–51. | |||
* {{cite book | last = Grigsby | first = Darcy Grimaldo | title = Enduring Truths: Sojourner's Shadows and Substance | location = Chicago | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 2015 | isbn = 978-0226192130}} | |||
* {{cite book | last1 = Johnson | first1 = Paul E. | first2 = Sean | last2 = Wilentz | title = The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America | location = New York and Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 0195098358 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/kingdomofmatthia0000john }} | |||
* {{cite book | last1 = Mabee | first1 = Carleton | first2 = Susan | last2 = Mabee Newhouse | title = Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend | url = https://archive.org/details/sojournertruthsl00mabe | url-access = registration | location = New York and London | publisher = New York University Press | year = 1993 | isbn = 0814755259}} | |||
* Mabee, Carleton. "Sojourner Truth, Bold Prophet: Why Did She Never Learn to Read?." ''New York History'' 69.1 (1988): 55–77. {{jstor|23178487}} | |||
* Mandziuk, Roseann M., and Suzanne Pullon Fitch. "The rhetorical construction of Sojourner Truth." ''Southern Journal of Communication'' 66.2 (2001): 120–138. | |||
* Murphy, Larry G. ''Sojourner Truth: A Biography'' (ABC-CLIO, 2011). | |||
* {{cite book | last = Painter | first = Nell Irvin | title = Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol | url = https://archive.org/details/sojournertruthli00pain | url-access = registration | location = New York and London | publisher = W.W. Norton & Co. | date = 1996 | isbn = 0-393-31708-0}} | |||
* Painter, Nell Irvin. "Truth, Sojourner" in ''American National Biography'' (2000) {{doi|10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1500706}} | |||
* Painter, Nell Irvin. "Sojourner Truth in life and memory: Writing the biography of an American exotic." ''Gender & History'' 2.1 (1990): 3–16. | |||
* Peterson, Carla. ''"Doers of the Word": African American Women Speakers and Writers in the North (1830–1880)'' (Rutgers University Press, 1998). | |||
* {{cite book | last = Piepmeier | first = Alison | title = Out in Public: Configurations of Women's Bodies in Nineteenth-Century America' | publisher = The University of North Carolina Press | date = 2004 | isbn = 0807855693 | author-link = Alison Piepmeier}} | |||
* Redding, Saunders. "Sojourner Truth," Edward T. James ed. ''Notable American Women'' vol 3 (1971) 481 | |||
* {{cite book | last = Sheehan | first = Jacqueline | title = Truth: A Novel | location = New York | publisher = Free Press | date = 2003 | isbn = 0-7432-4444-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/truthnovel00shee }} | |||
* Smiet, Katrine. ''Sojourner Truth and Intersectionality: Traveling Truths in Feminist Scholarship'' (Routledge, 2020). | |||
* {{cite book | last1 = Stetson | first1 = Erlene | first2 = Linda | last2 = David | title = Glorying in Tribulation: The Lifework of Sojourner Truth | location = East Lansing | publisher = Michigan State University Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 0-87013-337-3}} | |||
* {{cite book | last = Stone | first = William Leete | title = Matthias and his Impostures- or, The Progress of Fanaticism | location = New York | year = 1835 | author-link = William Leete Stone, Sr. | url =https://archive.org/details/matthiasandhisim00stonuoft}} | |||
* {{cite book | last = Vale | first = Gilbert | title = Fanaticism – Its Source and Influence Illustrated by the Simple Narrative of Isabella, in the Case of Matthias, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folger, Mr. Pierson, Mr. Mills, Catherine, Isabella, &c. &c. | publisher = G. Vale | location = New York | year = 1835 | url = https://archive.org/details/fanaticismillus00valegoog| page = | quote = Fanaticism –. }} – online edition (pdf format, 9.9 MB | |||
* Vetter, Lisa Pace. ''The Political Thought of America's Founding Feminists'' (New York UP, 2017)( pp. 198–212. | |||
* {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Michael Warren | title = The African American encyclopedia | volume = 6 | publisher = Marshall Cavendish Corp. | year= 1993 | isbn = 1-85435-551-1}} | |||
* Yee, Shirley J. ''Black women abolitionists: A study in activism, 1828–1860'' (Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1992). | |||
* Yellin, Jean Fagan. ''Women and Sisters: The Antislavery Feminists in American Culture'' (Yale University Press, 1989). | |||
==External links== | |||
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* {{Gutenberg author |id=689| name=Sojourner Truth}} | |||
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Sojourner Truth}} | |||
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* {{Librivox author |id=5706}} | |||
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* {{cite web| url= https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/truth| title= Sojourner Truth: Online Resources | last = McMillian |first = Angela | publisher = Library of Congress}} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web| url= http://www.newpaltz.edu/sojourner_truth | title= On the Trail of Sojourner Truth in Ulster County, New York | publisher = SUNY New Paltz | work = Sojourner Truth Library | last = Nyquist| first = Corinne }} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web | url= https://sojournertruth.org/ | title= Home Page | publisher= Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek | access-date= February 1, 2019 | archive-date= February 17, 2022 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220217015645/https://sojournertruth.org/ | url-status= dead }} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web| url= http://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284 | title= Sojourner Truth Biography | date= January 6, 2021 | publisher = biography.com}} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web| url= http://www.c-span.org/video/?163774-1/writings-sojourner-truth| title= Writings of Sojourner Truth | publisher = C-SPAN | work = American Writers: A Journey Through History | date = April 30, 2001}} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web| url= https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180331221145/https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth | archive-date= March 31, 2018 | title= Sojourner Truth | last = Michals |first = Debra | publisher = National Women's History Museum | date = 2015}} | |||
] | |||
* Part of her life is retold in the 1948 radio drama "", a presentation from '']'', written by ] | |||
] | |||
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Latest revision as of 20:55, 24 December 2024
African-American activist (1797–1883)
Sojourner Truth | |
---|---|
Truth, c. 1870 | |
Born | Isabella Baumfree c. 1797 Swartekill, New York, U.S. |
Died | (aged 86) Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Abolitionist, human rights activist |
Parent(s) | James Baumfree Elizabeth Baumfree |
Sojourner Truth (/soʊˈdʒɜːrnər, ˈsoʊdʒɜːrnər/; born Isabella Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and alcohol temperance. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.
