WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.120 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. We take a monumental 00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:04.620 figure from American history, crack open the 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:06.919 archives and really give you a thorough, detailed 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.279 understanding of their true journey. And today 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:13.560 we are undertaking a deep dive into an activist 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.760 whose life was a physical and spiritual bridge, 00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:20.239 a bridge between the brutality of northern slavery 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:24.320 and the, you know, promise of civil rights. We're 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.440 talking about Sujinder Truth. Exactly. But our 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.539 mission today is, well, it's ambitious. Because 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:32.159 the figure the world thinks it knows, Sojourner 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:34.640 Truth, the author of Eight -Eyed Woman, is largely 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.780 a historical distortion. We're going back to 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:39.899 the beginning, to Isabella Bonefree, tracing 00:00:39.899 --> 00:00:42.060 her path from an enslaved child in New York to 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.740 this pivotal national figure who championed, 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:47.909 I mean, Abolition, women's rights, temperance. 00:00:48.009 --> 00:00:49.829 OK, let's unpack this immediately because her 00:00:49.829 --> 00:00:52.789 biography right off the bat, it just dismantles 00:00:52.789 --> 00:00:55.829 this standard mental image most people have of 00:00:55.829 --> 00:00:58.770 a 19th century formerly enslaved person and activist. 00:00:58.950 --> 00:01:00.950 It absolutely does. I mean, we have two just 00:01:00.950 --> 00:01:03.289 astonishing facts that radically reshape her 00:01:03.289 --> 00:01:06.079 origin story. Absolutely. When most people envision 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.680 19th century slavery in the U .S., they're thinking 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:11.239 of the Deep South, right? Cotton plantations, 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:14.439 spirituals. Of course. But Isabella Bonfrey was 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:17.819 born into slavery in New York State around 1797, 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:20.819 specifically in the Hudson Valley, which is an 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:24.019 area with a long, profitable history of chattel 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:26.459 slavery that, you know, it often gets overlooked. 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:28.819 This was the North, but it was far from free. 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.680 Far from it. And the geography is crucial, but 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:33.980 the linguistic reality is maybe... even more 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:36.040 startling. Her first language wasn't English. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:38.799 It was Dutch. Dutch. It's wild to think about. 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:41.079 That's correct. She was born on the Colonel Hardenberg 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.900 estate in Swartkill, and she was raised speaking 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:46.400 the low Dutch that was common among the landowners 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:49.359 and, well, the local populace in that part of 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:51.319 New York. The sources are clear on this. Oh, 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:53.620 definitive. Right. She spoke with a pronounced 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:56.959 Dutch accent for the rest of her life. And this 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.879 detail, it's not just biographical trivia. It's 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.379 fundamental to understanding the whole controversy 00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:04.840 around her most famous speech, which we'll get 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.760 into later. It means the iconic voice we think 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.699 we hear is fundamentally wrong. That reality, 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:12.979 the language, coupled with her birth in New York, 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:15.840 it instantly forces you to recognize how unique 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.120 she was. She just defied all the expectations 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:20.919 placed on enslaved people at the time. Exactly. 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:24.560 And her biographer, Nell Irvin Painter, she summed 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:26.719 up this intersection. struggle just perfectly. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.580 And it's really our guiding mission for this 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:32.099 deep dive. She said at a time when most Americans 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.259 thought of slaves as male and women as white, 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.379 truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:40.340 Among the blacks are women. Among the women, 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.340 there are blacks. She was literally fighting 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.419 on multiple fronts before we even had the words 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:47.860 for it, like intersectionality. And before we 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:51.599 dive into her. her brutal early life, we have 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.680 to preview this one fact. It just demonstrates 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.919 her relentless tenacity in this profound belief 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.479 in justice. Yes. In 1828, Isabella Bonefree became 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.060 the first black woman to successfully sue a white 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:05.000 man in a U .S. court and win the case. And win. 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:07.580 This is before she sojourned her truth. This 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:09.879 proves she was an extraordinary legal and political 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:12.560 combatant from the absolute beginning. So let's 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.080 anchor ourselves there. In her beginnings. Let's 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.780 focus first on the geography and the reality 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:19.699 of what slavery looked like in New York State. 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:23.599 Right. So Isabella was born around 1797 to James 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.240 and Elizabeth Bonefree. Her father was captured 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.819 in what is now Ghana, and her mother was from 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:31.259 the area of Guinea. They were owned by Colonel 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:33.740 Johannes Hardenberg. And the North system of 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:36.439 slavery, it was different from the South's, but 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:38.360 that doesn't mean it was better. Not at all. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:40.460 It was no less devastating. New York City, for 00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:42.719 example, had one of the largest enslaved populations 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:45.240 north of the Mason -Dixon line. It was focused 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:47.560 more on, say, agricultural work in the Hudson 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:49.800 Valley and domestic service in the city. And 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.340 for her, the trauma of family separation, that 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:54.500 started almost immediately. It did. She was one 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:57.560 of maybe 10 or 12 children. And when she was 00:03:57.560 --> 00:03:59.620 still an infant, her five -year -old brother 00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:02.520 and three -year -old sister were sold away. That's 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.560 just a foundational trauma. Absolutely. Her mother, 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.319 Elizabeth, tried to provide some kind of solace 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:10.759 by teaching her children to pray, telling them 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:13.219 that God was in the sky, watching over them, 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.220 and that they had to always try to be good. These 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:18.959 spiritual lessons were, you know, perhaps the 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:21.360 only enduring positive influence of her entire 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.180 childhood. Then at age nine, in 1806, the violence 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.519 of the marketplace takes hold. Could you walk 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:29.759 us through that rapid succession of sales that 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:31.889 really characterized her youth? It's a rapid, 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:34.110 terrifying sequence of transactions that just 00:04:34.110 --> 00:04:36.889 highlights her powerlessness. At nine, she sold 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:39.290 at an auction with a flock of sheep. With sheep. 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:42.810 For $100 to a man named John Neely near Kingston. 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:45.410 And you have to imagine the immediate psychological 00:04:45.410 --> 00:04:48.649 shock. She's suddenly owned by a man whose language, 00:04:48.810 --> 00:04:51.129 English, she can't understand at all. So her 00:04:51.129 --> 00:04:53.709 first English -speaking owner was also her first... 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.899 violently cruel owner that's right she later 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:59.639 recounted how neely beat her daily just using 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:01.680 whatever was at hand including a bundle of rods 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.660 she was physically isolated by language and abused 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:06.279 because she just couldn't follow instructions 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.920 given in english so this inability to communicate 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.560 just exposed her to the worst forms of violence 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.500 immediately And that sale, it only lasted about 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:16.819 18 months, which just speaks to the instability 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.720 and, frankly, the disposable nature of her status. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.980 And then the sales just continued. They did. 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:25.139 Neely sold her to Mark Tina Shriver for $105, 00:05:25.459 --> 00:05:28.620 and then Shriver sold her to John Dumont in West 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:31.360 Park, New York, in 1810. And it was under Dumont 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.360 that her life was marked by this immense, enduring 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:37.519 personal trauma. Yes. John Dumont owned her for 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:39.560 18 years. It was the longest period she spent 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.600 with any single enslaver. And those years were 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.420 just horrific. There was constant friction with 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:48.459 Dumont's wife, Elizabeth, who was very jealous 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:51.500 and critical of Isabella's work. But the deepest 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.660 scars, they were the forbidden love and the sexual 00:05:54.660 --> 00:05:57.000 violence. Let's discuss the story of Robert, 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:59.259 because it really reviews the absolute destructive 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:01.949 power of the property system. So Isabella fell 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:04.129 deeply in love with a man named Robert, who was 00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:06.610 enslaved on a neighboring farm. Now, crucially, 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:09.110 Robert's owner did not want Robert to father 00:06:09.110 --> 00:06:11.149 children with someone he didn't own. Because 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:12.889 that would be creating property for another man. 00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:15.589 Exactly. So when Robert snuck over to see Isabella, 00:06:15.670 --> 00:06:18.430 his owner and his son caught him and just brutally 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:21.149 beat him. Isabella watched the savage attack 00:06:21.149 --> 00:06:24.949 and she never saw Robert again. My God. He died 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:27.149 a few years later. She said this loss and the 00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:30.569 trauma from it, it haunted her entire life. It's 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:33.250 just a perfect illustration of how slavery targeted 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:35.870 the most fundamental human right to love and 00:06:35.870 --> 00:06:38.490 build a family. And compounding that heartbreak 00:06:38.490 --> 00:06:41.410 was the horrific reality of repeated rape by 00:06:41.410 --> 00:06:44.189 her owner, John Dewan. Yes, the sources are very 00:06:44.189 --> 00:06:46.550 clear on this trauma. Her daughter Diana, who 00:06:46.550 --> 00:06:49.050 was born in 1815, was the result of that violence. 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:52.029 She did later marry an enslaved man named Thomas, 00:06:52.189 --> 00:06:54.170 and with him she had three other children who 00:06:54.170 --> 00:06:57.850 survived. Peter, Elizabeth, and Sophia. But her 00:06:57.850 --> 00:06:59.649 body was never her own. Her family structure 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:02.009 was defined by the economic and violent demands 00:07:02.009 --> 00:07:05.250 of the slave system. Now, the path to legal freedom 00:07:05.250 --> 00:07:08.009 in New York wasn't a clean break. It was a phased, 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:11.329 sort of confusing process. How did New York's 00:07:11.329 --> 00:07:14.009 gradual emancipation framework lead up to her 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:16.449 decision to finally leave? So New York passed 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:19.370 this gradual abolition law in 1799, but it was 00:07:19.370 --> 00:07:21.709 really designed to protect the economic interests 00:07:21.709 --> 00:07:24.829 of slaveholders. It stipulated that all enslaved 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:28.350 people would finally be freed on July 4th, 1827. 00:07:28.629 --> 00:07:32.149 Okay. Now, Dumont had promised Isabella freedom 00:07:32.149 --> 00:07:35.050 a year early as a reward for her service, but 00:07:35.050 --> 00:07:37.689 only if she produced 100 pounds of wool for him. 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:40.529 She did the work, but then she sustained a hand 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:42.930 injury. And he used that as an excuse. He reneged. 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:44.829 He claimed the injury made her service incomplete 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:47.389 and just kept her enslaved longer. So she had 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:49.389 fulfilled her end of the bargain, but the promise 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:52.470 was broken. What was the exact moment and, I 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:54.509 guess, the philosophy of her escape in 1826? 