Sojourner TruthThe International High School at LafayetteAmerican HistoryUnit 7 - Civil RightsMr. JoelJuan, Marie, Ying

Sojourner TruthLife Dates:

Born: 1797 in Swartekill, New York

Died: 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan

-Truth was born into slavery.

Sojourner TruthLife Facts:

-She was one of 13 children.-She could trace her history to Ghana, Africa.-She grew up speaking Dutch.-She had many children, most sold as slaves.-She was emancipated in 1827, and she eventually moved to New York City.-She changed her name from Isabella Baumfree to Sojourner Truth in 1843.

Sojourner TruthCivil Rights Activist:

-She joined and lived with a pacifist group in Massachusetts in 1844.-Was a friend of William Lloyd Garrison, a famous abolitionist who wrote her biography.-She spoke at the first National Womens Rights Convention in 1851.

Sojourner TruthQuotation:That man over there says that woman needs to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditchesNobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles or gives me any best place. And ant I a woman? Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ant I a woman?I would work as much and eat as much as a man, when I could get it, and bear the lash as well. And ant I a woman? I have borne thirteen children and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out [no one] heard me. And ant I a woman?

Sojourner TruthCivil Rights Activist:

-During the Civil War, she helped recruit black soldiers for the North.-After the war, she worked at the Freedmans Hospital, offering care to former slaves.-By riding the train cars in Washington D.C., she helped desegregate public transportation in the nations capital.

Sojourner TruthConnection to Unit:

Although Truth herself faced discrimination for being both black and a woman, she fought for the civil rights of all people.

Truth spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, and preached against capital punishment well into old age.

She became an inspiration to many civil and womens rights leaders in the 20th century.

Sojourner TruthClass Question:

Think of Sojourner Truths life.

What do you think was the most difficult struggle that she overcame?