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Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, Sojourner Truth (née Isabella Baumfree) escaped along with her infant daughter in 1826. #WomenofMarch
Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, Sojourner Truth (née Isabella Baumfree) escaped along with her infant daughter in 1826. #WomenofMarch
She named herself Sojourner, meaning a person who resides in a place only temporarily, in 1843 after becoming convinced that God had called her to leave her home.
Two years following her escape, she learned that her son had been illegally sold to a slave owner in Alabama. She took the case to court and in 1828, she won the case and she was reunited with her son.
This legal proceeding made Truth the first black woman to go to court against a white man and win the case. She garnered further attention after a speech she delivered at the 1851 Ohio Women's Rights Convention. It became widely known by the title "Ain't I a Woman?"
In it, she demanded equal human rights between men and women for black people. She continued to speak publicly for these causes at various other conferences and conventions including the American Equal Rights Association and Convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association.
She died in her home on November 26, 1883, but continues to be remembered for her "larger-than-life" personality and ideologies.
