Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth was born a slave in 1797. One day, she decided she didn't want to be a slave anymore and simply walked away from her master. Truth spent the rest of her life preaching and lecturing against slavery and for freedom and equality. While helping former slaves integrate into a free society, she lectured fervently against the discriminations against women, and especially African American women. Her speech "Ain't I a Woman?" is considered one of the most riveting women's rights speeches ever given.

Sojourner Truth demanded that African Americans should have equal rights to support themselves and live independently of the dictates of a master or the government. She didn't just demand her rights, she seized hold of them—such as when she rode the white section of a trolley car. During her lifetime, Sojourner Truth became famous throughout the country, and her funeral in Battle Creek, Michigan, was the largest the town had ever seen.