Een Vallende Ster
*A Shooting Star*
Who was Sojourner Truth?
Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, was an African American abolitionist, evangelist, author, and Women's rights activist. Around 1797, at the age of nine, she was sold to, John Dumont and separated from her family. According to Wikipedia, Truth spoke only Dutch and endured harsh treatment from her new English speaking owners. She was unable to understand their commands and quickly learned the language.
One year before the state *emancipation, Dumont promised Truth her freedom. After she received a hand injury, he changed his mind, and claimed the injury made her less productive. By late 1826, Truth escaped to freedom with her daughter, Sophia. She was forced to leave her other children behind, because they were not legally freed, She then found her way to New Paltz, and lived with Issac and Maria Van Wagenen; until the New York Emancipation Act was approved one year later. Truth also discovered that her son, Peter, had been sold illegally by Dumont to an owner in Alabama. As stated by Wikipedia, Truth took the issue to court, and with help from the Van Wagenen's, she got her son back in 1828. She became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.
In 1851, Truth joined, George Thompson - an abolitionist and speaker - on a lecture tour through central and western New York State. She went on to attend the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her most famous speech: Ain't I a Woman? Truth spoke about abolition, women's rights, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Although her preaching and lectures weren't welcomed by everyone, she had tons of support from influential people at the time. Throughout her life, Truth was faced with several challenging obstacles, but kept faith and hope alive, and never gave up.
On November 26, 1883, at her Battle Creek home, Sojourner Truth passed away.
Vocabulary
1. Emancipation | To free from restraint, control, or power of another especially to free from bondage
Books
*Kids*
My Name Is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth | Ann Turner
A picture book of Sojourner Truth | David A. Adler
Who was Sojourner Truth? | Yona Z. McDonough
So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth's Long Walk Toward Freedom | Gary D. Schmidt
Sojourner Truth | Gwenyth Swain
Sojourner Truth | Kathleen Kudlinski
*Adults*
Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol | Nell Irvin Painter
Movie(s) | Film(s) | Documentaries'
Truth | 2018
Source(s)
"Sojourner Truth." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 June 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth
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