She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying to the hope that was in her." Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?", a variation of the original speech that was published in 1863 as being spoken in a stereotypical Black dialect, then more commonly spoken in the South. Sojourner Truth, however, grew up speaking Dutch as her first language.
During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for formerly enslaved people (summarized as the promise of "forty acres and a mule"). She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. As her biographer Nell Irvin Painter wrote, "At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks."
A memorial bust of Truth was unveiled in 2009 in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. She is the first African American woman to have a statue in the Capitol building. In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonian magazine's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time."
Early years
Sojourner Truth once estimated that she was born between 1797 and 1800. Truth was one of the 10 or 12 children born to James and Elizabeth Baumfree (or Bomefree). Her father was an enslaved man captured from present-day Ghana, while her mother – nicknamed "Mau-Mau Bet" – was the daughter of slaves captured from Guinea. Colonel Hardenbergh bought James and Elizabeth Baumfree from slave traders and kept their family at his estate in a big hilly area called by the Dutch name Swartekill (just north of present-day Rifton), in the town of Esopus, New York, 95 miles (153 km) north of New York City. Her first language was Dutch, and she continued to speak with a Dutch accent for the rest of her life. Charles Hardenbergh inherited his father's estate and continued to enslave people as a part of that estate's property.
When Charles Hardenbergh died in 1806, nine-year-old Truth (known as Belle), was sold at an auction with a flock of sheep for $100 (~$1,948 in 2023) to John Neely, near Kingston, New York. Until that time, Truth spoke only Dutch, and after learning English, she spoke with a Dutch accent and not a stereotypical dialect. She later described Neely as cruel and harsh, relating how he beat her daily and once even with a bundle of rods. In 1808 Neely sold her for $105 (~$2,003 in 2023) to tavern keeper Martinus Schryver of Port Ewen, New York, who owned her for 18 months. Schryver then sold Truth in 1810 to John Dumont of West Park, New York. John Dumont raped her repeatedly, and considerable tension existed between Truth and Dumont's wife, Elizabeth Waring Dumont, who harassed her and made her life more difficult.
Around 1815, Truth met and fell in love with an enslaved man named Robert from a neighboring farm. Robert's owner (Charles Catton, Jr., a landscape painter) forbade their relationship; he did not want the people he enslaved to have children with people he was not enslaving, because he would not own the children. One day Robert sneaked over to see Truth. When Catton and his son found him, they savagely beat Robert until Dumont finally intervened. Truth never saw Robert again after that day and he died a few years later. The experience haunted Truth throughout her life. Truth eventually married an older enslaved man named Thomas. She bore five children: James, her firstborn, who died in childhood; Diana (1815), the result of a rape by John Dumont; and Peter (1821), Elizabeth (1825), and Sophia (c. 1826), all born after she and Thomas united.
Freedom
Further information: History of slavery in New York (state)In 1799, the State of New York began to legislate the abolition of slavery, although the process of emancipating those people enslaved in New York was not complete until July 4, 1827. Dumont had promised to grant Truth her freedom a year before the state emancipation, "if she would do well and be faithful". However, he changed his mind, claiming a hand injury had made her less productive. She was infuriated but continued working, spinning 100 pounds (45 kg) of wool, to satisfy her sense of obligation to him.
Late in 1826, Truth escaped to freedom with her infant daughter, Sophia. She had to leave her other children behind because they were not legally freed in the emancipation order until they had served as bound servants into their twenties. She later said, "I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right."
She found her way to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen in New Paltz, who took her and her baby in. Isaac offered to buy her services for the remainder of the year (until the state's emancipation took effect), which Dumont accepted for $20. She lived there until the New York State Emancipation Act was approved a year later.
