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Narrative of Sojourner Truth
Narrative of Sojourner Truth is one of the most important documents of slavery ever written, as well as being a partial autobiography of the woman who became a pioneer in the struggles for racial and sexual equality. With an eloquence that resonates more than a century after its original publication in 1850, the narrative bears witness to Sojourner Truth's thirty years of bondage in upstate New York and to the mystical revelations that turned her into a passionate and indefatigable abolitionist.
In this new edition, which has been edited and extensively annotated by the distinguished scholar and biographer of Sojourner Truth, Margaret Washington, Truth's testimony takes on added dimensions: as a lens into the little-known world of northern slavery; as a chronicle of spiritual conversion; and as an inspiring account of a black woman striving for personal and political empowerment.
In this new edition, which has been edited and extensively annotated by the distinguished scholar and biographer of Sojourner Truth, Margaret Washington, Truth's testimony takes on added dimensions: as a lens into the little-known world of northern slavery; as a chronicle of spiritual conversion; and as an inspiring account of a black woman striving for personal and political empowerment.
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1850
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About the author
Sojourner Truth
103 books146 followersSojourner Truth (1797–November 26, 1883) was the self-given name, from 1843, of Isabella Baumfree, an American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York. Her best-known speech, "Ain't I a Woman?," was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 502 reviews
May 17, 2016
Sometimes reading a book isn’t about pleasure, but rather a way to show respect for someone life, struggle or ideas. Sojourner Truth deserves to have her story read. She was a bold woman who lived with fearless integrity.
Sojourner Truth's life is very interesting, but that is about the only thing that I enjoyed about this book. I didn’t like Gilbert’s constant interjections. I have a children’s bible written in this style (which by the way I love). Gilbert presents a situation and then she adds in a personal commentary something like: “imagine how you would feel if this had happened to you.” Instead of depending on her ability to paint the picture through her words and trust her audience, she chooses to tell the reader explicitly what to think. While that style might be fine for kids, it is disrespectful to an adult reader. If she wants to lead me around by the nose, she needs to use a little more finesse.
This is really a two star book, in my opinion, but I am giving it three, because I don’t want to discourage anyone from picking it up. Though this is far from Sojourner Truth's own words it is probably the closest we can get.
Sojourner Truth's life is very interesting, but that is about the only thing that I enjoyed about this book. I didn’t like Gilbert’s constant interjections. I have a children’s bible written in this style (which by the way I love). Gilbert presents a situation and then she adds in a personal commentary something like: “imagine how you would feel if this had happened to you.” Instead of depending on her ability to paint the picture through her words and trust her audience, she chooses to tell the reader explicitly what to think. While that style might be fine for kids, it is disrespectful to an adult reader. If she wants to lead me around by the nose, she needs to use a little more finesse.
This is really a two star book, in my opinion, but I am giving it three, because I don’t want to discourage anyone from picking it up. Though this is far from Sojourner Truth's own words it is probably the closest we can get.
August 5, 2020
This is definitely worth the short time it takes to read, even with its limitations and controversies, as it is one of the few narratives of slavery in the North.
Isabella Baumfree was born in Ulster County, New York ca. 1797, her slave name including the last name of her Dutch owners. This narrative tells of her life with this family and several successive owners, her escape from slavery in 1827, her successful lawsuit against the white owner who had illegally sold her son, her early engagement with several Christian denominations and sects, her decision to change her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843, and emergence as a well-known abolitionist and women's rights activist and speaker.
This original narrative was published in 1850 and, therefore, doesn't cover the remaining more than three decades of Sojourner's activism before her death in 1883 in her home in Battle Creek, Michigan. The narrative is also problematic because of the intrusiveness of the editorial comments of Olive Gilbert, Sojourner's friend, to whom she dictated her story, being unable to read or write herself. Read this Duke University Library blog posting for an interesting take on the authorship of the narrative: https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubens....
Read this and you may decide to tackle one of the many more comprehensive biographies of this remarkable woman.
Isabella Baumfree was born in Ulster County, New York ca. 1797, her slave name including the last name of her Dutch owners. This narrative tells of her life with this family and several successive owners, her escape from slavery in 1827, her successful lawsuit against the white owner who had illegally sold her son, her early engagement with several Christian denominations and sects, her decision to change her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843, and emergence as a well-known abolitionist and women's rights activist and speaker.
This original narrative was published in 1850 and, therefore, doesn't cover the remaining more than three decades of Sojourner's activism before her death in 1883 in her home in Battle Creek, Michigan. The narrative is also problematic because of the intrusiveness of the editorial comments of Olive Gilbert, Sojourner's friend, to whom she dictated her story, being unable to read or write herself. Read this Duke University Library blog posting for an interesting take on the authorship of the narrative: https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubens....
