- Helene F.
- Thursday, May 20, 2021
Sojourner Truth was not born with that name. In 1843 the lady who had been given the name Isabella Van Wagener, took control of her life, in both name and profession. She debated preachers, especially those who lead their congregation into anger, based on Nell Irvin Painter's book called "Sojourner Truth A Life, A Symbol". Narratives can be tricky though, especially when reading the person's words second hand. Thankfully, there are those who want to help us find the truth.
I listened to the audio book for Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and heard how Sojourner Truth was treated when she attended a Woman’s Rights meeting that was supposed to be for the abolition of slavery as well. Many white women were not supportive of abolition when men were attending abolitionist's speeches. The surprising part of her "Ain't I A Woman" speech was that when the women of the crowd heard her speak, they were reported to cheer very loudly when Sojourner Truth spoke and then ended her speech. You can find this information through ABC-CLIO The American Mosaic: The African American Experience database.
In Britannica School's database an article described Sojourner Truth as a brave woman who wanted to move the country closer to ending slavery as well as move women’s rights forward. Most women wanted Suffrage, which meant white women would be given the right to vote, in the mid to late 1800s. Sojourner Truth wanted total equality, where black women were treated equally to white women. In this article is what Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote of her interview with Sojourner Truth.
In another speech Sojourner Truth's audience was described, and the men in the audience paid the abolitionist group to stand in a certain place to protest. The speech was called What Time of Night It Is (1853). You can find that speech in The Britannica Library linked under their article for Sojourner Truth.
In Credo Reference you can search for Sojourner Truth and find these articles that can fill in more of who the real woman was and how she spoke.
Sojourner was born in New York, so Brooklyn has a museum and website with information about her as well. The name of the museum is Brooklyn Museum. At the bottom of her webpage they discuss the correction made in 2020 concerning the words she spoke in her "Ain't I A Woman". She did not grow up in the south, but spoke Dutch from a young age, therefore stereotypes should and are being taken out.
Another online website offers everyone the ability to learn more of who the real Sojourner Truth was through showing how people with a Dutch dialect sound through a you tube video. Clicking through the slides you find the video in the top right corner with one woman who presents this historical person in the truer sense that Sojourner Truth deserves. National Women's History Museum offers this through their digital museum.
Below is also a you tube video with another woman speaking English in her Dutch accent, to give a clearer view of how Sojourner Truth would have sounded.
In the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture you are able to access these articles that also inform the reader about Sojourner Truth's life, and her influence on our history or herstory.