Sojourner Truth: A Voice That Still Echoes

When you speak the truth, know that you are echoing the voice of Sojourner Truth.

Born Isabella Baumfree (c. 1797 – November 26, 1883), she was an abolitionist, women's rights activist, and advocate for African-American civil rights. Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, she escaped to freedom in 1826 with her infant daughter. In 1828, she became the first Black woman to win a court case against a white man, successfully recovering her enslaved son.

In 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth, believing she was called by God to travel and speak on justice. Her most famous speech, "Ain’t I a Woman?", was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention and became a powerful symbol of the fight for both racial and gender equality.

During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit Black troops for the Union Army and later fought for land grants for freed slaves, summarized as the promise of "forty acres and a mule", though the government never fulfilled this pledge. Until her death in 1883, she remained a fearless advocate for freedom, equality, and justice.

Source: Wikipedia, "Sojourner Truth"