Read this and you may decide to tackle one of the many more comprehensive biographies of this remarkable woman.
September 5, 2013
Beautifully written and a pleasure to read even though the truth it tells is difficult to admit.
This should be required reading in junior high or middle school as it is called in some parts of the U.S.A.
History is often fiction by the time it rests in the ears and mind of a student. History is told by the winner, distorted by religion, fabricated by governments, lost in translation and misplaced in forgotten time capsules. Slavery stripped human beings of their hope, their loved ones, their pride, and their desire to achieve. Slavery forced the will of the strong over the weak and kept the slave weak by keeping them ignorant. The good news is there were some who realized the evil that slavery was and fought to abolish the slave trade and emancipate the millions of dark skinned human beasts of burden. The great injustice occurred when after emancipation there was little assistance and education available to guide the suddenly free through the society they were thrust into. Many now were free to starve to death. This book gives us a peek at a way of life we could never, thankfully, know.......Michael
This should be required reading in junior high or middle school as it is called in some parts of the U.S.A.
History is often fiction by the time it rests in the ears and mind of a student. History is told by the winner, distorted by religion, fabricated by governments, lost in translation and misplaced in forgotten time capsules. Slavery stripped human beings of their hope, their loved ones, their pride, and their desire to achieve. Slavery forced the will of the strong over the weak and kept the slave weak by keeping them ignorant. The good news is there were some who realized the evil that slavery was and fought to abolish the slave trade and emancipate the millions of dark skinned human beasts of burden. The great injustice occurred when after emancipation there was little assistance and education available to guide the suddenly free through the society they were thrust into. Many now were free to starve to death. This book gives us a peek at a way of life we could never, thankfully, know.......Michael
February 12, 2019
I took this to be an actual memoir of Sojourner Truth. I had thought she did a lot of interesting things in her life and fought back at the system. Turns out she was even bigger than that. Sojourner Truth alias Isabella van Wagenen personally knew God. She met with Him in shady nooks and demanded things from Him. And God always, always, always obeyed Isabella's orders. So there you go! That's the gist of this book.
If you wanted to know more about Isabella's life, this book is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you want a long, boring, annoying sermon about how you are a big sinner and how you must cast aside slavery if you want to be saved, then you have come to the correct place. Oh, and in case this is exactly what you do want, don't miss the chapter on The Matthias Imposture. It's a hilarious story about one fanatic murdering another fanatic.
You begin reading this book in all eager anticipation and suddenly God hits you - again and again and again. And then there are a couple of sentences and you think things are picking and then God hits you again and drones on for many pages. And then you get this gem: There are some hard things that crossed Isabella's life while in slavery, that she has no desire to publish, for various reasons. And apparently these 'some things' are basically 'everything other than religion'.
There you go, then! Sojourner Truth was a conwoman, selling evangelism posing as a memoir. Or maybe it was Olive Gilbert (who wrote the actual book and is patronising as hell) who was the conman. Whatever, this book is not worth the paper it's printed on. Her speech 'Ain't I a Woman' is legendary. But there really is no mention of anything interesting in this book. Skip it. Scrap it. Find a decent biography by a decent biographer. An atheist one, if possible!
If you wanted to know more about Isabella's life, this book is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you want a long, boring, annoying sermon about how you are a big sinner and how you must cast aside slavery if you want to be saved, then you have come to the correct place. Oh, and in case this is exactly what you do want, don't miss the chapter on The Matthias Imposture. It's a hilarious story about one fanatic murdering another fanatic.
You begin reading this book in all eager anticipation and suddenly God hits you - again and again and again. And then there are a couple of sentences and you think things are picking and then God hits you again and drones on for many pages. And then you get this gem: There are some hard things that crossed Isabella's life while in slavery, that she has no desire to publish, for various reasons. And apparently these 'some things' are basically 'everything other than religion'.
There you go, then! Sojourner Truth was a conwoman, selling evangelism posing as a memoir. Or maybe it was Olive Gilbert (who wrote the actual book and is patronising as hell) who was the conman. Whatever, this book is not worth the paper it's printed on. Her speech 'Ain't I a Woman' is legendary. But there really is no mention of anything interesting in this book. Skip it. Scrap it. Find a decent biography by a decent biographer. An atheist one, if possible!
September 5, 2025
Growing up about an hour from Ulster County, New York. I’m working through feelings of never having heard about slavery in the area despite having been taught about it while attending jr and senior high.
General lessons compared to these first-person accounts are of huge difference. Especially for me being from and having walked in the same spaces shared by Sojourner.
NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH, by Olive Gilbert, based on information provided by Sojourner Truth, written in 1850 is a perspective of reality that once again provides an ache for people who were determined enslavable based on various factors of which is most obviously skin color.
