Sojourner’s Words and Music

Sojourner Truth was renowned in her time for her speaking and singing ability. Although she could neither read nor write, she had people read to her, especially the Bible, and from this she developed her unique voice about how the world worked and how it could be improved. She sounds like a down-to-earth preacher in many of her speeches.

“Throughout her rhetoric she employed her characteristic sharp wit and her engaging narrative style as she sought to influence her hearers.” (Fitch and Mandziuk, p. 89)

“As one of the few African American women speaking publicly at the time, the renown and respect Truth achieved for herself truly were remarkable.” (Fitch and Mandziuk, ibid)

“Women leaders of that time were very impressed with her. Lucy Stone described Truth as ‘wise, unselfish, brave and good’ and Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote of ‘the marvelous wisdom and goodness of this remarkable woman.’” (Fitch and Mandziuk, p. 90)

We would like to give you, the reader, the flavor of Sojourner’s style and wit. The following are excerpts from speeches she gave over many years.

On Women’s Rights

Sojourner Truth’s Famous Speech: Ar’n’t I A Woman? – Ain’t I a Woman?

Sojourner Truth gave what is now known as her most famous speech at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, but it is questionable that she said the words, “Ain’t I a Woman?” or even “Ar’n’t I A Woman?” No actual record of the speech exists, but Frances Gage, an abolitionist and president of the Convention (and also a poet), recounted Truth’s words in the National Anti-Slavery Standard, May 2, 1863. The accuracy of this account has been challenged for several reasons: the delayed time–twelve years after the event took place, Gage’s use of a southern dialect, choice of language, and some clear errors about Sojourner’s life. Gage reports Sojourner saying she had “borne 13 children and seen ‘em mos’ all sold off to slavery,” but she had five children; one was sold and then his mother went to court and got him back.

Several newspaper reports about Sojourner’s speech have been found that were written shortly after the event. The most detailed one below, from the Salem, Ohio, Anti-Slavery Bugle, was written by Marcus Robinson, a friend of Sojourner’s who heard the speech. Though there are clear differences in the two accounts, most of the important themes are the same. An account of Gage’s version appears in the 1875 reprinting of Truth’s Narrative and Book of Life. Later “Reminisces by Frances D. Gage” was published in the History of Women’s Suffrage, (1881) Vol. 1, 115-117, edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Matilda J. Gage.

The Sojourner Truth Project explores the different versions of the “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech and seeks to “offer a more truthful picture of Sojourner’s words, her accent, her heritage and her distinct voice” with a collection of videos of women reading Truth’s speech in contemporary Afro-Dutch dialects.

“Women Rights Convention. Sojourner Truth.” Anti-Slavery Bugle, Salem, Ohio, June 21, 1851 – Marcus Robinson

One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper, or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gesture, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity: “May I say a few words?” Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded:

I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman’s rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now.

As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart — why can’t she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, — for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold. The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won’t be so much trouble.

I can’t read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.

National Anti-Slavery Standard, May 2, 1863 – Frances Gage

“Well, chillen, what dar’s so much racket dar must be som’ting out o’kilter. I tink dat ‘twixt de [negroes] of de South and de women at de Norf, all a-talking ’bout rights, de white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking ’bout? Dat man ober dar say dat woman needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, and to have de best place eberywhar. Nobody eber helps me into carriages, or ober mud-puddles, or gives me any best place,”; and, raising herself to her full height, and her voice to a pitch like rolling thunder, she asked, “And ar’n’t I a woman? Look at me. Look at my arm,” and she bared her right arm to the shoulder, showing its tremendous muscular power. “I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me–and ar’n’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man (when I could get it) and bear de lash as well–and ar’n’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen ’em mos’ all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with a mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard–and ar’n’t I a woman? Den dey talks ’bout dis ting in de head. What dis dey call it” “Intellect,” whispered some one near. “Dat’s it, honey. What’s dat got to do with woman’s rights or [negroes’] rights? If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yourn holds a quart, wouldn’t ye be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?” and she pointed her significant finger and sent a keen glance at the minister who had made the argument. The cheering was long and loud. “Den dat little man in black dar, he say woman can’t have as much rights as man, ’cause Christ wa’n’n’t a woman. Whar did your Christ come from??

Rolling thunder could not have stilled that crowd as did those deep, wonderful tones, as she stood there with outstretched arms and eye of fire. Raising her voice still louder, she repeated,–

“Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had not’ing to do with him.” Oh, what a rebuke she gave the little man. Turning again to another objector, she took up the defence of Mother Eve. I cannot follow her through it all. It was pointed and witty and solemn, eliciting at almost every sentence defeaning [sic] applause, and she ended by asserting: “that if de fust woman God ever made was strong enough to turn de world upside down all her one lone, all dese togeder,” and she glanced her eye over us, “ought to be able to turn it back, and git it right side up again, and now dey is asking to, de men better let ’em.” (long and continued cheering). “Bleeged to ye for hearin’ on me, and now ole Sojourner ha’n’t got nothing more to say.”

The video below is a reading of the speech by Alice Walker.

Further Speech Excerpts on Women’s Rights

1853, New York: “…we’ll have our rights; see if we don’t; and you can’t stop us from them; see if you can.”

1867, New York: “We want to carry the point to one particular thing, and that is woman’s rights, for nobody has any business with a right that belongs to her. I can make use of my own right. I want the same use of the same right. Do you want it? Then get it. If men had not taken something that did not belong to them they would not fear”.

1867, New York: “We are now trying for liberty that requires no blood—that women shall have their rights—not rights from you. Give them what belongs to them; they ask it kindly too.”

“Now, if you want me to get out of the world, you had better get the women votin’ soon. I shan’t go till I can do that.”

1867, New York: “There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights (they received their rights after the Civil War), but not a word about the colored women; and if colored men get their rights and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before. So I am for keeping the thing going while things are stirring.”

On Slavery

1851 (Here one of her most impressive “reframings” of a subject she knew so well): “O friends, pity the poor slaveholder, and pray for him. It troubles me more than anything else, what will become of the poor slaveholder, in all his guilt and all his impenitence. God will take care of the poor trampled slave, but where will the slaveholder be when eternity begins?”

1854, Boston (from Garrison’s Liberator newspaper): She had often asked white people why God should have more mercy on Anglo-Saxons than on Africans, but they had never given her any answer; the reason was, they hadn’t got it to give.

1856, Battle Creek, MI: “And I asked God, why don’t you come ‘nd ‘leave me—if I was you, and you’se tied up so, I’d do it for you.”

1863, Battle Creek: “Children, who made your skin white? Was it not God? Who made mine black? Was it not the same God? Am I to blame, therefore, because my skin is black? …. Does not God love colored children as well as white children? And did not the same Savior die to save the one as well as the other?”

1867, New York: “I will shake every place I go to.”

On Her Name Change:

The story of Sojourner Truth’s name change from Isabella to Sojourner comes from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s article “The Libyan Sibyl,” and Stowe puts Sojourner’s words into dialect.

“My name was Isabella; but when I left the house of bondage, I left everything behind. I wa’n’t goin’ to keep nothin’ of Egypt on me, an’ so I went to the Lord an’ asked Him to give me a new name. And the Lord gave me Sojourner, because I was to travel up an’ down the land, showing the people their sins, an’ bein’ a sign unto them. Afterwards I told the Lord I wanted another name, ‘cause everybody else had two names; and the Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people.” (Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Sojourner Truth, the Libyan Sibyl,” Atlantic Monthly Apr. 1863, 478)

Truth is Powerful

Sojourner Truth is known for saying “The truth is powerful and will prevail.” But where did that quote come from?

The quote appears in the Book of Life and is attributed to Truth during a stay in Angola, Indiana in 1863. She had been invited to give a talk by a local woman, Josephine Griffing, but Indiana had recently outlawed blacks from entering and staying in the state. This law was unconstitutional, so it was fought and Sojourner Truth stayed to give her speech. She had a guard with her, but the local women said maybe she should take a sword or pistol to which she responded: “I carry no weapon; the Lord will reserve [preserve] me without weapons. I feel safe in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.” She gave her speech without interruption. Read the full account, as documented in the Book of Life, online.

Sojourner and Music

Sojourner was very fond of singing both religious and secular songs.

Sojourner Truth… made a version of the song, “The Valiant Soldiers,” which appears in the 1878, 1881, and 1884 editions of her “Narrative”. Her song is almost identical to Captain Miller’s version of the “Marching Song.” In the post-Civil War editions of Truth’s Narrative, “The Valiant Soldiers” is introduced by this sentence by Francis Titus: “The following song, written for the first Michigan Regiment of colored soldiers, was composed by Sojourner Truth during the war, and was sung by her in Detroit and Washington.” She did sing the song, but she was first linked to the song in 1878, fourteen years after Miller’s version was published in the National Anti-Slavery Standard.

In 1993, Sweet Honey in the Rock recorded “Sojourner’s Battle Hymn,” which was basically “The Valiant Soldiers” by Sojourner Truth, which was actually the “Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment” by Captain Miller, with a few less stanza’s.

Many people today have also written songs about and for Sojourner Truth. Here’s a sampling:

Jack Hardy
The Sojourner Truth Quartet: Brilliance of Truth
Avery Sharpe is a nationally known bassist and composer and resident of Western Massachusetts. In 2012 he put out an album “Sojourner Truth ‘Ain’t I a Woman.'” He says he wants to “make the public, and particularly the youth, aware of the struggle and contributions of African American abolitionist and woman’s rights activist Sojourner Truth through original musical composition.
Jeff Lederer is a New York-based saxophonist/composer/educator. His 2006 CD, “Shakers and Bakers” features Shaker songs set to Jeff’s compositions, as well as “Sojourner’s Song” because she was in the visionary spirit of the Shakers. It is reported in her autobiography to be her favorite song.
Stanley Friedman wrote a five-movement cantata that explores five moments in the life of Sojourner Truth: taking the name of Sojourner Truth, recruiting soldiers during the Civil War, her famous “Ar’n’t/Ain’t I a Woman” speech, the end of her life, and her ministry (with a gospel tune).

50 Comments

KSTills · December 25, 2017 at 5:56 pm

I’m disappointed Alice Walker read a version of the improvised speech that made it sound as if Sojourner Truth was a Southern woman. Sojourner Truth spoke Dutch and then learned to speak English. She would not have used the Southern idioms. To me it feels wrong, it feeds into a stereotype, this woman fought for the freedom of her son in court and won. This woman sued a non-black couple what would amount to defamation and won! I would have loved to have seen Alice Walker accurately represent the improvised speech.

Leslie podell · August 24, 2018 at 4:55 am

Yes!!!

AsilusReign · February 25, 2019 at 1:27 pm

I love this!!!

LT · March 10, 2019 at 9:42 am

KSTills, the Holy Bible was also originally written in Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew and was first translated to Greek and now so many other languages including English. So various translations AND versions. Does that disappoint you to? Does it make the Bible any less holy?

I’m on the fence but ultimately…

It’s all about the motive. Sojourner didn’t write so, in essence, she had a ghostwriter translating her words and she approved them. “I am a woman’s rights!” translated to “Ain’t I a Womyn?” gives the speech contemporary style that can be understood and found meaningful. It is the responsibility of the hearer to go back and dig deep. It’s not like Alice Walker hides the “original (S).” She also had to adapt her presentation/reading to fit the demographics of the audience she spoke to.

Leslie Boin Podell · July 12, 2019 at 12:45 am

Sojourners did not like Elizabeth Gage’s fictitious rendition of her speech. This sentiment is reported and quoted directly from Sojourner. In an 1851 issue of the Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, an article states that Truth prided herself on “fairly correct English, which is in all senses a foreign tongue to her. . .. People who report her often exaggerate her expressions, putting in to her mouth the most marked southern dialect, which Sojourner feels is rather taking an unfair advantage of her”. (qtd. in Fitch and Mandziuk 1997: 129). She did not like being portrayed as an unintelligent southern slave. That should matter to Alice Walker and all those who perpetuate the inaccurate version of Sojourner’s speech. It should also matter that although Frances Gage’s actions were well intended and served the suffrage and women’s rights movement at the time; however, by today’s standards of ethical journalism, her actions were a gross misrepresentation of Sojourner Truth’s words and identity. By changing Truth’s words and her dialect to that of a stereotypical southern slave, Frances Gage effectively erased Sojourner’s Dutch heritage and her authentic voice. As well as unintentionally adding to the oversimplification of the American slave culture and furthering the eradication of our nations Northern slave history. Frances Gage admitted that her amended version had “given but a faint sketch” of Sojourner’s original speech but she felt justified and believed her version stronger and more palatable to the American public then Sojourner’s original version. THE TRUTH MATTERS. We must do our best to stick to it for reasons that are obvious as well as for reasons that we can not even understand. Alice Walker does Sojourner as well as the Contemporty and historical African American woman a large disservice by perpetuating the wrong speech. She should know and do better.

Yvonne Quilenderino · November 2, 2019 at 9:29 pm

Leslie Boin Podell thank you!!!

Gayle Radwick · August 28, 2020 at 5:09 am

YES, Leslie! black women have enough problems without having certain dialects assigned to their speech patterns, particularly one that is often associated with a lack of intellect. It feels like Gage wrote Sojourner’s speech in that particular, exaggerated style (evident through the difference in how he wrote Truth’s words vs. the depictions of moments) as a way to delegitimize what she was saying. While this may not have been the intent, it’s so important to recognize that NO ONE should be misrepresented in their speech, but it’s especially fucked to do so from a place of insecurity, ego, or pride…as a white person may have felt entitled to do back in the day, feeling small next to such a powerful, wise, gravitational leader such as Sojourner Truth.
I believe Alice did not mean to belittle Sojourner in her delivery/interpretation. The southern dialect is largely associated with both women… I don’t think it’s my place to judge Walker for her speech. But I do question it, and will use that to do more research on the amazing activist whose words move us over a hundred years later.

Mimi · August 30, 2020 at 4:00 am

As a Black Historian I didn’t know of the original until later. Actually when I first heard this speech I would associate it with Harriet Tubman. The dialect, the number of children and the type of work. In a way i feel Francis Gage takes two powerful woman and merge them into one speech. I use this to show how black women were not seen as women and black women were seen as distraction of the cause suffrage movement.

Shahla Carey · January 21, 2018 at 7:27 am

I’m doing a history fair, and for my presentation, I will be doing sojourner Truth’s speech Ain’t I A Woman. I thought I would ask you guys to be my secondary source for my presentation. But also would you mind answering a few questions for me. I would like to know what were some of her children’s names if you know them? I also wanted to know if she was married at one point in her life?And if so then what was his name? Were her children conceived by her plantation master or the watcher of the slave’s?

Anna Newman · January 24, 2018 at 1:50 am

Hi Shahla–Thanks for your questions! We’d also recommend that you check out our bibliography for some more sources, including biographies of Sojourner Truth. Sojourner had five children, five of whom survived into adulthood: Diana, Peter, Elizabeth, and Sophia. She was married to Thomas, another enslaved person at John Dumont’s in New Paltz, New York. I hope that’s a good start for your research!

Raheem Ahmad · February 7, 2018 at 9:05 pm

Sojourner Truth was a very strong women who helped womens to have the right to vote.

David Walter · July 18, 2018 at 12:35 pm

I have read about Sojourner Truth, and as I understand it, she turned up, because she was never invited to the conference in the first place, and out of irritation as a leading activist, she invited herself in order to protest the racist exclusion of any black participation in the conference itself. Considering from a migration point of view, that white male migrants from Europe of which some were Irish Catholics and others from southern Europe were recruited to build up man power lost during the US Civil War, were given voting rights as citizens before American white women which the suffrage movement in partnership with the Anti-slavery movement were fighting for, this was the political schism that caused the resentment that has infested the US progressive movement which has had unfortunate consequences to this day. It was in that context of this development of political schism that “ain’t I a woman?” becomes the statement of a strong but insensed black woman who understood the trials, hopes, expectations and disappointments of African American Wpopulation that continued to suffer the consequences of the continued disenfranchisement that slowly squeezing the human rights out of an already exploited section of a people.

David Walter · July 18, 2018 at 2:53 pm

The statement of “Ain’t I a woman” was that of a strong but insensed African American activist, who was protesting against the fact that the conference in Ohio was predominantly white with no black activist invited to chair the conference. I disagree with this hypothesis that she invented the concept of ‘black feminism’, simply because there was a perceived understanding that the historical affinity between the Anti-Slavery movement and Universal suffrage in which the women’s right to vote was one of the central issues of that movement was one of unity. With the context of maintaining that historical unity, Sojourner was simply concerned about the growing schism between the growing resentment of white women who were never given the vote before white male immigrant from Europe, some of which were Irish Catholics (which the US protestant majority viewed with suspicion) and Southern Europeans (which US Northern European citizens treated with contempt) who were given the vote as they became US citizens. Sojourner Truth simply was reflecting the hopes, expectations, trials and disappointments of African American women who continued to suffer the insults of disenfranchisement and chastisement that was a daily occurrence for them in the post US civil war world (reconstruction era).

Leslie Boin Podell · February 8, 2019 at 8:21 pm

Sojoirner never used the words “Ain’t I a Woman” in her original speech. That phrasing was invented 12’years later by Frances Gage when published her made up version of Sojourners speech. To learn more and look at both speeches , Sojourners and Frances’s please visit http://www.thesojournertruthproject.com Both speeches are important but we should reference the correct speech.

Leslie Boin Podell · July 12, 2019 at 12:51 am

Sojourner never uttered the words “Ain’t I a woman “. These are the words of Frances Gage, a white woman who rewrote and published Sojourner’s speech 12 years after it was given. The original translation as well as 8 other newspaper reporting of Sojourners speech are in the library of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ Not one mentions the phrasing “Ain’t I a woman”. That’s because she never said it. For more references and information please
Visit. http://Www.thesojournertruthproject.com Thank you for your time and interest, Leslie

Ivy Blanco · October 24, 2018 at 7:36 pm

Hi so I need your help. I am currently working on a research topic that is due in April but right now we’re on working on thesis statements. I was wondering if you can help me come up with an important moment in Sojourner Truth’s life that can be debatable. I am taking honors and my teacher is very picky. Please help me.

Anna Newman · October 25, 2018 at 4:45 pm

Hi Ivy, I would suggest taking a look at our bibliography (https://test.sojournertruthmemorial.org/sojourner-truth/bibliography/) and skim a few of the resources in your age range. They might help you find a moment in Sojourner Truth’s life that would be appropriate for your project. Good luck! Anna

Lynn Freitas · January 7, 2019 at 11:59 pm

The fact that Sojourner learned English somewhat later in life does not mean she learned “correct” or standard English. She would have learned the version of English she was most exposed to, which might well have been some sort of southern dialect. She picked up the language spoken by people around her, which would have been mostly fellow slaves and uneducated white slave foremen. We modern educated people would do well to question our assumption that a speaker needs to talk like us to sound smart.

Leslie Boin Podell · February 8, 2019 at 8:28 pm

I would agree with your assumption regarding intellect. However I would never argue Sojourner spoke in a sounder slave dialect. She only spoke low-land Dutch upnuntil she was about 12 and then she lived in a community of Upper new yorknstate Dutch and slaves with the same… she was a northern slave whoncane from a Dutch community. And she was reported to having a strong Dutch accent. The only reason people think she spoke in southern slave dialect is because of the Frances Gage speech she penned under Sojourner’s name in which the whole speech is written in a southern “Huck Finn” slave dialect. A gross misrepresentation of Sojourners dialect and identity. Please research deeper!

Leslie Boin Podell · July 12, 2019 at 1:01 am

Yes Lynn this is correct. If you research Sojourner Truth you will discover she was raised and lived in upper New York State area which was 100% Dutch speaking. There was NO SOUTHERN DIALECT spoken in upper New York State. This is not debatable it is a fact. And sojourner only spoke Dutch until she was 10
Or 13 and then was forced to learn English from her Dutch owners. Who also spoke English with a heavy Dutch accent that is now extinct and not resurrectanle due to the fact that recording devices had. It been invented yet. While the dialect was written we are unable to know what those sounds were as the international phonetic alphebet was also not invented yet (Thais alphebet now allows us to record any sound with symbols so we can capture accents exactly as they sound in time. As you know even the English language sounds have morphed considerable since the 1900’s. I have hunted through old texts and memoirs written from her area in New York from the time she was alive and I have worked with many dialecticians who have tried to get an idea of what this dialect would have sounded like. Unfortunately it is lost to us. We can only assume it is probably a variation of what a contemporary Dutch speaking person who learned english later in life now speaks like. Anyways we know Sojourner definitely did. It have a southern accent as she was quoted and written about as having a very distinct upper New York State Dutch accent. Thank you for the question. Best , Leslie

J Traugott · August 22, 2020 at 3:45 am

Leslie, when I read Gage’s rendition, I hear the Amish accent. They speak exactly this way. Their dialect is Dutch (a derivative of German) and English is a second language. Dar and whar ( pronounced like car) der
Also the word youns (also Dutch) which is not found in the south at all.

How are we equating this to southern dialect?

Have you spent anytime with the Amish? Would you be open to my reading it for you with the PA Dutch accent?

Brooklen Middendorf · January 21, 2019 at 12:31 am

I am extremely disappointed that Sojourner didn’t actually write her speech. this makes me truly sad especially since it talked all about her life and kind of had “specifics” from her life that weren’t even true…

Jill Chambers · November 6, 2019 at 9:54 pm

If Gage’s version of the speech was recalled years later, how would Sojourner Truth object to it in 1851? Clearly Dutch-English sounds nothing like the southern drawl we are use to hearing of this speech- but what does that sound like and who would know? The several versions of the words are powerful and that is what is important.

Hannah · January 25, 2021 at 8:36 pm

This was an amazing speech because it was heartfelt and honest about all the problems that they faced and all the things that they thought were right when really they weren’t.

Leslie · August 24, 2018 at 4:56 am

Thank you !

Natalie Naylor · January 24, 2020 at 8:24 pm

You have the Sojourner Truth quote “Truth is powerful and it prevails.” Where in her writings does that appear?

Anna Newman · January 26, 2020 at 6:15 pm

Hi Natalie–Thanks for your question! One of our committee members, Wendy Sinton, provided the following information. The quote appears in the Book of Life and is attributed to her during a stay in Angola, Indiana in 1863. She had been invited to give a talk by a local woman (Josephine Griffing), but Indiana had recently outlawed blacks from entering and staying in the state. This law was unconstitutional, so it was fought and Sojourner Truth stayed to give her speech. She had a guard with her, but the local women said maybe she should take a sword or pistol to which she responded: “I carry no weapon; the Lord will reserve [preserve] me without weapons. I feel safe in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.” She gave her speech without interruption. You can read the full account online at https://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbum.25244/?sp=141.

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Not Sure About Women in Tech Events - 7 Generation Games · March 9, 2018 at 12:21 am

United States of Protest: A Citizen’s Guide to 250 Years of Resistance | Collectors Weekly · May 8, 2018 at 10:30 pm

[…] later became known as “Ain’t I a Woman?”, even though it’s likely Truth never uttered that phrase. Thanks to black activists like Truth and Harriet Tubman, many so-called suffragists, including […]

Sojourner Truth said "Ain't I a woman?" in 1851. Black women today are asking the same thing | all new · May 29, 2018 at 7:34 pm

[…] that Truth never have actually asked the rhetorical question that has come to define her. There are differing transcripts of the speech. Frances Gage, the president of the women’s convention, wrote the most famous […]

Here’s a Dictionary of All the Words You Should Know as a Woke Human Being – Thinking Gender · June 17, 2018 at 2:21 pm

[…] decades that only some women deserve a movement. But as former slave Sojourner Truth asked in her famous 1851 speech, “Ain’t I a […]

This Day in History… November 26, 1883 | Mystic Stamp Discovery Center · November 26, 2018 at 5:03 am

[…] Click here for more about Sojourner Truth. […]

Dear Political Science, it is time for a SELF-REFLEXIVE turn! | Duck of Minerva · December 18, 2018 at 11:10 pm

[…] RR framework emerges out of the intellectual legacy of Black women activists and scholars, such as Sojourner Truth, Claudia Jones, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Collins, and bell hooks, among others, who have long […]

Never Hers Alone – The Won Percent · January 11, 2019 at 10:20 pm

[…] “Immortal” for others […]

How to make a puppet speak: Sojourner Truth - Past Times History · January 29, 2019 at 2:59 am

[…] Sojourner’s Words and Music. Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee. […]

BHM: “Ain’t I A Woman?” The Life and Legacy of Abolitionist and Activist Sojourner Truth | Good Black News – News Media · February 25, 2019 at 3:49 am

[…] today’s Google Doogle, abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth, who, with “Ain’t I A Woman?” gave one of the most powerful and unforgettable American speeches of all time on what we now […]

Intersectionality: An Invitation For Action On International Women's Day And Beyond – Forbes – Short Term Wealth · March 7, 2019 at 5:10 am

[…] famous abolitionist writings in U.S. history, when Sojourner Truth stingingly asked the question, “Ain’t I a woman?” From that time forward, feminist scholars, such as bell hooks, challenged the absence of […]

Caster Semenya’s is “A Woman’s Rights” – Avidly · June 5, 2019 at 2:18 pm

[…] iconic rhetorical question “Ain’t I a Woman?” attributed to Sojourner Truth. In another (more probable) document of this speech, Truth states, rather, “I am a woman’s rights.” In this version, […]

Two versions of Sojourner Truth’s famous speech and their place in history – SCRIBBLING WOMEN · April 11, 2020 at 7:46 am

[…] implicitly misattributed to Podell by organizations such as the National Park Service and the Sojourner Truth Memorial. The question arises: At what cost has The Sojourner Truth Project made Painter’s observations […]

Read a poem and briefly (in about three to five sentences) total 4 questions. - Advanced Academic Writers · December 23, 2020 at 5:17 pm

[…] Link to reading material: http://test.sojournertruthmemorial.org/sojourner-truth/… […]

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