“If women want any rights more than 
they’ve got, why don’t they just take them, 
and not be talking about it.”
–Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth was an American women rights and anti-slavery activist. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 to James and Elizabeth Baumfree, slave parents in Ulster County, New York. She died on November 26th in 1883 at the age of 96. Born into slavery, she was able to escape into freedom with her infant daughter in 1826. She was one of the first black women who was able to win freedom through court, not just for herself but also for her daughter.
In 1851, Truth began a lecture tour that included a women’s rights conference in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. In it, she challenged prevailing notions of racial and gender inferiority and inequality. Truth ultimately split with Douglass, who believed suffrage for formerly enslaved men should come before women’s suffrage; she thought both should occur simultaneously.
She played a significant role to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves. Indeed, the role played by women like Sojourner has been significant in shaping the history of our modern world.