“Ain't I a Woman?”
“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the niggers of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?” (Truth)
The quote above is part of a speech that was delivered by Sojourner Truth at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, on May 29, 1851. She was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist.
Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in New York and had a rough childhood. Truth escaped to freedom in 1826 and became a devout Christian. Later, she claimed that “The Spirit calls me, and I must go”, and became a Methodist. She left to travel and preach about abolition. Truth joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry. This organization was founded by abolitionists, and supported religious tolerance, women's rights, and pacifism.
Truth attended the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851. At the convention, Truth delivered her famous speech later known as “Ain't I a Woman”. She could not read or write so and she spoke from memory. She delivered one of the most famous speeches of the history on blacks and women.
Over the next decade Truth traveled around speaking before hundreds of audiences. Truth spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, capital punishment and had many influential supporters at the time. Sojourner Truth was a passionate advocate for African-American women's rights. In her speech she argues that while white women were often given certain privileges, this attitude was not extended to black women.
She was not intimidated by authority and she contributed to many reforms. She worked hard for many years to help ex-slaves, fight for human rights and implement reforms. Truth was one of the most famous and influential African-American woman of the nineteenth century.
Narrative of Sojourner Truth: a bondswoman of olden time, with a history of her labors and correspondence drawn from her Book of life ; also, A memorial chapter
Olive Gilbert - Sojourner Truth - Nell Irvin.Painter - Penguin Books - 1998
"Documents from." A History of the American Suffragist Movement, © The Moschovitis Group, Inc. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. <http://www.suffragist.com/docs.htm>.
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