The Discovery Of Literacy In Sojourner Truth's 'Aint'

Sojourner Truth is an abolitionist and she was also a part of the suffrage group. She was born Isabell Baumfree in 1797. She changed her name to Sojourner Truth later in life which was in 1843. She was also separated from her family when their owner died. She was sold with a flock of sheep for $100 when she was young. In 1826, she escaped with her infant daughter to freedom.

Inside the town of Akron, Ohio within the 12 months of 1851, an African American female added a shifting speech at the women’s convention that would be remembered for its rawness, genuineness, and effectiveness. Sojourner Truth spoke about the way she was treated for simply being a “black woman”. Not only being black was the problem, also being a woman had a vast effect on the way she was treated. She used personal and emotional experiences to connect with her audience. Sojourner Truth petitions to her audience for the push of women rights – for all women – through a variety of rhetorical devices.

In the year 1851 an African American woman by name of Sojourner Truth gave a powerful speech at the Woman’s convention in a small town of Akron, Ohio. This speech would be remembered for the originality and powerful message that it left on those listening. The speech touched on the trials and tribulations that Sojourner went through not only as a woman but a black women in that day’s society. She shared her personal experiences and used repetitive language to grab the attention of her audience, she also made references from the Bible to connect emotionally with her audience. The techniques she used were to invoke some power to overcome race and gender inequality.

In Chapter 2 of Slavery and the Making of America, it talks about how American leaders were influenced by the writings of John Locke, a British philosopher who believed that rights and liberty came directly from God, how people were against slavery, it said that people such as James Otis, a Massachusetts lawyer, who was one of the earliest to outrightly express that liberty was given from God and that the government had no right to tax people without their consent. It also talked about how the beginning of the American Revolution started when British soldiers went to s Boston pub full of sailors, who were on bad terms with these soldiers because of England’s Navigation Acts, which set limitations on American trade, making a hard time for the

Sojourner truth was born around 1797 as Isabella baumfree, a slave in Ulster County, New York.As a kid sojourner was a slave she was separated from her family in 1806 when she was only nine years old, she was sold with a flick of sheep for one hundred dollars. Her new owner was harsh and violent and she had no family to protect her. Two years later she learned how to read and write in english

Frederick Douglass didn’t have the right to have an education because of his skin color,but educated himself and was educated by others. Sojourner Truth was also not educated because of her skin tone and thought it was wrong because she is a woman. Douglass was educated from a slaveholder's wife and from white boys that he traded bread for learning. Sojourner didn’t seem educated because of the way she spoke. Frederick became a speaker after he was educated because you can’t be a speaker and not know what you are talking about. Sojourner truth became a speaker because of experience and because she knew what was right or wrong.

Sojourner Truth was an extremely strong and courageous woman. She proceeded through many hardships and Truth even escaped the bondage from slavery. After that she spoke out for women’s rights and was even the first African American woman to take a white man to court and win. Throughout her eighty six years of life Sojourner Truth she stumbled through numerous hardships, escaped slavery, and spoke out on women’s rights.

Sojourner Truth came a long way before becoming an advocate in the abolition movement. Truth was a former slave and her original name before Sojourner truth was, Isabella Bomfree. Sojourner was freed from slavery when the state outlawed the practice in 1827. (This far by Faith) "In 1828, Isabella moved to New York City and soon thereafter became a preacher in the "perfectionist," or pentecostal tradition." As a preacher, along the way she met abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and Fredrick Douglass. Garrison encouraged Truth to give speeches about slavery. Even though Sojourner was illiterate throughout her life she continued to speak at anti slavery rallies and conventions during the 1850s. She had an autobiography published called The

Sojourner Truth is now known as a Catalyst for change. When Sojourner was born her name was Isabella Baumfree. However, “On June 1,1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, devoting her life to Methodism and the abolition of slavery.”(4) Sojourner to many means to travel. So, you could say that Sojourner Truth was a traveler of Truth. The next major event that makes Sojourner Catalyst for change was “In May of 1851, Truth delivered a speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron. The extemporaneous speech, recorded by several observers, would come to be know as “Ain’t I a Woman?” The first version of the speech, published a month later by Marius Robinson, editor of Ohio newspaper The Anti- Slavery Bugle, did

During the late 1840s, Sojourner acquired a reputation as a powerful speaker. Oliver Gilbert was a friend of the Benson’s and they reached out to him to help write Truth’s Narrative. He started making Truth’s narrative at Northampton and had it published by William Lloyd Garrison. A man by the name of Yerrinton printed Truth’s narrative. Truth was supported through donations and the sale of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, originally published in Boston in 1850. Strangely, Truth sold her 128-page book for 25¢ per copy. Truth travelled for years at a time and surprisingly she was able to take care of herself, while only producing 25¢ for every book she sold.

Sojourner Truth once remarked, in reply to an allusion to the late Horace Greeley, "You call him a self-made man; well, I am a self-made woman” (Gilbert, v). This quote digs deeper into the leadership of what Sojourner Truth’s journey was all about. Truth’s greatest commitments for women’s suffrage stood alongside of her remark to Greely. No woman was just to be a housewife or slave to her own family, but to be able to enjoy the world as man did. Sojourner Truth was an important figure in American History because she helped create a pathway for the ideas of feminism and the justices of racial equality.

" I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail." Said Sojourner Truth during one of her battles for freed slave rights. Truth was born as a slave in which after 30 years she escaped. After she dedicated her life to helping freed slaves get their rights along with women's rights. Sojourner Truth is a hero to not only women, but to everyone because she changed America for women and color people by being brave, determined, and Godly.

Privilege equates to power over others, often leading the powerless to suffer from inequity. Feeling confined in their situations, both author Mary Wollstonecraft and abolitionist Sojourner Truth confront their perceptions of inequity through a critique of sexism towards women. Marry Wollstonecraft’s 1792 essay, “The Vindication of the Rights of Women”, focuses on equality between men and women; a defiant tone outlining society’s tendency to hinder its own advancement by limiting women to singular roles. In activist Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman” from 1851, Truth mirrors Wollstonecraft’s assertions, candidly explicating opposition to the ways society has shaped its ideals concerning women. Despite the expanse of time between the

“Sweet is the virgin honey, though the wild bee store it in a reed; And bright the jeweled band that circlet an Ethiop’s arm; Pure are the grains of gold in the turbid stream of the Ganges; And fair the living flowers that spring from the dull cold sod. Wherefore, thou gentle student, bend thine ear to my speech, For I also am as thou art; or hearts can commune together: To meanest matters will I stoop, for mean is the lot of mortal; I will rise to noblest themes, for the soul hath a heritage of glory.” Written by Sojourner Truth (The Narrative of Sojourner Truth)

Sojourner Truth was an outspoken woman who fought for women's rights, black's rights, and antislavery. She fully believed what she spoke when she said, "Truth is powerful and it prevails." Sojourner Truth stood up for something she believed in, and it is still affecting people's lives in many positive ways today.