She was born into slavery in 1797 in the rural community of Swarteville, New York to James Baumfree and Elizabeth Baumfree, who named her Isabella, which she would famously change later in life. She endured several masters as one of ten siblings and was treated like most enslaved Africans, which included beatings and forced labor. She was also denied the right to an education and sexually assaulted. Baumfree was sold to her last owner, John Dumont, in 1810, where she would remain until her escape.
Life on Dumont's farm did not go well for Baumfree. Dumont's romantic overtures caused tension between Baumfree and his wife. She was later raped by him, which resulted in an infant daughter. Likewise, she was prevented from having a productive relationship with her first love, an enslaved gentleman from a nearby farm, in 1825, which left her brokenhearted. His master not only forbade it but beat him severely for fear any offspring would be the property of Dumont. Baumfree eventually married an older male slave on Dumont's land around 1820 and is believed to have born four offspring.
Dumont promised to free Baumfree if she was a "dutiful" slave. However, he withdrew the offer due to a hand injury. (4) Understandably upset, Baumfree escaped to freedom or "walked away," as she put it in 1826, with her newborn daughter in her arms, leaving the rest of her children behind only months before New York State would officially free all its slaves in 1827.
Baumfree settled in New Platz, New York, where she befriended Issac and Maria Van Wagenen, well-known Quakers, who paid Dumont for the balance of her service. He accepted the measly sum of twenty dollars until the State Emancipation Order took effect. (6) They hired Baumfree as a housekeeper and offered her a place to live as she sought additional work around town.
A year later, she learned Dumont had sold her only son, then five, to a slave owner in Alabama after New York officially abolished slavery. With the help of the Van Wagenens, she filed suit in Federal Court in 1828 and gained her son's freedom to become the first African American woman to win a judgment against a white man in the United States. (7)
During her stay with the Van Wagenens in 1829, Baumfree converted to Christianity, which set the stage for the rest of her life. (8) She left for New York City, where she worked with key religious figures such as Elijah Pierson and Robert Mathews and did charity work for the poor.
During her stay with the Van Wagenens in 1829, Baumfree converted to Christianity, which set the stage for the rest of her life. (8) She left for New York City, where she worked with key religious figures such as Elijah Pierson and Robert Mathews and did charity work for the poor.
In 1843, Baumfree joined the Methodist Church. She adopted the name Sojourner Truth, believing God had anointed her to travel the land and preach the truth about slavery and stand up for the downtrodden and disenfranchised. (9) She traveled the Connecticut River Valley, "preaching about the abolition of slavery" to anyone who would listen. (10) She ventured to Massachusetts, where she attended camp meetings held by the Millerites Adventists, who prophesied the return of Jesus by 1844. They were enthralled by her singing and preaching ability, which drew large crowds. (12) However, Truth and others departed the group disappointed when the Second Coming did not come to pass.
Shortly afterward, Truth united with the North Hampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts, started by Abolitionists. It billed itself as a community of like-minded individuals who advocated for women's rights and an end to slavery. (14) Truth and about 240 members lived on 470 acres. They owned a grist mill, sawmill, and silk factory. They also raised livestock to demonstrate how to be self-sufficient.
Baumfree is believed to have supervised men and women on the property before the group disbanded. While there, she was not only encouraged to deliver antislavery speeches to a larger audience but also met popular Abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Lloyd Garrison, who greatly influenced her work.
Truth joined other organizations, attended meetings, and delivered countless speeches in the years ahead to further the cause of freedom and women's suffrage. In her most famous speech, "Ain't I a Woman," delivered at the Ohio Women's Convention in 1851, she "demanded human rights for all women and for all blacks," which was a risky proposition even in the North. She declared she was equal to a white woman in needs, desires, aspirations, and hopes as a virtue of her womanhood.
Following the outbreak of the Civil War, like many black leaders of her time, Truth went out of her way to support the Union cause that she hoped would one day result in the freedom of her people. For instance, she recruited black soldiers for the Northern Army and witnessed the enlistment of her grandson in the legendary 54th Massachusetts. She worked for the National Freedman's Relief Association in Washington, D.C., "Where she diligently sought to improve conditions for blacks." (18) Near the end of the war, she found work at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she "rode in the streetcars to help force their desegregation."(19) She was even invited to the White House by President Lincoln, who came to admire her determination for change.
After the Civil War, Truth attempted to secure land grants for the Freedmen to smooth their transition from slavery to freedom and engaged in other projects in the coming years. Only a handful of African Americans received free land as promised, while others purchased it and passed it down through generations. In 1871, she addressed the Eighth Anniversary of Negro Freedom, where she crucified the institution of slavery for what it had done to her and other ex-slaves, such as destroying families. Months later, she delivered remarks to a receptive audience at the Second Annual Convention of the American Women Suffrage Association. She declared women must have the same rights as men. She also fought for prison reform to help stem the tide of black men being forced into work camps and lobbied against capital- punishment at the Michigan State House. (20)
In 1872, Truth campaigned for the reelection of President Ulysses S. Grant as one of her last battles for uplifting America. She attempted to vote but was turned away at the polls. (21) She backed a man many African Americans viewed as a savior for winning the Civil War and supporting the Freedman's Bureau that helped former slaves build schools, start businesses, and own land. She was fortunate to meet the president as well.
Sojourner Truth died on November 26, 1883, after an eventful life. She found freedom and Christ and waged war on slavery. She also campaigned for equal rights and counseled presidents on what was best for African Americans. It was the end of the road for someone who cared deeply for others.
After being buried in her adopted hometown of Battlecreek, Michigan, attended by local and national dignitaries, efforts began to celebrate her legacy that continues today. The Episcopal Church commissioned a bronze statue in her likeness in Battlecreek, Michigan. There is a statue of Truth also at the University of California San Diego. (22) Numerous other commendations such as books on her life, murals, paintings, buildings, and roads named in her honor, T.V. specials about her, and the recognition she receives during Black History Month pay tribute to a woman who fought hard to change America.
Source: Wikipedia
