Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth: Quotes, Speech, Biography, Education, Facts, History (1996)

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Sojourner Truth (/soʊˈdʒɜrnər ˈtruːθ/; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Sojourner Truth was named Isabella ("Bell") Baumfree when she was born. She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843. Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known as "Ain't I a Woman?" (a title taken from a version of the speech rewritten by a white writer using a stereotypical Southern dialect). 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 former slaves. Other honors and commemorations include (by year): 1862 – William Wetmore Story's statue, "The Libyan Sibyl", inspired by Sojourner Truth, won an award at the London World Exhibition.[4] 1892 – Albion artist Frank Courter is commissioned to paint the meeting between Truth and President Abraham Lincoln.[3] 1969 – The leftist group the Sojourner Truth Organization is named after her. The group folded in 1985. 1971 – Sojourner Truth Library at New Paltz State University of New York is named in Truth's honor.[20] 1976 – Interstate 194 is named for her in Michigan. 1981 – Truth is inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.[3] 1981 – Feminist theorist and author bell hooks titles her first major work after Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech. 1983 – Truth is in the first group of women inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in Lansing.[3] 1986 – The U.S. Postal Service issues a commemorative postage stamp honoring Sojourner Truth.[3][21] 1987 – Truth is commemorated in a monument of "Michigan Legal Milestones" erected by the State Bar of Michigan.[22] 1997 – The NASA Mars Pathfinder mission's robotic rover is named "Sojourner" after her.[23] 1998 – S.T. Writes Home appears on the web offering "Letters to Mom from Sojourner Truth," in which the Mars Pathfinder Rover at times echoes its namesake. 1999 – A 12-foot-high monument is built to honor her in Battle Creek, Michigan.[24] 1999 – The Broadway musical The Civil War 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. 2002 – Scholar Molefi Kete Asante lists Sojourner Truth on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.[25] 2004 – The King's College, located inside the Empire State Building in New York City, names one of their houses "The House of Sojourner Truth". 2009 – Truth becomes the first black woman honored with a bust in the U.S. Capitol.[26] The bust was sculpted by noted artist Artis Lane. It is in Emancipation Hall of the Capitol Visitor Center. 2014 – Asteroid (249521) Truth is named in her honor.[27] 2015 – A statue of Sojourner Truth is unveiled at the University of California, San Diego. The statue resides in Marshall College. As of March 2015, K-12 schools in several states, including California, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon, are named after her, as is Sojourner–Douglass College in Baltimore (in part). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth