The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Narrative of Sojourner TruthWritten by Olive GilbertBased on information provided by Sojourner Truth1850A CLASSIC SLAVE NARRATIVEComplete New EditionSojourner Truth (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.