Sojourner Truth (l. c. 1797-1883) was an African American abolitionist, women's suffrage advocate, and civil rights activist who famously "walked away" from slavery in 1826, sued in court for the return of her son and, between 1843 and her death in 1883, became one of the most popular lecturers and preachers in the United States.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1797 - 1883Life of Sojourner Truth.
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1806Sojourner Truth sold for the first time to John Neely of Kingston, NY, who treated her poorly.
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1808 - 1810Sojourner Truth sold to other masters in New York's Ulster County.
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1826Sojourner Truth walks away from slavery and finds freedom.
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c. 1826 - 1828Sojourner Truth sues to win back her son, Peter, and wins.
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1843Sojourner Truth changes her name from "Isabella Bomefree" to Sojourner Truth and begins preaching against slavery and for women's rights.
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c. 1843 - 1883Sojourner Truth lectures against the evils of slavery and for abolition, women's rights, and temperance.
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1850Publication of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, an as-told-to autobiography.
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1851Sojourner Truth's famous "Ain't I A Woman" speech given in Akron, Ohio.
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1863 - 1865Sojourner Truth recruits Black soldiers for the Union army during the American Civil War.
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1864Sojourner Truth is invited to the White House to meet President Abraham Lincoln.
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c. 1865 - c. 1880Sojourner Truth continues to preach and lecture on equal rights for all.
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c. 1867 - c. 1877Sojourner Truth advocates for equal rights and land grants for former slaves and for equal rights for women.
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1883Death of Sojourner Truth of natural causes.