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.899 Late in 1826, she made a moral decision. She 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.300 walked away. She didn't view herself as a criminal 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:02.660 or a fugitive, which is so crucial to her later 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:05.399 self -image. She took her infant daughter, Sophia, 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:07.939 and later explained her dignified acts, saying, 00:08:08.139 --> 00:08:10.980 I did not run off, but I walked off, believing 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:13.300 that to be all right. She claimed her moral freedom, 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.339 but the law still entangled her. She had to leave 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:18.779 her older children behind. Why was that? Under 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:21.439 those gradual emancipation laws, children born 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.420 enslaved after 1799 were technically freed, but 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:27.360 they were required to serve as bound servants. 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:30.199 It was a form of indentured servitude. Until 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.480 their late 20s. So her older children were still 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:36.039 legally bound to Dumont. Exactly. Which meant 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:38.620 she literally had to abandon them to save herself 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:40.879 and her infant daughter. That choice must have 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.320 been just excruciating. But it immediately fueled 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:46.679 her next move of fight to reclaim what was stolen 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.750 from her. It did. She found refuge with Isaac 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.110 and Maria Van Wagenen, who are a Quaker family 00:08:52.110 --> 00:08:55.409 and sympathetic to the abolitionist cause. They 00:08:55.409 --> 00:08:58.110 offered to pay Dumont $20 for her services for 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.649 the remaining year until full emancipation, just 00:09:00.649 --> 00:09:03.169 to ensure her safe passage. And it was under 00:09:03.169 --> 00:09:05.429 their protection that she learned a really devastating 00:09:05.429 --> 00:09:07.809 piece of news. Which was the illegal sale of 00:09:07.809 --> 00:09:10.429 her five -year -old son, Peter. Yes. Dumont had 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:12.610 illegally sold Peter, who was not yet legally 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:15.110 free under New York law, out of state, first 00:09:15.110 --> 00:09:17.289 to a buyer in New York, and then eventually Peter 00:09:17.289 --> 00:09:19.580 was... resold to a man named Solomon Gedney in 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.659 Alabama. And selling an enslaved person out of 00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:26.240 state before that 1827 deadline, that was a violation 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.600 of New York's law. A direct violation. And for 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.600 a Black woman in 1828 to successfully challenge 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:35.139 a white man in the New York Supreme Court? I 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:37.740 mean, how radical was that victory? What specific 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:40.179 legal framework even allowed her to bring the 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:42.340 case? It seems almost impossible. It was almost 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:45.059 unprecedented. We have to understand the justice 00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:47.279 system was fundamentally designed to protect 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:50.340 white property rights, not the rights of a formerly 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:53.179 enslaved black mother. What allowed her to proceed 00:09:53.179 --> 00:09:55.480 was the assistance of the Van Wagenen family. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.759 They lent their name and legal advice and a specific 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.860 violation of that 1817 New York law about selling 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:04.340 minors out of state. So it wasn't a general fight 00:10:04.340 --> 00:10:06.840 for abolition. It was a specific technical challenge 00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:09.259 to an illegal act. Precisely. She was relying 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:12.120 on the law, flawed as it was, to protect a child 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:14.899 who was legally a ward of the state until 1827. 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:18.039 So using the name Isabella Van Wagenen, she filed 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:19.799 suit. And it must have been a long, difficult 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.220 process. The case was protracted and required 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:25.360 just immense courage on her part. She faced down 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.340 Solomon Gedney, a powerful white man, in court. 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:32.299 But in 1828, she won. The court ruled in her 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:34.519 favor and Peter was recovered and returned to 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:36.620 New York. But not without scars, I'd imagine. 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:39.600 No. Sources note he arrived traumatized and physically 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.080 abused from his time in Alabama. That victory 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.009 though. The recovery of her son, it's just monumental. 00:10:45.250 --> 00:10:47.789 It underscores this tenacious core of her character 00:10:47.789 --> 00:10:50.889 and her early mastery of navigating a hostile 00:10:50.889 --> 00:10:53.710 system. It's critical. And the rediscovery and 00:10:53.710 --> 00:10:55.690 analysis of those court documents, especially 00:10:55.690 --> 00:10:59.070 around 2022, they only solidify her status as 00:10:59.070 --> 00:11:01.110 one of the very first African -American women 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:03.490 to successfully use the white legal system against 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:06.409 a white man. It confirms that the fight for justice 00:11:06.409 --> 00:11:09.509 was like literally in her DNA decades before 00:11:09.509 --> 00:11:11.970 she became a national celebrity. Right. That 00:11:11.970 --> 00:11:14.649 tenacity carried Isabella through the 1830s in 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:16.690 New York City, where she's searching for spiritual 00:11:16.690 --> 00:11:19.450 guidance for community. She even briefly got 00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:21.370 involved in some controversial religious groups 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:23.929 like the Prophet Matthias sect. But all of that 00:11:23.929 --> 00:11:26.470 culminated in this dramatic prophetic transformation 00:11:26.470 --> 00:11:30.029 in 1843. The change was sudden and it was absolute. 00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:34.840 On Pentecost Sunday, June 1st, 1843. Isabella 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:37.519 Bonefree changed her name to Sojourner Truth. 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:40.039 Sojourner Truth. She felt she had received a 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.700 divine commandment to travel, to leave the city 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:45.320 and go into the countryside, testifying to the 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:47.460 hope that was in her. And the name itself, it 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:49.600 speaks volumes about her new identity, doesn't 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.720 it? It does. Sojourner means a temporary resident, 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:55.840 a traveler, which reflected her new life as an 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.159 itinerant preacher, just constantly moving and 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.559 testifying. And Truth reflected the message she 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.289 felt called to deliver about God. humanity so 00:12:04.289 --> 00:12:07.009 she just left she literally took almost nothing 00:12:07.009 --> 00:12:09.269 just a small bundle of clothing in a pillowcase 00:12:09.269 --> 00:12:12.370 and began walking heading north and east toward 00:12:12.370 --> 00:12:15.509 massachusetts she was no longer a formerly enslaved 00:12:15.509 --> 00:12:18.070 domestic worker she was a public intellectual 00:12:18.070 --> 00:12:21.450 and a prophet and as she began her ministry what 00:12:21.450 --> 00:12:23.610 religious communities was she engaging with how 00:12:23.610 --> 00:12:26.120 did she find her public voice Initially, she 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:28.279 fell in with the Millerite Aventus camp meetings. 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:30.600 The Millerites followed the teachings of William 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:32.740 Miller, who had predicted the second coming of 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:36.240 Christ would happen in 1843 and 1844. Oh, right. 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:39.100 And her powerful speaking, combined with her 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:42.299 beautiful deep voice and powerful singing, it 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:45.159 drew huge crowds within these meetings. But when 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:47.940 that prophecy failed, the great disappointment 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:50.919 as it's known. She maintained her faith, but 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:53.279 she distanced herself from the core Millerite 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.419 movement. Exactly. She kept her deep spirituality, 00:12:56.500 --> 00:13:00.220 but moved away from specific failed predictions. 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:03.399 And this search for community and purpose led 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:07.259 her in 1844 to a really crucial intellectual 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:10.419 hub, the Northampton Association of Education 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.080 and Industry in Florence, Massachusetts. This 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:15.720 was a utopian community. Can you give us a sense 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:17.700 of what the Northampton Association stood for? 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.519 It was remarkable for its time. It was founded 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:22.980 by staunch abolitionists, and it was a communitarian 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.759 experiment built on principles of equality. It 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:27.779 promoted women's rights, religious tolerance, 00:13:27.980 --> 00:13:30.340 and absolute pacifism. So they tried to create 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:32.240 this self -sustaining environment where everyone, 00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:34.480 black and white, men and women, shared labor 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.399 and shared education. That was the goal. And 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.700 it was the perfect intellectual furnace for Sojourner 00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:40.460 Truth. It was her launchpad. What did she do 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.080 there? She worked. She oversaw the laundry. But 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:45.059 most importantly, she met engaged with some of 00:13:45.059 --> 00:13:46.899 the greatest minds of the abolitionist movement 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:49.080 who were either members or frequent visitors. 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:51.919 She met William Lloyd Garrison, the editor of 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:53.960 The Liberator. Of course. Frederick Douglass, 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:57.139 the great orator. David Ruggles. It was while 00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:59.980 living in this radically abolitionist pro -women's 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:01.980 rights environment that she delivered her first 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:05.779 formal anti -slavery speeches. Now, since she 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:09.259 was illiterate. She couldn't read or write. How 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:12.019 did the story of Isabella Bonfrey, the northern 00:14:12.019 --> 00:14:15.159 slave, reach the broader public? Her lack of 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:17.299 literacy never hindered her ability to communicate 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:19.519 her story. While she was living in Florence, 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.120 she dictated her life story to her friend, Olive 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:24.240 Gilbert. And this resulted in the publication 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:27.340 of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a northern 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:30.299 slave in 1850. And the fact that William Lloyd 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.679 Garrison himself privately published it. That 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:34.919 speaks volumes about how influential her story 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:37.179 was becoming in those circles. Absolutely. The 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:39.480 memoir, along with her reputation as a preacher, 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:42.639 it established her fame. But she also had this 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:46.639 really revolutionary entrepreneurial strategy 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:50.179 for funding her relentless activism. Right. She 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:52.500 was a masterful self -promoter. She really understood 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:56.340 the nascent power of media and branding. At that 00:14:56.340 --> 00:14:58.740 time, photography was a novelty. And these mass 00:14:58.740 --> 00:15:01.399 produced small photos called carte de visite. 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:04.210 were becoming popular. They were basically collectible 00:15:04.210 --> 00:15:06.330 calling cards. And she sold these to support 00:15:06.330 --> 00:15:08.710 her work. She sold these portraits to support 00:15:08.710 --> 00:15:11.309 her travels and her speaking engagements. And 00:15:11.309 --> 00:15:13.649 the caption on those cards is one of the most 00:15:13.649 --> 00:15:16.889 memorable quotes of her life. I sell the shadow 00:15:16.889 --> 00:15:20.049 to support the substance. What does that tell 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:23.019 us about her view of her own public image? It's 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.980 a genius statement. It demonstrates her self 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.480 -awareness and, frankly, her entrepreneurial 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.559 sophistication. The shadow is the image, right? 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.940 The public spectacle, the photo she sells. The 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:35.200 substance is the actual tangible work of abolition, 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:38.000 temperance, women's rights, the work that the 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:39.960 money funds. So she understood her image had 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:43.039 currency. And she used that currency to fund 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:45.940 her true spiritual and political mission. She 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.820 was monetizing her celebrity to ensure her independence. 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.559 That move really solidified her ability to remain 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:55.419 an independent voice, and it set the stage for 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:57.460 her full engagement in the women's rights movement. 