Truth learned that her son Peter, then five years old, had been sold by Dumont and then illegally resold to an owner in Alabama. With the help of the Van Wagenens, she took the issue to the New York Supreme Court. Using the name Isabella van Wagenen, she filed a suit against Peter's new owner Solomon Gedney. In 1828, after months of legal proceedings, she got back her son, who had been abused by those who were enslaving him. Truth became one of the first black women to go to court against a white man and win the case. The court documents related to this lawsuit were rediscovered by the staff at the New York State Archives c. 2022.
In 1827, she became a Christian and participated in the founding of the Methodist church of Kingston, New York. In 1829, she moved to New York City and joined the John Street Methodist Church (Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church).
In 1833, she was hired by Robert Matthews, also known as the Prophet Matthias, leader of a sect who identified with Judaism, went to work for him as a housekeeper in the communal settlement, and became a member of the group. In 1834, Matthews and Truth were charged with the murder of Elijah Pierson, but were acquitted due to lack of evidence and Truth's presentation of several letters confirming her reliability as a servant. The trial then focused on the reported beating of his daughter of which he was found guilty and sentenced to three months and an additional thirty days for contempt of court. This event prompted Truth to leave the sect in 1835. Afterwards, she retired to New York City until 1843.
In 1839, Truth's son Peter took a job on a whaling ship called the Zone of Nantucket. From 1840 to 1841, she received three letters from him, though in his third letter he told her he had sent five. Peter said he also never received any of her letters. When the ship returned to port in 1842, Peter was not on board and Truth never heard from him again.
The result of freedom
The year 1843 was a turning point for her. On June 1, Pentecost Sunday, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She chose the name because she heard the Spirit of God calling on her to preach the truth. She told her friends: "The Spirit calls me, and I must go", and left to make her way traveling and preaching about the abolition of slavery. Taking along only a few possessions in a pillowcase, she traveled north, working her way up through the Connecticut River Valley, towards Massachusetts.
At that time, Truth began attending Millerite Adventist camp meetings. Millerites followed the teachings of William Miller of New York, who preached that Jesus would appear in 1843–1844, bringing about the end of the world. Many in the Millerite community greatly appreciated Truth's preaching and singing, and she drew large crowds when she spoke. Like many others disappointed when the anticipated second coming did not arrive, Truth distanced herself from her Millerite friends for a time.
In 1844, she joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Florence, Massachusetts. Founded by abolitionists, the organization supported women's rights and religious tolerance as well as pacifism. There were, in its four-and-a-half-year history, a total of 240 members, though no more than 120 at any one time. They lived on 470 acres (1.9 km), raising livestock, running a sawmill, a gristmill, and a silk factory. Truth lived and worked in the community and oversaw the laundry, supervising both men and women. While there, Truth met William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and David Ruggles. Encouraged by the community, Truth delivered her first anti-slavery speech that year.
In 1845, she joined the household of George Benson, the brother-in-law of William Lloyd Garrison. In 1846, the Northampton Association of Education and Industry disbanded, unable to support itself. In 1849, she visited John Dumont before he moved west.
Truth started dictating her memoirs to her friend Olive Gilbert and in 1850 William Lloyd Garrison privately published her book, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a Northern Slave. That same year, she purchased a home in Florence for $300 and spoke at the first National Women's Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1854, with proceeds from sales of the narrative and cartes-de-visite captioned, "I sell the shadow to support the substance", she paid off the mortgage held by her friend from the community, Samuel L. Hill.
"Ain't I a Woman?"
Further information: Ain't I a Woman?In 1851, Truth joined George Thompson, an abolitionist and speaker, on a lecture tour through central and western New York State. In May, she attended the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her famous extemporaneous speech on women's rights, later known as "Ain't I a Woman?". Her speech demanded equal human rights for all women. She also spoke as a former enslaved woman, combining calls for abolitionism with women's rights, and drawing from her strength as a laborer to make her equal rights claims.
The convention was organized by Hannah Tracy and Frances Dana Barker Gage, who both were present when Truth spoke. Different versions of Truth's words have been recorded, with the first one published a month later in the Anti-Slavery Bugle by Rev. Marius Robinson, the newspaper owner and editor who was in the audience. Robinson's recounting of the speech included no instance of the question "Ain't I a Woman?", nor did any of the other newspapers reporting of her speech at the time. Twelve years later, in May 1863, Gage published another, very different, version. In it, Truth's speech pattern appeared to have characteristics of Black slaves located in the southern United States, and the speech was vastly different from the one Robinson had reported. Gage's version of the speech became the most widely circulated version, and is known as "Ain't I a Woman?" because that question was repeated four times. It is highly unlikely that Truth's own speech pattern was like this, as she was born and raised in New York, and she spoke only upper New York State low-Dutch until she was nine years old.
In the version recorded by Rev. Marius Robinson, Truth said:
I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart – why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, – for we can't take more than our pint'll hold. The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the Bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.
