About
Freed slave and abolitionist who became famous for her extemporaneous speech, Ain't I a Woman, delivered in Akron, Ohio in 1851. In 1828, she became the first Black woman to successfully launch a lawsuit against a former slave owner to secure custody of her son. In 1843, she renamed herself Sojourner Truth after answering a religious call to preach around the country in support of abolishing slavery and advancing women's rights. During the Civil War, she helped recruit Black people to the Union Army. In 1850, she wrote and published her memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a Northern Slave.
Before Fame
She took her infant daughter and escaped slavery in 1826, fleeing the home of her owner and taking refuge with a family in New Paltz, New York.
Trivia
She is the first African American woman to have a statue in the U.S. Capitol building. In 2014, the Smithsonian listed her as one of their 100 most significant Americans.
Family Life
She estimated her year of birth to be between 1797 and 1800. She was born Isabella Baumfree to Elizabeth and James Baumfree in Swartekill, New York, which is part of the town of Esopus, New York. She was one of 10-12 children born into her family, and she bore 5 children of her own, one of whom was a result of rape.
Associated With
During her work in civil rights movements, she interacted with Frederick Douglass.
