Sojourner Truth

She was born between 1797 and 1883 and given the name Isabella in a Dutch speaking county in New York.

She meets us at the intersection of former slave, abolitionist, women’s rights activists, mother, daughter, wife.

Isabella Baumfree spent the first nine years of her life close to her family. Her father,  James Baumfree was captured from Ghana. Her mother Elizabeth was captured from Guinea. She was sold for the first time at the age of nine.  She  spent the next decade of her life being sold to not very nice people.

She had a husband and five children. Her last master was supposed to free her, but reneged. In late  1826, she escaped with her daughter Sophia.

 I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right.”

She walked to freedom.

This happened because in 1799, the State of New York created laws to abolition slavery which was complete in 1827.  Baumfree’s slaver owner refused to let her go, so she left with her youngest child. According to the law the other children would be free when they were in their twenties.

Her former slave owner sold her young son, who was 5 years old, to a slave owner in Alabama. With the help of some others, Baumfree fought for her son in court. She was the first African American to sue her slave owner in court and win.

On June 1, 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth because she felt the Lord calling her to preach the truth. In 1944, Truth joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry through which she met Frederick Douglass and others who encouraged her to speak publicly.

In 1850 she dictated her memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A Northern Slave.  In 1951, while on a speaking tour, she delivered her famous speech Aint I A Woman which demanded equal rights for women.

She spoke at several meetings before the war. Afterwards she became a proponent of women’s rights. As she aged, she was cared for by her two daughters. She died at her home in Battle Creek Michigan in November of 1883.

She meets us at the intersection of human being, African American, woman, Activist, Christ follower and family member.

She was born between 1797 and 1883 and given the name Isabella in a Dutch speaking county in New York.

She meets us at the intersection of former slave, abolitionist, women’s rights activists, mother, daughter, wife.

Isabella Baumfree spent the first nine years of her life close to her family. Her father,  James Baumfree was captured from Ghana. Her mother Elizabeth was captured from Guinea. She was sold for the first time at the age of nine.  She  spent the next decade of her life being sold to not very nice people.

She had a husband and five children. Her last master was supposed to free her, but reneged. In late  1826, she escaped with her daughter Sophia.

 I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right.”

She walked to freedom.

This happened because in 1799, the State of New York created laws to abolition slavery which was complete in 1827.  Baumfree’s slaver owner refused to let her go, so she left with her youngest child. According to the law the other children would be free when they were in their twenties.

Her former slave owner sold her young son, who was 5 years old, to a slave owner in Alabama. With the help of some others, Baumfree fought for her son in court. She was the first African American to sue her slave owner in court and win.

On June 1, 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth because she felt the Lord calling her to preach the truth. In 1944, Truth joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry through which she met Frederick Douglass and others who encouraged her to speak publicly.

In 1850 she dictated her memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A Northern Slave.  In 1951, while on a speaking tour, she delivered her famous speech Aint I A Woman which demanded equal rights for women.

She was born between 1797 and 1883 and given the name Isabella in a Dutch speaking county in New York.

She meets us at the intersection of former slave, abolitionist, women’s rights activists, mother, daughter, wife.

Isabella Baumfree spent the first nine years of her life close to her family. Her father,  James Baumfree was captured from Ghana. Her mother Elizabeth was captured from Guinea. She was sold for the first time at the age of nine.  She  spent the next decade of her life being sold to not very nice people.

She had a husband and five children. Her last master was supposed to free her, but reneged. In late  1826, she escaped with her daughter Sophia.

 I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right.”

She walked to freedom.

Phillis Wheatley Peters was born in 1753 in Senegal/Gambia of West Africa where she was taken from as a child to live a life of slavery. She was captured at the age of seven years old. She was purchased by a wealthy Boston family.

She was known as one of the first African Americans to have a book of poetry published. She was named Phillis by her owner because she was brought to America aboard a ship named Phillis.

Her slave owners taught her to read and write as a child.  She wrote her first poem at the age of 13.  It was published in Boston, Newport and Rhode Island. At age 18, she had an entire collection of poems her slave owners attempted to have published. They had no luck in the colonies, so they went to Europe.

Yet at the publication of her book, her work was called into question because they did not believe that a person of African descent could be smart enough to write so well. Wheatly found herself before several of the most powerful men in the country being questioned about her writing.  These men included Massachusetts Govenor Thomas Hutchinson,  John Hancock who would become a significant part of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams and more. The common thought was that Africans were not intelligent enough to do such work.

Phillis would write about important moments in American History like the Boston Massacre. She would correspond with significant figures in history, including George Washington and John Newton.

After the publication of her book, Wheatly was freed from slavery. She would have to find a way to take care of herself because her book was not doing well in the colonies.  She would meet a free man of African descent, who was a grocer. She married John Peters. They struggled to take care of themselves, as free former slaves had a difficult time finding work. Peters eventually went to jail for debt. Phillis would die in poverty, but still trying to publish her work. She died in 1784 at the age of 31.

Phillis Wheatley Peters was born in 1753 in Senegal/Gambia of West Africa where she was taken from as a child to live a life of slavery. She was captured at the age of seven years old. She was purchased by a wealthy Boston family.

She was known as one of the first African Americans to have a book of poetry published. She was named Phillis by her owner because she was brought to America aboard a ship named Phillis.

Her slave owners taught her to read and write as a child.  She wrote her first poem at the age of 13.  It was published in Boston, Newport and Rhode Island. At age 18, she had an entire collection of poems her slave owners attempted to have published. They had no luck in the colonies, so they went to Europe.