In contrast to Robinson's report, Gage's 1863 version included Truth saying her 13 children were sold away from her into slavery. Truth is widely believed to have had five children, with one sold away, and was never known to boast more children. Gage's 1863 recollection of the convention conflicts with her own report directly after the convention: Gage wrote in 1851 that Akron in general and the press, in particular, were largely friendly to the woman's rights convention, but in 1863 she wrote that the convention leaders were fearful of the "mobbish" opponents. Other eyewitness reports of Truth's speech told a calm story, one where all faces were "beaming with joyous gladness" at the session where Truth spoke; that not "one discordant note" interrupted the harmony of the proceedings. In contemporary reports, Truth was warmly received by the convention-goers, the majority of whom were long-standing abolitionists, friendly to progressive ideas of race and civil rights. In Gage's 1863 version, Truth was met with hisses, with voices calling to prevent her from speaking. Other interracial gatherings of black and white abolitionist women had in fact been met with violence, including the burning of Pennsylvania Hall.
According to Frances Gage's recount in 1863, Truth argued, "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody helps me any best place. And ain't I a woman?" Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" showed the lack of recognition that black women received during this time and whose lack of recognition will continue to be seen long after her time. "Black women, of course, were virtually invisible within the protracted campaign for woman suffrage", wrote Angela Davis, supporting Truth's argument that nobody gives her "any best place"; and not just her, but black women in general.
Over the next 10 years, Truth spoke before dozens, perhaps hundreds, of audiences. From 1851 to 1853, Truth worked with Marius Robinson, the editor of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Bugle, and traveled around that state speaking. In 1853, she spoke at a suffragist "mob convention" at the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City; that year she also met Harriet Beecher Stowe. In 1856, she traveled to Battle Creek, Michigan, to speak to a group called the Friends of Human Progress.
Other speeches
Northampton Camp Meeting – 1844, Northampton, Massachusetts: At a camp meeting where she was participating as an itinerant preacher, a band of "wild young men" disrupted the camp meeting, refused to leave, and threatened to burn down the tents. Truth caught the sense of fear pervading the worshipers and hid behind a trunk in her tent, thinking that since she was the only black person present, the mob would attack her first. However, she reasoned with herself and resolved to do something: as the noise of the mob increased and a female preacher was "trembling on the preachers' stand", Truth went to a small hill and began to sing "in her most fervid manner, with all the strength of her most powerful voice, the hymn on the resurrection of Christ". Her song, "It was Early in the Morning", gathered the rioters to her and quieted them. They urged her to sing, preach, and pray for their entertainment. After singing songs and preaching for about an hour, Truth bargained with them to leave after one final song. The mob agreed and left the camp meeting.
Abolitionist Convention – 1840s, Boston, Massachusetts: William Lloyd Garrison invited Sojourner Truth to give a speech at an annual antislavery convention. Wendell Phillips was supposed to speak after her, which made her nervous since he was known as such a good orator. So Truth sang a song, "I am Pleading for My people", which was her own original composition sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
Mob Convention – September 7, 1853: At the convention, young men greeted her with "a perfect storm", hissing and groaning. In response, Truth said, "You may hiss as much as you please, but women will get their rights anyway. You can't stop us, neither". Sojourner, like other public speakers, often adapted her speeches to how the audience was responding to her. In her speech, Sojourner speaks out for women's rights. She incorporates religious references in her speech, particularly the story of Esther. She then goes on to say that, just as women in scripture, women today are fighting for their rights. Moreover, Sojourner scolds the crowd for all their hissing and rude behavior, reminding them that God says to "Honor thy father and thy mother".
American Equal Rights Association – May 9–10, 1867: Her speech was addressed to the American Equal Rights Association, and divided into three sessions. Sojourner was received with loud cheers instead of hisses, now that she had a better-formed reputation established. The Call had advertised her name as one of the main convention speakers. For the first part of her speech, she spoke mainly about the rights of black women. Sojourner argued that because the push for equal rights had led to black men winning new rights, now was the best time to give black women the rights they deserve too. Throughout her speech she kept stressing that "we should keep things going while things are stirring" and fears that once the fight for colored rights settles down, it would take a long time to warm people back up to the idea of colored women's having equal rights.
In the second sessions of Sojourner's speech, she used a story from the Bible to help strengthen her argument for equal rights for women. She ended her argument by accusing men of being self-centered, saying: "Man is so selfish that he has got women's rights and his own too, and yet he won't give women their rights. He keeps them all to himself." For the final session of Sojourner's speech, the center of her attention was mainly on women's right to vote. Sojourner told her audience that she owned her own house, as did other women, and must, therefore, pay taxes. Nevertheless, they were still unable to vote because they were women. Black women who were enslaved were made to do hard manual work, such as building roads. Sojourner argues that if these women were able to perform such tasks, then they should be allowed to vote because surely voting is easier than building roads.
Eighth Anniversary of Negro Freedom – New Year's Day, 1871: On this occasion the Boston papers related that "...seldom is there an occasion of more attraction or greater general interest. Every available space of sitting and standing room was crowded". She starts off her speech by giving a little background about her own life. Sojourner recounts how her mother told her to pray to God that she may have good masters and mistresses. She goes on to retell how her masters were not good to her, about how she was whipped for not understanding English, and how she would question God why he had not made her masters be good to her. Sojourner admits to the audience that she had once hated white people, but she says once she met her final master, Jesus, she was filled with love for everyone. Once enslaved folks were emancipated, she tells the crowd she knew her prayers had been answered. That last part of Sojourner's speech brings in her main focus. Some freed enslaved people were living on government aid at that time, paid for by taxpayers. Sojourner announces that this is not any better for those colored people than it is for the members of her audience. She then proposes that black people are given their own land. Because a portion of the South's population contained rebels that were unhappy with the abolishment of slavery, that region of the United States was not well suited for colored people. She goes on to suggest that colored people be given land out west to build homes and prosper on.
