Born into slavery, sometime around 1797,
as Isabella Baumfree, she was next to the youngest of maybe twelve
children. Her parents were James and Betsy, the property of Col.
Johannes, from Holland, and living in Ulster County, New York.
As a teen she was sold to John J. Dumont,
who was not a kind slave owner. Belle was forced to marry another
slave by the name of Thomas. Together they had five children. The
youngest is rumored to have died, while the rest were sold away.
In 1827, she escaped from Dumont and was
taken in by a Quaker family named Van Wagener. There she was treated
kindly and she thrived. While living with the Van Wageners she was
able to sue for custody of her son Peter, who was illegally sold to an
Alabama plantation. She won the lawsuit, making her the first black
woman to sue a white man and win.
It was sometime around 1843, that Belle
completely transformed herself. She did housework for a living and
attended both The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and a white
In her own words, "God revealed
himself... with all the suddeness of a flash of lightning showing
her...that He pervaded the universe.... and that there was no place
where God was not."
It was then that she received a calling
from God to preach, and it was then that she took the name
By December of 1843, she joined the
Northampton Association, a white utopian community in Florence, Massachusetts.
It was there that she began speaking on social reform, as well as
religious salvation. Truth insisted on the need to include black and
working women in any vision of social reform. She earned a reputation
for oratorical power and a ready wit. She spoke proudly of her own
strength and accomplishments, and by implication, those of all women.
Truth was a very tall (perhaps six feet)
woman with a masculine voice. She also possessed a very powerful
singing voice, and she sang whenever she spoke to crowds. As a
speaker, Sojourner Truth became known for her quick wit and powerful
presence. She would never be intimidated. Because of her powerful
speaking ability, independent spirit and her six foot frame, she was
often accused of being a man. She ended that in Silver Lake, Indiana
when she exposed her breast to the audience that accused her.
In a letter written by Henry B. Graves,
dated Dec. 30, 1939 he wrote of her: "Although illiterate, she
possessed a keen mind and ready wit. She was a most impressive
speaker, especially when dwelling on the wrongs and aspirations of her
race. I can see her now addressing an attentive audience and extending
a long bony forefinger to emphasize her points."
It is rarely discussed, but Sojourner
Truth fought for the desegregation of public transportation in
Washington, DC during the Civil War. She refused to face the
indignities of Jim Crow segregation on street cars and had the Jim
Crow car removed from the Washington D. C. system. Sojourner Truth
bought a local street to a standstill when a driver refused her
passage. With the support of the crowd she forced the driver to carry
her. During her legendary life, she challenged injustice wherever she
saw it. She was an abolitionist, women's rights activist and preacher.
Sojourner Truth is best remembered for a
speech she gave at a women's rights conference where she noticed that
no one was addressing the rights of black women. Her address reads in
ober dar say dat womin needs to be helped over carriages, and
lifted ober dicthes and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody eber helps me into carriages, or ober muddpuddles, or
bigs me any best place. And Aint I a woman? Look at me Looka
at me arm. I have ploughes and planted and gathered into
barns, and no mand could head me! And aint I a woman."
From 1864 to 1868 she worked with the
National Freedman's Relief Association and the federal Freedman's
Bureau. She also participated in the American Woman Suffrage
Association. During this time she was received in the White House by
Abe Lincoln. The first black woman to acquire this honor.
Photo of a
painting of Lincoln showing Truth a bible presented to him by Colored
People of Baltimore, in executive mansion, Washington D.C. Oct. 29,
Truth lived with her
daughter in Battle Creek, Michigan until her death in November 1883.
The last honor she received was having the Mars Pathfinder microrover
named after her in 1995.
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