00:15:57.740 --> 00:16:00.419 In 1850, the same year her narrative was published, 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:02.480 she delivered a speech at the first National 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:04.980 Women's Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts, 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:07.620 and that just fully launched her onto the national 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:10.620 platform. Okay, so now we arrive at the pivotal 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.720 moment, the one that defines her legacy, yet 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.669 is just shrouded in historical conflict. We're 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:18.450 talking about the extemporaneous address she 00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:20.669 gave at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:24.269 Akron in May of 1851. Yes. The speech that would 00:16:24.269 --> 00:16:27.009 later become known as Ain't I a Woman. And this 00:16:27.009 --> 00:16:28.629 is maybe the most crucial segment of our deep 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:31.090 dive because it illustrates how historical figures, 00:16:31.169 --> 00:16:33.129 especially black women, have had their voices 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:36.549 filtered, edited and even fictionalized by white 00:16:36.549 --> 00:16:39.529 allies to fit a specific narrative. It's a perfect 00:16:39.529 --> 00:16:42.200 case study. Truth delivered the speech, combining 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:44.980 the fight for abolition with the demand for women's 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:47.940 rights. And she powerfully drew on her strength 00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:50.259 as a lifelong laborer. So we have to analyze 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:52.740 the two profoundly different versions of this 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:55.240 speech because they tell two distinct stories 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:58.139 about Sojourner Truth and American history. Let's 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:00.399 start with version A, which is what we accept 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:03.340 as the closest contemporary account. Right. Version 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:06.180 A was recorded and published just a month after 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:09.460 the event by Reverend Marius Robinson, who was 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:12.000 the editor of the anti -slavery bugle. He was 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.900 in the audience. And this version is what historians 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:17.299 widely accept as the most accurate representation 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:19.759 of the content and the delivery. So what were 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:21.559 the main arguments she deployed according to 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:24.400 that 1851 account? Okay, so first she focused 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.400 on physical equality and capability. She directly 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:30.079 challenged this idea of female fragility by stating 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:42.200 her own experience. She said, She's taking her 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.859 claim to rights based on her undeniable capacity 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:48.700 for labor. Exactly. The second argument was intellectual, 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.000 the famous pint and court analogy. Right. She 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:53.880 addressed the condescending arguments that women 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:56.440 were intellectually inferior. She challenged 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:03.029 the men by saying, And a man of court, why can't 00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:05.509 she have her little pint full? It's such a beautifully 00:18:05.509 --> 00:18:08.730 concise, logical argument. It is. She goes on, 00:18:08.789 --> 00:18:10.910 you need not be afraid to give us our rights 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:12.829 for fear we will take too much, for we can't 00:18:12.829 --> 00:18:15.029 take more than our pint will hold. It's just 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:17.990 a perfect argument for full potentiality. And 00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:20.759 third. She used powerful theological arguments 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:23.519 to counter the male clergy who were using the 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.460 Bible to keep women subservient. Oh, she masterfully 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:28.400 turned their scripture right back against them. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:30.779 She referred to Eve and the role of women in 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:33.380 sin. And then she pivoted to the birth of Jesus, 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.420 she asked. And how came Jesus into the world? 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:39.059 Through God who created him and the woman who 00:18:39.059 --> 00:18:41.680 bore him. Man, where was your part? I mean, that 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.059 rhetorical mastery just quieted the religious 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:47.319 opposition. Completely. Now, here is the factual 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.779 core that contradicts the legend, the 1851 Robinson 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:53.799 version. It did not include the repeating question, 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.740 ain't I a woman? That's the pivotal historical 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:59.140 truth. Right. Robinson's account confirms that 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.319 her delivery was that of an articulate, powerful, 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:04.579 Dutch -accented orator from New York. And furthermore, 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.940 contemporary reports suggest the atmosphere at 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:09.019 the convention was largely respectful and supportive, 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:11.680 which contradicts later claims that she was facing 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.500 widespread hostility. So where did the legend 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:17.220 come from? Let's turn to Version B, the popularized 00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:19.480 account. Version B was published 12 years later, 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:22.700 in 1863, by Frances Dana Barker Gage, who had 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:25.369 chaired the convention. This version became the 00:19:25.369 --> 00:19:26.990 standard text because it was published during 00:19:26.990 --> 00:19:29.930 the Civil War, and it circulated widely in newspapers 00:19:29.930 --> 00:19:32.049 and magazines that were looking for these poignant 00:19:32.049 --> 00:19:34.990 narratives of Northern abolitionism. So what 00:19:34.990 --> 00:19:37.130 was the most significant editorial choice Gage 00:19:37.130 --> 00:19:40.910 made in her 1863 version? Gage completely rewrote 00:19:40.910 --> 00:19:43.329 the speech in a heavy, stereotypical Southern 00:19:43.329 --> 00:19:46.910 Black dialect. She used phrases like... Dis child, 00:19:47.049 --> 00:19:49.829 and where was your part? She applied a linguistic 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:52.670 filter that Sojourner Truth, the Dutch -speaking 00:19:52.670 --> 00:19:55.170 New Yorker, never possessed. And this was the 00:19:55.170 --> 00:19:57.569 mechanism by which it became the rhythmic, repeated 00:19:57.569 --> 00:20:00.849 question, ain't I a woman? Exactly. Gage included 00:20:00.849 --> 00:20:03.690 that question four times. This editorial choice 00:20:03.690 --> 00:20:06.529 is so crucial. Why did Gage feel the need to 00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:09.349 apply this southern dialect to a northern woman? 00:20:09.769 --> 00:20:12.190 While historical analysis suggests that Gage 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:14.430 was, either consciously or subconsciously, making 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:17.069 truth a more effective, more recognizable symbol 00:20:17.069 --> 00:20:20.089 for the Civil War era, the narrative power of 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:22.349 the oppressed, dialect -speaking slave from the 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:25.089 South was at its absolute height. So she was 00:20:25.089 --> 00:20:27.329 shaping truth into a more useful icon for the 00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:30.349 cause. It seems so. By stylizing Truth's voice 00:20:30.349 --> 00:20:32.130 and exaggerating her suffering, Gage claimed 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:34.329 Truth had 13 children sold away when the record 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:36.809 chose five, with only one sold and later recovered. 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.549 Gage amplified the emotional resonance for a 00:20:39.549 --> 00:20:42.190 white audience. But at the same time, she completely 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:45.269 obscured Truth's actual background as this sophisticated 00:20:45.269 --> 00:20:48.390 northern litigant and preacher. So, the version 00:20:48.390 --> 00:20:51.089 that gave the speech its iconic title and rhythm. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.099 Also completely erased her authentic voice and 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:56.119 experience. Exactly. It raises a fascinating 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:58.960 question about mediation. You know, did Gage 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.099 help elevate the message of the speech at the 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:03.960 expense of the truth of the speaker? Scholar 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:06.259 Angela Davis pointed out that this incident highlights 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:09.400 how even well -meaning white allies struggled 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.799 to grant black women full autonomy over their 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:14.519 own representation. They wanted the symbol. more 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:16.500 than the reality they wanted the symbol of the 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:19.160 suffering southern slave more than the reality 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:21.960 of the articulate northern activist it's just 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:24.039 a profound thought that the most recognizable 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:27.480 version of her voice is in fact a fictionalization 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:30.299 it's rooted not in her dutch new york accent 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:32.900 but in a racial stereotype this makes the true 00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:35.579 content the analysis of labor intellect and theology 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:39.559 in robinson's 1851 text even more powerful because 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:42.200 that represents her authentic intellectual contribution. 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:45.180 And following that Akron speech, Sojourner Truth 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:47.480 continued her relentless campaign for another 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:50.240 three decades, just demonstrating incredible 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:54.099 resilience all across the country from 1851 to 00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:57.779 1861. She was constantly on the road, often traveling 00:21:57.779 --> 00:22:00.640 with Reverend Marius Robinson, selling her narrative 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:03.019 and her carte de visite. And she didn't shy away 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:04.940 from confrontation. It seems like she almost 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:07.079 thrived on turning hostile audiences around. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.700 Her response to hostility was legendary. In 1853, 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.940 she spoke at a suffragist mob convention in New 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:16.359 York City. The crowd was incredibly hostile, 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:18.880 greeting her with hissing and groaning. And what 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:21.680 did she do? She famously stood firm and just 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:24.359 used their energy against them, saying, you may 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:26.039 his as much as you please, but women will get 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:28.000 their rights anyway. You can't stop us neither. 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:31.400 Her confidence was just unshakable. And she had 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:33.779 a secondary weapon in her arsenal, distinct from 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:37.460 her powerful spoken sermons, her music. Music 00:22:37.460 --> 00:22:39.740 was integral to her identity as an itinerant 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.740 preacher. She often used it to calm a crowd or 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:46.180 to center herself before speech. In Boston in 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:48.819 the 1840s, she was nervous about following the 00:22:48.819 --> 00:22:50.960 great orator Wendell Phillips. That's understandable. 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:53.819 So to quiet the hall, she sang one of her own 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:57.079 compositions, I Am Pleading for My People, which 00:22:57.079 --> 00:23:00.329 was set to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. And it 00:23:00.329 --> 00:23:02.950 worked immediately. It shifted the emotional 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:05.569 register of the room and allowed her to transition 00:23:05.569 --> 00:23:08.789 into her message. She was a performer, a preacher, 00:23:08.950 --> 00:23:11.750 and a political activist all in one person. Her 00:23:11.750 --> 00:23:14.099 life eventually led her to Michigan. which became 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:16.700 her home base as the country descended into the 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:18.880 Civil War. Right. She settled in Battle Creek, 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.240 Michigan around 1857, joining a community of 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.740 abolitionists there. And when the Civil War broke 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:27.079 out, she immediately committed her energy to 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:29.779 the Union cause. She actively helped recruit 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.660 Black men into the Union army, emphasizing that 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:35.109 this was a fight for their people's future. And 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:37.250 this was a deeply personal effort for her. Very 00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:40.130 personal. Her grandson, James Caldwell, enlisted 00:23:40.130 --> 00:23:43.170 in the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment. She 00:23:43.170 --> 00:23:45.890 even wrote a patriotic song, The Valiant Soldiers, 00:23:45.890 --> 00:23:48.450 for the 1st Michigan Colored Regiment. And her 00:23:48.450 --> 00:23:50.529 dedication to the Union cause was recognized 00:23:50.529 --> 00:23:52.980 at the highest level. She had a meeting with 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:55.440 President Lincoln. That's right. In October of 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.019 1864, while she was working for the National 00:23:58.019 --> 00:24:00.039 Freedmen's Relief Association in Washington, 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.220 D .C., she was invited to and met with President 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:05.700 Abraham Lincoln in the White House. She presented 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:07.740 him with her book and he signed her autograph 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:11.220 album. That meeting, it just visually symbolizes 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:13.720 the immense distance she traveled from being 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:17.019 chattel property in New York to advising the 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:18.700 president of the United States on reconstruction 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:21.500 policy. it's incredible and following the war 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:25.380 her activism shifted from grand speeches to specific 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.119 tangible, local action, specifically targeting 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.720 racial segregation. Tell us about that. Yes. 