Reprint from Texas Informer January 2020 Issue
Sojourner Truth
Ain’t I a Woman?” is a speech, delivered extemporaneously, by Sojourner Truth, (1797– 1883), born into slavery in New York State. Sometime after gaining her freedom in 1827, she became a well-known anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio, on May 29, 1851, and did not originally have a title. The speech was briefly reported in two contemporary newspapers, and a transcript of the speech was published in the Anti-Slavery Bugle on June 21, 1851. It received wider publicity in 1863 during the American Civil War when Frances Dana Barker Gage published a different version, one which became known as Ain’t I a Woman? because of its oft-repeated question. This later, better known and more widely available version has been the one referenced by most historians.
Sojourner Truth Quotes Honoring the Fight for Equality
“I know and do what is right better than many big men who read.” –
“I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.” –
“The rich rob the poor, and the poor rob one another.” –
“I tell you I can’t read a book, but I can read de people.” –
“I’m not going to die, I’m going home like a shooting star.” –
