Running head: FEMINIST PROFILE 1

Feminist Profile: Sojourner Truth

Name

Institution Affiliation

Date
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Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth Biography

Sojourner Truth is also known as Isabella Van Wagener, which is also her legal name.

She was born in New York in the year 1797. Isabella was a preacher, and she used the religious

approach to advocate for women's rights in the United States of America. Her parents were

slaves; hence, she was raised in slavery. In her childhood, she faced abuse from her parent's

master, between 1810 and 1827, she bore about five children with a fellow slave. Before New

York was set out free from slavery, she had found refuge from Isaac Wegner, who set her free

from oppression. She was associated with a zealous missionary, Elijah Pierson, due to the visions

and voices she had and attributed them to God. The name Sojourner Truth came from regular

movements from one city to another following supernatural call to preach and to convince her

audience to accept the biblical teachings (Painter, 1996).

Major contributions to feminist theory

Sojourner contributed to feminist theory through her speech, "ain't I a woman?”. She also

advocated for women's rights through campaigning on the rights of black women and suffrage.

She objected to the notion that women are weaker compared to men. Also pointed out racism in

women; black women were considered lesser beings compared to white women. According to

her, the white women were treated differently from black women. In her speech, she said that the

white women are helped in many areas such as being assisted to cross over trenches and given

the best positions and safe everywhere. Truth criticizes her female contemporaries for

concentrating much on white women's rights and ignoring the rights of black women. From her

speech, she also described the discrimination of black men who argues that women cannot have

equal rights as men.

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The situation within feminist movements

Sojourner Truth was among the early activists on the first wave feminist movement. The

movements aimed at fighting for equal rights in voting and equal opportunities (Sander, 2004).

She joined an independent community recognized as Northampton Association of Education and

industry in Massachusetts. In the institution, Truth met many leading feminists. A biography of

her life was published in the year 1850, “The Narrative of Sojourners’' a Northern slave. She

started travelling regularly and becoming an activist leader. Truth gave her renowned speech,

"ain't I a woman?" Speech during the Woman Rights Convention in Ohio, 1851. Today the

statement stands out to be meaningful and inspiring in recognition of the women's capabilities

and fight for their equality in the United States. Truth fought tirelessly to fight for women's rights

in America, unlike other feminists, Truth, considered the women and the abolitionist movements

as two different movements. Truth recognized that the two issues cannot be separated and should

be advocated together. She managed to combine as breaking the ratio and gender barrier for the

two social movements (Valverd, 1992).

Legacy

As a civil rights and women's rights activist. Sojourner made history by fighting for

gender equality in the United States of America. Even today she is remembered on the first day

of black history month in the country. She participated in the eradication of captivity and fighting

for women's rights. Regardless of her education, she communicated efficiently and made an

impressive speech. Throughout her entire life, she was dedicated to fighting for rights. During

the Civil War, Sojourner preached and held motivational talks to raise money to support the

Union soldiers. She was focused on changing the human perception that women have the same
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capabilities as men. Truth influenced much of her audience and convert them to Christianity

through preaching (Madziuk, 2003)

References

Nicholson, L. (2013). Feminism/postmodernism. Routledge.

Painter, N. I. (1996). Sojourner Truth: A life, a symbol. WW Norton & Company.

Sanders, V. (2004). First wave feminism. In The Routledge companion to feminism and

postfeminism (pp. 26-35). Routledge.

Valverde, M. (1992). When the Mother of the Race is Free’: Race, Reproduction, and Sexuality

in First-Wave Feminism.