Second Annual Convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association – Boston, 1871: In a brief speech, Truth argued that women's rights were essential, not only to their own well-being, but "for the benefit of the whole creation, not only the women, but all the men on the face of the earth, for they were the mother of them".
On a mission
Truth dedicated her life to fighting for a more equal society for African Americans and for women, including abolition, voting rights, and property rights. She was at the vanguard of efforts to address intersecting social justice issues. As historian Martha Jones wrote, "hen Black women like Truth spoke of rights, they mixed their ideas with challenges to slavery and to racism. Truth told her own stories, ones that suggested that a women's movement might take another direction, one that championed the broad interests of all humanity."
Truth – along with Stephen Symonds Foster and Abby Kelley Foster, Jonathan Walker, Marius Robinson, and Sallie Holley – reorganized the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society in 1853 in Adrian, Michigan. The state society was founded in 1836 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In 1856, Truth bought a neighboring lot in Northampton, but she did not keep the new property for long. On September 3, 1857, she sold all her possessions, new and old, to Daniel Ives and moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, where she rejoined former members of the Millerite movement who had formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Antislavery movements had begun early in Michigan and Ohio. Here, she also joined the nucleus of the Michigan abolitionists, the Progressive Friends, some who she had already met at national conventions. From 1857 to 1867 Truth lived in the village of Harmonia, Michigan, a Spiritualist utopia. She then moved into nearby Battle Creek, Michigan, living at her home on 38 College St. until her death in 1883. According to the 1860 census, her household in Harmonia included her daughter, Elizabeth Banks (age 35), and her grandsons James Caldwell (misspelled as "Colvin"; age 16) and Sammy Banks (age 8).
Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army during the Civil War. Her grandson, James Caldwell, enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. In 1864, Truth was employed by the National Freedman's Relief Association in Washington, D.C., where she worked diligently to improve conditions for African-Americans. In October of that year, she was invited to the White House by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1865, while working at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington, Truth rode in the streetcars to help force their desegregation.
Truth is credited with writing a song, "The Valiant Soldiers", for the 1st Michigan Colored Regiment; it was said to be composed during the war and sung by her in Detroit and Washington, D.C. It is sung to the tune of "John Brown's Body" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". Although Truth claimed to have written the words, it has been disputed (see "Marching Song of the First Arkansas").
In 1867, Truth moved from Harmonia to Battle Creek. In 1868, she traveled to western New York and visited with Amy Post, and continued traveling all over the East Coast. At a speaking engagement in Florence, Massachusetts, after she had just returned from a very tiring trip, when Truth was called upon to speak she stood up and said, "Children, I have come here like the rest of you, to hear what I have to say."
In 1870, Truth tried to secure land grants from the federal government to former enslaved people, a project she pursued for seven years without success. While in Washington, D.C., she had a meeting with President Ulysses S. Grant in the White House. In 1872, she returned to Battle Creek, became active in Grant's presidential re-election campaign, and even tried to vote on Election Day, but was turned away at the polling place.
Truth spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Not everyone welcomed her preaching and lectures, but she had many friends and staunch support among many influential people at the time, including Amy Post, Parker Pillsbury, Frances Gage, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Laura Smith Haviland, Lucretia Mott, Ellen G. White, and Susan B. Anthony.
Illness and death
Truth was cared for by two of her daughters in the last years of her life. Several days before Sojourner Truth died, a reporter came from the Grand Rapids Eagle to interview her. "Her face was drawn and emaciated and she was apparently suffering great pain. Her eyes were very bright and mind alert although it was difficult for her to talk."
Truth died early in the morning on November 26, 1883, at her Battle Creek home. On November 28, 1883, her funeral was held at the Congregational-Presbyterian Church officiated by its pastor, the Reverend Reed Stuart. Some of the prominent citizens of Battle Creek acted as pall-bearers; nearly one thousand people attended the service. Truth was buried in the city's Oak Hill Cemetery.
Frederick Douglass offered a eulogy for her in Washington, D.C. "Venerable for age, distinguished for insight into human nature, remarkable for independence and courageous self-assertion, devoted to the welfare of her race, she has been for the last forty years an object of respect and admiration to social reformers everywhere."
Legacy
Monuments and statues
There have been many memorials erected in honor of Sojourner Truth, commemorating her life and work. These include memorial plaques, busts, and full-sized statues.
Michigan
The first historical marker honoring Truth was established in Battle Creek in 1935, when a stone memorial was placed in Stone History Tower, in Monument Park. The State of Michigan further recognized her legacy by naming highway M-66 in Calhoun County the Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway, running from the county line south of Athens to Morgan Road in Pennfield Township, northeast of Battle Creek.