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:34.799 1865 in D .C. was a critical moment for direct 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.019 action. While she was working at the Freedmen's 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:40.119 Hospital, she began riding streetcars. Now, Washington's 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:42.359 streetcars were segregated, but she, along with 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:44.500 other activists, would just ride them and force 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:46.740 the issue. If she was denied entry or thrown 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:49.039 off, she would immediately protest and demand 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:51.440 the conductor's name. So she was one of the key 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:54.519 figures using direct civil disobedience to force 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:56.759 the desegregation of D .C.'s public transportation 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.339 system. A full century before the civil rights 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:02.279 movement formalized those same tactics. Then 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:04.759 we see her turn her focus to the economic future 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.480 of the newly freed population, tackling that 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:11.599 famous promise of 40 acres and a mule. This was 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.630 the land campaign. This campaign really demonstrates 00:25:14.630 --> 00:25:16.950 her forward -thinking understanding that political 00:25:16.950 --> 00:25:19.910 freedom without economic power is, well, it's 00:25:19.910 --> 00:25:23.609 incomplete. Starting around 1870, she campaigned 00:25:23.609 --> 00:25:26.609 tirelessly for seven years, arguing that formerly 00:25:26.609 --> 00:25:28.990 enslaved people should be granted federal land 00:25:28.990 --> 00:25:31.509 out west public domain lands, where they could 00:25:31.509 --> 00:25:34.349 build self -sufficient homes and farms and escape 00:25:34.349 --> 00:25:37.170 reliance on government aid or their former enslavers. 00:25:37.390 --> 00:25:39.730 Did she have specific arguments she pressed when 00:25:39.730 --> 00:25:41.890 she was meeting with political figures like President 00:25:41.890 --> 00:25:44.849 Grant? Oh, she was very pragmatic. She told President 00:25:44.849 --> 00:25:47.109 Grant that freed people needed land to become 00:25:47.109 --> 00:25:50.549 fully productive, taxpaying citizens. She argued 00:25:50.549 --> 00:25:52.329 that they knew how to work and that giving them 00:25:52.329 --> 00:25:54.869 land would benefit the entire country by creating 00:25:54.869 --> 00:25:57.250 a self -reliant population rather than a dependent 00:25:57.250 --> 00:26:00.269 one. Her philosophy was all about ensuring dignity 00:26:00.269 --> 00:26:02.589 and self -determination through property ownership. 00:26:03.009 --> 00:26:05.789 But that campaign, despite her meeting with Grant, 00:26:06.009 --> 00:26:09.119 was ultimately unsuccessful. What historical 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:12.339 factors led to the failure to secure land grants? 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:14.839 The failure was just devastating, and it really 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:17.220 set the course for black poverty for generations. 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:20.559 The campaign failed primarily due to political 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.660 resistance, northern fatigue with Reconstruction, 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:26.460 and the immense power of southern landholders 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:28.940 who resisted any proposal that would transfer 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:32.220 wealth or dilute their labor force. So the promise 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:35.759 of 40 acres and a mule was never really legislated 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:38.400 on a national scale. Never. which meant formerly 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:40.980 enslaved people were left without the capital 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:44.259 or the land necessary to transition from bondage 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:47.119 to genuine economic freedom. It remains one of 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:49.339 the great lost opportunities of American history. 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.019 And throughout this entire period, she was simultaneously 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:54.539 battling for universal suffrage. Right up until 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:57.039 the very end. Her suffrage work culminated in 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.099 1872 when she was active in Ulysses S. Grant's 00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:02.140 re -election campaign. She actually attempted 00:27:02.140 --> 00:27:03.799 to vote in Battle Creek but was turned away. 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:06.720 Which just illustrates the hypocrisy of a system 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:08.960 that lauded her service but denied her the rights 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:11.920 of citizenship. Exactly. And she pressed the 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:15.220 urgency of the moment during her 1867 speech 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:17.539 to the American Equal Rights Association. What 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:20.339 was her central argument there regarding the 00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:23.160 timing of black women's rights? She argued that 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:25.559 since the 15th Amendment was poised to grant 00:27:25.559 --> 00:27:28.740 black men the right to vote, now was the absolute 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:31.960 non -negotiable best time to secure rights for 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:35.000 black women. She used a memorable analogy saying 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.259 that if the nation was fixing the carriage of 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.519 state referring to reconstruction, you shouldn't 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.000 stop halfway. And she backed this up with that 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.359 same labor argument we first heard in Akron. 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:48.119 She did. She explicitly connected economic contribution 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:50.759 to political right. She argued that women, especially 00:27:50.759 --> 00:27:53.240 black women, paid taxes because they own property 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:55.519 and therefore they should vote. And then she 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:57.500 added that enslaved women were made to do the 00:27:57.500 --> 00:28:00.480 hardest manual labor, like building roads, which 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:07.900 only reinforced her simple logic. That was her 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:10.900 point. She stressed that... We should keep things 00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:13.019 going while things are stirring because she feared 00:28:13.019 --> 00:28:15.160 that once that window of opportunity closed, 00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:18.119 it would take decades to reopen the fight for 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:20.180 black women. And so did her truth's extraordinary 00:28:20.180 --> 00:28:23.259 life of advocacy and travel. It finally concluded 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:26.599 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Yes. She died on November 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:31.000 26, 1883. She was an impressive 86 years old, 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:33.640 cared for by her daughters. Her funeral was a 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:36.059 major public event attended by nearly a thousand 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:39.119 people. It really marked the end of an era. and 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:41.240 her friend and longtime colleague, Frederick 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:44.420 Douglass, he offered a powerful eulogy. He did. 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:47.440 He recognized her unique contribution. He praised 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:50.119 her as venerable for age, distinguished for insight 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:52.180 into human nature, remarkable for independence 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:54.819 and courageous self -assertion, devoted to the 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:57.880 welfare of her race. She was, in the truest sense, 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.960 a national treasure by the time of her death. 