Committed To The Truth, She Risked Everything For Freedom

sojourner truth sitting down
Via Wikimedia Commons
Briona Lamback
November 12, 2022

Sojourner Truth had been sold many times – once for as little as $100 and some sheep. But she knew her life was worth much more. 

So she freed herself and her daughter, walking away from enslavement in broad daylight and towards a bigger purpose.

One thing about Sojourner: she always stood up for Black women. When she wasn’t invited to the  Women’s Rights Convention in Ohio, she showed up anyway.

But she wasn’t the only one who showed up unannounced.

A group of ministers invaded the convention, stating women were meant only for childbearing, homemaking, and subservience.

Truth listened as they preached patriarchy from the pulpit, then sticking to her namesake, she spoke her truth.

Her now-famous speech ensued: “Ain’t I a Woman?” Some historians report that Truth’s speech used this phrase to protest the way Black women are often impacted by both white feminism AND sexism—a double erasure.

Others say her speech didn’t include the famous phrase at all. 

Regardless of her exact words, Sojourner preached about intersectionality.

Despite historic inconsistencies documenting her speech, Truth was a woman who knew THIS: there is no Black liberation without the liberation of Black women.

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