1999 marked the estimated bicentennial of Sojourner's birth. To honor the occasion, a larger-than-life sculpture of Sojourner Truth by Tina Allen was added to Monument Park in Battle Creek. The 12-foot tall Sojourner monument is cast in bronze.
Ohio
In 1981, an Ohio Historical Marker was unveiled on the site of the Universalist "Old Stone" Church in Akron where Sojourner Truth gave her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech on May 29, 1851. Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza, which includes a statue of her by sculptor and Akron native Woodrow Nash, opened in Akron in 2024.
New York
In 1862, American sculptor William Wetmore Story completed a marble statue, inspired by Sojourner Truth, named The Libyan Sibyl. The work won an award at the London World Exhibition. The original sculpture was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, by the Erving Wolf Foundation in 1978.
In 1983, a plaque honoring Sojourner Truth was unveiled in front of the historic Ulster County Courthouse in Kingston, New York. The plaque was given by the Sojourner Truth Day Committee to commemorate the centennial of her death.
In 1990, New York Governor Mario Cuomo presented a two-foot statue of Sojourner Truth, made by New York sculptor Ruth Inge Hardison, to Nelson Mandela during his visit to New York City.
In 1998, on the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, a life-sized, terracotta statue of Truth by artists A. Lloyd Lillie, Jr., and Victoria Guerina was unveiled at the Women's Rights National Historical Park visitor center. Although Truth did not attend the convention, the statue marked Truth's famous 1851 speech in Akron, Ohio, and recognized her important role in the fight for women's suffrage.
In 2013, a bronze statue of Truth as an 11-year-old girl was installed at Port Ewen, New York, where Truth lived for several years while still enslaved. The sculpture was created by New Paltz, New York, sculptor Trina Green.
In 2015, the Klyne Esopus Museum installed a historical marker in Ulster Park, New York commemorating Truth's walk to freedom in 1826. She walked about 14 miles from Esopus, up what is now Floyd Ackert Road, to Rifton, New York.
In 2020, a statue was unveiled at the Walkway Over the Hudson park in Highland, New York. It was created by Yonkers sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, commissioned by the New York State Women's Suffrage Commission. The statue includes text, braille, and symbols. The folds of her skirt act as a canvas to depict Sojourner's life experiences, including images of a young enslaved mother comforting her child, a slavery sale sign, images of her abolitionist peers, and a poster for a women's suffrage march.
On August 26, 2020, on the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a statue honoring Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony was unveiled in Central Park in New York City. The sculpture, entitled "Women's Rights Pioneers Monument", was created by American artist Meredith Bergmann. It is the first sculpture in Central Park to depict historical women. A statue to the fictional character Alice in Wonderland is the only other female figure depicted in the park. Original plans for the memorial included only Stanton and Anthony, but after critics raised objections to the lack of inclusion of women of color, Truth was added to the design.
On February 28, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul dedicated Sojourner Truth State Park near the site of her birthplace.
California
In 1999, Sojourner, a Mexican limestone statue of Sojourner Truth by sculptor Elizabeth Catlett, was unveiled in Sacramento, California on the corner of K and 13th Street. It was vandalized in 2013, where it was found smashed into pieces.
A bronze statue by San Diego sculptor Manuelita Brown was dedicated on January 22, 2015, on the campus of the Thurgood Marshall College of Law, of the University of California, San Diego, California. The artist donated the sculpture to the college.
Massachusetts
In 2002, the Sojourner Truth Memorial statue by Oregon sculptor Thomas "Jay" Warren was installed in Florence, Massachusetts, in a small park located on Pine Street and Park Street, on which she lived for ten years.
Washington, D.C.
Main article: Bust of Sojourner Truth (U.S. Capitol)In 2009, a bust of Sojourner Truth was installed in the U.S. Capitol. The bust was sculpted by noted artist Artis Lane. It is in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. With this installation, Truth became the first black woman to be honored with a statue in the Capitol building.
Additional recognition
In regard to the magazine Ms., which began in 1972, Gloria Steinem has stated, "We were going to call it Sojourner, after Sojourner Truth, but that was perceived as a travel magazine.
Truth was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1981. She was also inducted to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, in Lansing, Michigan. She was part of the inaugural class of inductees when the museum was established in 1983.
The U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative, 22-cent postage stamp honoring Sojourner Truth in 1986. The original artwork was created by Jerry Pinkney, and features a double portrait of Truth. The stamp was part of the Black Heritage series. The first day of issue was February 4, 1986.
Truth was included in a monument of "Michigan Legal Milestones" erected by the State Bar of Michigan in 1987, honoring her historic court case.
The calendar of saints of the Episcopal Church remembers Sojourner Truth annually, together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer and Harriet Ross Tubman, on July 20. The calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church remembers Sojourner Truth together with Harriet Tubman on March 10.
In 1997, The NASA Mars Pathfinder mission's robotic rover was named "Sojourner". The following year, S.T. Writes Home appeared on the web offering "Letters to Mom from Sojourner Truth", in which the Mars Pathfinder Rover at times echoes its namesake.
