Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (/soʊˈdʒɜːrnər ˈtruːθ/; born Isabella ("Bell") Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, in 1828 she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843. Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?," a variation of the original speech re-written by someone else using a stereotypical Southern dialect; whereas Sojourner Truth was from New York and grew up speaking Dutch as her first language. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves.

Sojourner Truth (Lane)

Sojourner Truth is a public artwork by Canadian sculptor Artis Lane, located at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C., United States.

Description

The over-life-size bust shows her in a cap and shawl similar to those in which she was often photographed. She is depicted with a smile suggesting confidence and determination.

Artist

Artis Lane, born in 1927 in Ontario, Canada, studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and University of California in Los Angeles. Lane has also created portraits of Rosa Parks and designed the Rosa Parks Congressional Medal of Honor. She is based in California.

Information

The sculpture was unveiled on April 28, 2009 in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center.

See also

References