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.000 Her legacy really is the embodiment of intersectional 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.319 justice. I mean, she was bridging the racial 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:08.480 and gender divides decades before modern movements 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:11.359 even crystallized those ideas. And the recognition 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.799 she has received since then, it reflects the 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:17.019 scale of her impact. She holds a unique position 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:19.539 in the U .S. Capitol building. She is the first 00:29:19.539 --> 00:29:21.799 African -American woman to have a statue there. 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:24.900 It's a bust sculpted by artist Lane, unveiled 00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:28.849 in Emancipation Hall in 2009. And the monuments 00:29:28.849 --> 00:29:31.170 and honors, they span the country and beyond. 00:29:31.470 --> 00:29:34.250 There's a 12 -foot bronze statue in Battle Creek. 00:29:34.470 --> 00:29:37.269 The M -66 highway is now the Sojourner Truth 00:29:37.269 --> 00:29:40.069 Memorial Highway. New York has recognized her 00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:42.250 origins with the Sojourner Truth State Park near 00:29:42.250 --> 00:29:44.130 her birthplace. And, you know, one of the most 00:29:44.130 --> 00:29:46.930 visible recent acknowledgments came in 2020 with 00:29:46.930 --> 00:29:49.589 the installation of the Women's Rights Pioneers 00:29:49.589 --> 00:29:51.970 Monument in Central Park. Right, depicting Truth 00:29:51.970 --> 00:29:54.809 alongside Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady 00:29:54.809 --> 00:29:57.630 Stanton. But that statue also serves as... a 00:29:57.630 --> 00:29:59.710 potent reminder of the historical struggle for 00:29:59.710 --> 00:30:01.569 inclusion. It really does. Because the initial 00:30:01.569 --> 00:30:03.990 plans excluded women of color entirely, correct? 00:30:04.210 --> 00:30:06.410 That's right. The original proposal only included 00:30:06.410 --> 00:30:09.029 Stanton and Anthony. It was only after significant 00:30:09.029 --> 00:30:11.490 public objection and criticism about the historical 00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:14.329 erasure of contributions by women of color that 00:30:14.329 --> 00:30:16.970 Sojourner Truth was added to the design. So her 00:30:16.970 --> 00:30:18.869 physical presence in one of the world's most 00:30:18.869 --> 00:30:21.369 famous parks, it solidifies her recognition. 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:25.000 But the controversy around her inclusion just 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:27.559 highlights that the very intersectional justice 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:30.400 she fought for remains an ongoing battle today. 00:30:30.730 --> 00:30:33.109 It does, and her influence has, well, it has 00:30:33.109 --> 00:30:35.650 literally spanned into the cosmos. The NASA Mars 00:30:35.650 --> 00:30:38.710 Pathfinder robotic rover, launched in 1997, was 00:30:38.710 --> 00:30:41.349 named Sojourner. That's incredible. And the U 00:30:41.349 --> 00:30:44.250 .S. Navy named a fleet replenishment oiler, a 00:30:44.250 --> 00:30:46.890 crucial logistics and support vessel, the USNS 00:30:46.890 --> 00:30:49.670 Sojourner Truth. She has become a national benchmark. 00:30:50.069 --> 00:30:52.190 The Smithsonian recognized her as one of the 00:30:52.190 --> 00:30:55.089 100 most significant Americans of all time in 00:30:55.089 --> 00:30:57.710 2014, and she is slated to appear on the back 00:30:57.710 --> 00:31:00.440 of the newly designed $10 bill. Right. Cementing 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:02.779 her place among the pioneers of suffrage and 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:04.960 civil rights. And finally, we have to note her 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:07.880 enduring influence on modern scholarship. Absolutely. 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:10.519 Her struggle for self -definition and recognition 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:13.339 directly inspired the title of Bell Hook's influential 00:31:13.339 --> 00:31:16.119 first major work of feminist theory, Ain't I 00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:18.859 a Woman, which interrogated the position of black 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:21.759 women in feminist and political movements. And 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:24.160 she's honored with a place setting in Judy Chicago's 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:26.880 renowned art installation, The Dinner Party, 00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:29.460 which marks her contribution to female achievement 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:32.240 across history. So to sum up this deep dive, 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:34.759 we've traced the journey of Isabella Bomefree, 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:37.200 a New York Dutch -speaking slave. through her 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:40.400 groundbreaking legal victory in 1828, her spiritual 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:43.059 renaming to Sojourner Truth, and her tireless, 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:45.940 decades -long advocacy for the broad interests 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:48.599 of all humanity, covering abolition, women's 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:51.019 rights, desegregation, and economic justice. 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:53.599 And we've seen her mastery of rhetoric, her strategic 00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:56.400 use of song and public image, and her unrelenting 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:58.839 focus on securing both racial and gender equality, 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:01.799 often at great personal risk. But most importantly, 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:04.599 we have, I think, forensically analyzed the central 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:06.750 conflict of her public life. recognizing that 00:32:06.750 --> 00:32:08.690 the powerful legend of the Ain't I a Woman speech 00:32:08.690 --> 00:32:10.730 came at the direct expense of the verifiable, 00:32:10.950 --> 00:32:13.349 eloquent, Dutch -accented voice that was recorded 00:32:13.349 --> 00:32:17.069 in 1851. And that brings us to our final provocative 00:32:17.069 --> 00:32:19.130 thought for you to chew on as you reflect on 00:32:19.130 --> 00:32:22.089 her incredible life. Given that the most quoted, 00:32:22.269 --> 00:32:25.089 the most celebrated version of Sojourner Truth's 00:32:25.089 --> 00:32:28.930 voice was edited and stylized by a well -meaning 00:32:28.930 --> 00:32:32.309 white editor, Francis Dana Barker Gage, to fit 00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:35.000 an expectation, of what an enslaved person should 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.180 sound like. What does that mean for our understanding 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:41.599 of other historical figures? When we study history, 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:43.799 and particularly when we hear historical voices 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:45.940 filtered through contemporary media or political 00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:49.339 necessity or the pen of an intermediary, what 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:51.940 other vital voices might we think we know but 00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:54.059 are actually hearing through a powerful lens 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:56.440 of expectation rather than their own authentic 00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:59.220 truth? And what is the cost to history and to 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:01.079 the legacy of those who fought for the truth 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:03.440 when the legend becomes more prominent than the 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:05.900 verifiable facts? That's a powerful point. We 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:07.940 hope we've given you a fuller, richer, and more 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:09.880 accurate understanding of the incredible life 00:33:09.900 --> 00:33:12.859 and multifaceted legacy of Sojourner Truth, the 00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:15.119 Dutch -speaking New Yorker who walked off to 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:17.119 claim her freedom. We'll see you next time.