In 2002, Temple University scholar Molefi Kete Asante published a list of 100 Greatest African Americans, which includes Sojourner Truth.
In 2009 Truth was inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame, in Peterboro, New York.
In 2014, the asteroid 249521 Truth was named in her honor.
Truth was included in the Smithsonian Institution's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans", published 2014.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced in 2016 that an image of Sojourner Truth will appear on the back of a newly designed $10 bill along with Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession. Designs for new $5, $10 and $20 bills were originally scheduled to be unveiled in 2020 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of American women winning the right to vote via the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced that plans for the $20 redesign, which was to feature Harriet Tubman, have been postponed.
On September 19, 2016, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the name of the last ship of a six unit construction contract as USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210). This ship will be part of the latest John Lewis-class of Fleet Replenishment Oilers named in honor of U.S. civil and human rights heroes currently under construction at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, CA.
A Google Doodle was featured on February 1, 2019, in honor of Sojourner Truth. The doodle was showcased in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel, Ireland and Germany.
For their first match of March 2019, the women of the United States women's national soccer team each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back; Christen Press chose the name of Sojourner Truth.
Metro-North Railroad named one of its Shoreliner II passenger cars – No.6188 – in honor of Sojourner Truth.
Works of art
In 1892, Albion artist Frank Courter was commissioned by Frances Titus to paint the meeting between Truth and President Abraham Lincoln that occurred on October 29, 1864.
In 1945, Elizabeth Catlett created a print entitled I'm Sojourner Truth as part of a series honoring the labor of black women. The print is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. She would later create a full-size statue of Truth, which was displayed in Sacramento, California.
In 1958, African-American artist John Biggers created a mural called the Contribution of Negro Woman to American Life and Education as his doctoral dissertation. It was unveiled at the Blue Triangle Community Center (former YWCA) – Houston, Texas and features Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Phillis Wheatley.
Inspired by the work of pioneer women's historian Gerda Lerner, feminist artist Judy Chicago (Judith Sylvia Cohen) created a collaborative masterpiece – The Dinner Party, a mixed-media art installation, between the years 1974 and 1979. The Sojourner Truth placesetting is one of 39. The Dinner Party is gifted by the Elizabeth Sackler Foundation to the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum – New York in 2000.
Feminist theorist and author bell hooks titled her first major work after Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech. The book was published in 1981.
African-American composer Gary Powell Nash composed In Memoriam: Sojourner Truth, in 1992.
The Broadway musical The Civil War, which premiered in 1999, includes an abridged version of Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech as a spoken-word segment. On the 1999 cast recording, the track was performed by Maya Angelou.
In 2018, a crocheted mural, Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman?, was hung on display at the Akron Civic Theatre's outer wall at Lock 3 Park in Ohio. It was one of four projects in New York and North Carolina as part of the "Love Across the U.S.A.", spearheaded by fiber artist OLEK.
Libraries, schools, and buildings
- Sojourner Truth Library at New Paltz State University of New York was named in Truth's honor in 1971.
- In 1980, the Inter Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan and the residents of the then Lenny Bruce House rename it as Sojourner Truth House in her honor.
- Summit County, Ohio, dedicates the renovated Danner Press Building as the Sojourner Truth Building in Akron in 1991 and unveils the reinstalled Ohio Historical Marker on the building wall.
- The King's College, located inside the Empire State Building in New York City, names one of their houses "The House of Sojourner Truth" in 2004.
- In recognition that Truth and her parents were enslaved by people related to their first president, Rutgers University renamed its College Avenue Apartments to the Sojourner Truth Apartments.
- Sojourner–Douglass College in Baltimore, which closed in 2019, was named after Truth and Frederick Douglass.
- As of February 2020, elementary schools and K–12 schools in several states are named after Truth.
Organizations
- In 1969, the left-wing political group Sojourner Truth Organization was established.
- In 1996, visual artist and community activist Shonna McDaniels establishes the Sojourner Truth African American (Art) Heritage Museum in South Sacramento, California (popularly known as "SOJO" Museum).
- In 1998, Velma Laws Clay founded the Sojourner Truth Institute in Battle Creek, to "expand the historical and biographical knowledge of Sojourner Truth's life work and carry on her mission by teaching, demonstrating and promoting projects that accentuate the ideals and principles for which she stood."
- Sojourner Truth Houses have been established in many U.S. cities to provide shelter and services to women facing homelessness or domestic abuse. These include Sojourner Truth Houses in Boston, MA, Providence, RI, and Pittsburgh.
Study Clubs
Starting in 1895, numerous black civic associations adopted the name Sojourner Truth Club or similar titles to honor her.
Examples listing club names, places, years founded:
- Sojourner Truth Club, Birmingham, AL, 1895
- Sojourner Truth Club, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1897
- Sojourner Truth Club, Los Angeles, CA, 1906
- Sojourner Truth Club, Denver, CO, by 1916
- Sojourner Truth Study Club, Omaha, NE, by 1933
- Sojourner Truth Study Club, St. Louis, MO, by 1938
- Women's Sojourner Truth Study Club, Pasadena, CA by 1945
- Sojourner Truth Political Study Club, Los Angeles, CA, by 1946
- Sojourner Truth Club, Richmond, IN, by 1974
Writings
Library resources aboutSojourner Truth
By Sojourner Truth
- Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave (1850).
