Sojourner Truth- A Human Rights Activist
Uploaded by munene2339 on Feb 01, 2014
Sojourner Truth
Truth was a human rights activist, an author, domestic servant and also an abolitionist hence the ability and potential to challenge slavery in Africa through her work. She had experienced slavery life having been sold several times. Her work against slavery and an attempt to save her former slaves in fight for abolition of slavery brought her to books as American legend. Despite many challenges such as in ability to read, she rose up to become much influential person and respected speaker of the oppressed.
Truth made it one night to escape from Dumont and later became free from slavery when she was bought by Van Wagenen who never treated her as a slave. Being free from slavery Truth converted to Christianity and started attending Methodist Church and later became an evangelist and progressed her work in Massachusetts and in Long Island. In 1850, she published her first narrative to become the first black woman to come out in public to speak against slavery and also write about women’s rights (John 7).
Truth became more recognized and went ahead to make more friends who were antislavery advocates like; Amy Post, Fredrick Douglass and William Garrison among others. The best part of it is when she visited President Lincoln on October 29, 1984 for the same issue of slavery (Leith 6).
Truth helped freed slaves in Washington after the Civil War, to settle and start new life by counseling and teaching them. In her teachings, she advocated self-reliance among the freed slaves, encouraged them to work for their dependence and discouraged their dependence on the government. 1867, she evicted former slaves from the South to Rochester in New York where they settled. She vigorously campaigned for the allocation of a share of western land to the freed slaves.
Her most successful speech, "Ain't I a woman?" which she delivered at a women’s convention at Ohio in 1851 accelerated her campaign on women’s right though it brought few disputes, she was well received by the audience.
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone,...