Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (1797? - 1883) was the self-given name, from 1843, of a woman born into slavery. The name she was originally given was Isabella Bomefree (later changed to Baumfree). The year of her birth is uncertain, and is usually taken to be 1797.

She escaped to Canada in 1827; after New York state abolished slavery that year, she returned there in 1829, worked as a domestic servant for over a decade, and joined Elijah Pierson in evangelical preaching on street-corners.

Later in life she became a noted speaker for both the Abolitionist movement and the women's rights movement. Perhaps one of her most famous speeches was Ain't I a Woman? (although official records of this speech do not contain this phrase), a short but pointed commentary delivered in 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio.

In 1850, she worked with Olive Gilbert to produce a biography, the Narrative of Sojourner Truth. During the American Civil War, she organized collection of supplies for the Union.

See also: Slave narrative

In 1997 the NASA Mars Pathfinder mission's robotic rover was named "Sojourner" after Sojourner Truth.

External links and references

• Genealogy note
• Narrative of Sojourner Truth: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html
• An obituary written by Harriet Beecher Stowe is available from the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/

Referenced By