Sojourner TruthSlave & public speaker
B. 1797 D. 1883 Testimony: In their Own WordsI have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart – why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, – for we can't take more than our pint'll hold. |
Actions
- Born as a slave and was sold as a child.
-Physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by four owners.
- Eventually escaped to freedom with one of her 5 children, leaving the rest to earn their freedom after they turned 20 (according to New York law)
- Became a Methodist in 1843 and began traveling and preaching for abolition of slavery.
- Attended Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851, delivering a famous improvised speech called "Am I Not a Woman"
- Spoke to multiple equal rights groups, arguing that women AND blacks should have rights.
- Helped recruit black troops for the Union Army
- Worked for the National Freedman's Relief Association to help improve life for freed black slaves.
- Rode in streetcars to force their desegregation
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-Physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by four owners.
- Eventually escaped to freedom with one of her 5 children, leaving the rest to earn their freedom after they turned 20 (according to New York law)
- Became a Methodist in 1843 and began traveling and preaching for abolition of slavery.
- Attended Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851, delivering a famous improvised speech called "Am I Not a Woman"
- Spoke to multiple equal rights groups, arguing that women AND blacks should have rights.
- Helped recruit black troops for the Union Army
- Worked for the National Freedman's Relief Association to help improve life for freed black slaves.
- Rode in streetcars to force their desegregation
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