SOJOURNER TRUTH

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?"

---

Isabella’s powerful voice was silenced by slavery. At the age of 9, she was sold at an auction along with a flock of sheep for $100. She was not allowed to marry the man she loved, because the family who enslaved him forbade them from meeting. She was forced to marry another man, whom she had 5 children with. However, their slave owners could sell them off without a warning. This insecurity terrified her.

The man who held her captive, Dumont, promised to set Isabella and her children free, but he broke his promise. Outraged, Isabella escaped.

The neighbours, who wanted to end slavery paid Dumont $20 to set them free, finally returning her voice.

One of her sons, Peter, had been sold to a slave owner in Alabama, although slave trading was illegal across states. She challenged the white man in court and set Peter free! Isabella changed her name to Sojourner (one who travels) Truth. She became one of the first black women to successfully challenge a white man in the courts of USA. Truth set out across the country giving speeches and spreading awareness about slavery, and about the importance of equal rights for men and women.