- Dover Publications 1997 edition: ISBN 0-486-29899-X
- Penguin Classics 1998 edition: ISBN 0-14-043678-2. Introduction & notes by Nell Irvin Painter.
- University of Pennsylvania online edition (HTML format, one chapter per page)
- University of Virginia online edition (HTML format, 207 kB, entire book on one page)
See also
- Elizabeth Freeman
- Elizabeth Key Grinstead
- List of enslaved people
- List of women's rights activists
- List of abolitionists
- List of African-American abolitionists
References
- Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
- "Sojourner Truth Was a 'Double Woman' in More Ways than One". ChristianityToday.com. November 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, 3rd ed., Vol. 1,
- Thomas, Erik R. (2006). "Rural White Southern Accents". In Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (eds.). Atlas of North American English (online) (PDF). New York: Walter de Gruyter. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014.
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Further reading
- Andrews, William L., ed. Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century (Indiana University Press, 1986).
- Bernard, Jacqueline. Journey toward freedom: The story of Sojourner Truth (Feminist Press at CUNY, 1990).
- Field, Corinne T. "Old-Age Justice and Black Feminist History: Sojourner Truth's and Harriet Tubman's Intersectional Legacies." Radical History Review 2021.139 (2021): 37–51.
- Grigsby, Darcy Grimaldo (2015). Enduring Truths: Sojourner's Shadows and Substance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226192130.
- Johnson, Paul E.; Wilentz, Sean (1994). The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195098358.
- Mabee, Carleton; Mabee Newhouse, Susan (1993). Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 0814755259.
- Mabee, Carleton. "Sojourner Truth, Bold Prophet: Why Did She Never Learn to Read?." New York History 69.1 (1988): 55–77. JSTOR 23178487
- Mandziuk, Roseann M., and Suzanne Pullon Fitch. "The rhetorical construction of Sojourner Truth." Southern Journal of Communication 66.2 (2001): 120–138.
- Murphy, Larry G. Sojourner Truth: A Biography (ABC-CLIO, 2011).
- Painter, Nell Irvin (1996). Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-31708-0.
- Painter, Nell Irvin. "Truth, Sojourner" in American National Biography (2000) doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1500706
- Painter, Nell Irvin. "Sojourner Truth in life and memory: Writing the biography of an American exotic." Gender & History 2.1 (1990): 3–16. online
- Peterson, Carla. "Doers of the Word": African American Women Speakers and Writers in the North (1830–1880) (Rutgers University Press, 1998).
- Piepmeier, Alison (2004). Out in Public: Configurations of Women's Bodies in Nineteenth-Century America'. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807855693.
- Redding, Saunders. "Sojourner Truth," Edward T. James ed. Notable American Women vol 3 (1971) 481
- Sheehan, Jacqueline (2003). Truth: A Novel. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-4444-3.
- Smiet, Katrine. Sojourner Truth and Intersectionality: Traveling Truths in Feminist Scholarship (Routledge, 2020).
- Stetson, Erlene; David, Linda (1994). Glorying in Tribulation: The Lifework of Sojourner Truth. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 0-87013-337-3.
- Stone, William Leete (1835). Matthias and his Impostures- or, The Progress of Fanaticism. New York.
- Vale, Gilbert (1835). Fanaticism – Its Source and Influence Illustrated by the Simple Narrative of Isabella, in the Case of Matthias, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folger, Mr. Pierson, Mr. Mills, Catherine, Isabella, &c. &c. New York: G. Vale. p. 1.
Fanaticism –.
– online edition (pdf format, 9.9 MB - Vetter, Lisa Pace. The Political Thought of America's Founding Feminists (New York UP, 2017)( pp. 198–212.
- Williams, Michael Warren (1993). The African American encyclopedia. Vol. 6. Marshall Cavendish Corp. ISBN 1-85435-551-1.
- Yee, Shirley J. Black women abolitionists: A study in activism, 1828–1860 (Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1992). online
- Yellin, Jean Fagan. Women and Sisters: The Antislavery Feminists in American Culture (Yale University Press, 1989).
External links
- Works by Sojourner Truth at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Sojourner Truth at the Internet Archive
- Works by Sojourner Truth at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- McMillian, Angela. "Sojourner Truth: Online Resources". Library of Congress.
- Nyquist, Corinne. "On the Trail of Sojourner Truth in Ulster County, New York". Sojourner Truth Library. SUNY New Paltz.
- "Home Page". Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- "Sojourner Truth Biography". biography.com. January 6, 2021.
- "Writings of Sojourner Truth". American Writers: A Journey Through History. C-SPAN. April 30, 2001.
- Michals, Debra (2015). "Sojourner Truth". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018.
- Part of her life is retold in the 1948 radio drama "Truth Goes to Washington", a presentation from Destination Freedom, written by Richard Durham
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