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Sojourner Truth (1797 - 1883)
American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights,
women's rights, and alcohol temperance;
born into slavery on a Dutch plantation in New York,
she was repeatedly beaten, raped, and sold to new masters;
she escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826;
in 1828, she went to court to recover her son and became the
first black woman to win such a case against a white man.
Her most famous speech, delivered extemporaneously in 1851,
became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?"
But that later 1863 version changed Sojourner Truth’s northern
Dutch-accented English to the dialect of a “stereotypical southern slave”
to make it more palatable to white readers;
please see both versions of the speech at the
Sojourner Truth Project website here.
A sHero.
ReplyDeleteAnd this: "But that later 1863 version changed Sojourner Truth’s northern
Dutch-accented English to the dialect of a “stereotypical southern slave”
to make it more palatable to white readers." We're right back there...
XOXO
It was also heavily edited by people who thought they knew better how to appeal to crowds. We'll never really know her own words. But her actions go on.
ReplyDelete🥺 Uh oh! Did we just "educate" Trump about one more Black warrior to send to the dust bin? 🤫 Don't tell "The Ministry of Truth" that Sojourner Truth existed! [Eerie irony! 🫤]
ReplyDeleteAbsolute hero. We'll never know how many lives she saved/changed. I'm glad that history (and herstory) hasn't forgotten her.
ReplyDelete