Sojourner Truth
Wikimedia CommonsSojourner Truth
One of the earliest feminist icons was Sojourner Truth and she fought hard for two causes at once: slavery abolition and women’s rights. She was born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree, so she knew firsthand what it was like to have to fight every day for her personal rights.
She escaped slavery with her infant daughter, and soon after went back for her son who she discovered had been illegally sold into slavery in Alabama. She went to court over the sale and won her case, making her one of the first black women to ever win a case against a white man in U.S. court.
In 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and officially began her activism. She soon joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, which was a reformation group where all members lived together in a self-serving community.
When the group disbanded, her activism continued. She spoke passionately for women’s rights into her old age and is known today as one of the early advocates for the cause. Truth spoke at numerous women’s rights conventions throughout her time, although her most famous speech was the improvised “Ain’t I a Women?” at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron.
“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 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?”
