|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Sojourner Truth was born with the name Isabella Hardenbergh in Ulster County, New York, in 1797. She was the 11th child of Mau-Mau Bett, a very religious woman. Isabella, or Belle, was the slave of Colonel Charles Hardenbergh and as his property had to take her master's name. |
|
| Belle was sold at auction without her family for the first of many times at age 9. She only saw her parents three more times before their death. She escaped to freedom with her youngest child, a baby, one year before a New York state law required the release of all slaves. Belle's older son had been illegally sold to a master in Alabama shortly before he was to be released. |
|
| Belle demanded the release of her son and became one of the first black people to fight a white person in court. Belle won, and her son, Peter, was returned to her. She later sued another white man for slander and won. |
|
| In 1843, after working for a wealthy white family in New York City for nine years, Belle packed up and headed west. She said God was calling her to other work. Belle said the Lord gave her the new name of Sojourner because she was to journey up and down the land. She took the new last name of Truth which she said was the name of her new master. |
|
| Sojourner traveled much of the Northern United States on foot, as blacks often were not allowed on public transportation, after she was freed. |
|
| Sojourner became one of the most well-known advocates for the rights of blacks and women. In 1851, at a Woman Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, Sojourner gave her most famous speech in defense of women's rights, known as her "Ain't I a Woman?" speech. |
|
| She continued to fight for all human rights until her death on November 26, 1883. |
|