I've read many books and listened to various people speak on how this began with a Nobel man in the 1600’s. From indentured life including Irish and African’s to enslavement for greed's sake.
In the early 1900s, other cultures like Italian’s became targets. Considered less than the ‘negro’ and mass lynchings across America yielded little support to protect yet another people.
Eventually, Italians were allowed to assimilate. People with darker skin continue to be abused amidst inequity and horrible deaths. Such as Emmett Louis Till that continues through today.
The basics of the case can be read in this FBI essay.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-ca...
An excerpt that reminds me of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in that a graphic description breaks both heart and spirit... The one major detail that still weighs heavy for me is about his mother’s love and description of why Christians are the worst owners.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s The Black Church taught me how slave owners in an attempt to suppress freedom manipulate scriptures not to include freed slaves for fear of revolt and question.
It’s this type of history withheld from Americans for far too long that drives me to read, learn, and engender an expansive relationship to people, places, and things that embrace shifting our racist culture to one of understanding and compassion.
This excerpt from Sojourner originally Isabella, among so many really seared my heart on many levels as a mother of a boy.
“Oh, mammy, she said she wished I was with Bell. Sometimes I crawled under the stoop, mammy, the blood running all about me, and my back would stick to the boards; and sometimes Miss Eliza would come and grease my sores, when all were abed and asleep.”
The justice, noting his appearance, bade him forget his master and attend only to him. But the boy persisted in denying his mother, and clinging to his master, saying his mother did not live in such a place as that. However, they allowed the mother to identify her son; and Esquire Demain pleaded that he claimed the boy for her, on the ground that he had been sold out of the State, contrary to the laws in such cases made and provided—spoke of the penalties annexed to the said crime, and of the sum of money the delinquent was to pay, in case anyone chose to prosecute him for the offense he had committed. Isabella, who was sitting in a corner, scarcely daring to breathe, thought within herself, 'If I can but get the boy, the $200 may remain for whoever else chooses to prosecute—I have done enough to make myself enemies already'—and she trembled at the thought of the formidable enemies she had probably arrayed against herself— helpless and despised as she was. When the pleading was at an end, Isabella understood the Judge to declare, as the sentence of the Court, that the 'boy be delivered into the hands of the mother—having no other master, no other controller, no other conductor, but his mother.' This sentence was obeyed; he was delivered into her hands, the boy meanwhile begging, most piteously, not to be taken from his dear master, saying she was not his mother, and that his mother did not live in such a place as that. And it was some time before lawyer Demain, the clerks, and Isabella, could collectively succeed in calming the child's fears, and in convincing him that Isabella was not some terrible monster, as he had for the last months, probably, been trained to believe; and who, in taking him away from his master, was taking him from all good, and consigning him to all evil.
When at last kind words and bon-bons had quieted his fears, and he could listen to their explanations, he said to Isabella—'Well, you do look like my mother used to'; and she was soon able to make him comprehend some of the obligations he was under, and the relation he stood in, both to herself and his master. She commenced as soon as practicable to examine the boy, and found, to her utter astonishment, that from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, the callosities and indurations on his entire body were most frightful to behold. His back she described as being like her fingers, as she laid them side by side.
'Heavens! what is all this? ' said Isabel. He answered, 'It is where Fowler whipped, kicked, and beat me.' She exclaimed, 'Oh, Lord Jesus, look! see my poor child! Oh Lord, "render unto them double" for all this! Oh my God! Pete, how did you bear it?'.
'Oh, this is nothing, mammy—if you should see Phillis, I guess you'd scare! She had a little baby, and Fowler cut her till the milk as well as blood ran down her body. You would scare to see Phillis, mammy.'.
When Isabella inquired, 'What did Miss Eliza 2 say, Pete, when you were treated so badly?' he replied, 'Oh, mammy, she said she wished I was with Bell. Sometimes I crawled under the stoop, mammy, the blood running all about me, and my back would stick to the boards; and sometimes Miss Eliza would come and grease my sores when all were abed and asleep.”
This vulnerable authentic look into reality isn't standard knowledge or reading of children. Minimally in Junior and Senior High can be shared, discussed, empathized in ways to shift the narrative of misinformation of our nations history amongst Americans.
I'm always amazed by the withholding of compassion for humanity when we see in the truest form what harm has created a divide between us.
As a believer in the true intent of faith by Christianity know it's not the design of our creator to withhold his peace or love for our access.
The energy that harmed Ms. Truth in her day is the same vibe splitting us now. As I know a house divided can not stand.
What I've witnessed lately from ‘nice racism’ or people who overcompensate for ‘not being racist’ or unwilling to acknowledge their persona is part of the withholding of different toward equity is astounding to me.
Even two of my best friends lay silent when our other friend, a man of color, tells them of his pain. Which makes him believe the cycle will never change. Though, he has been gracious to speak with me often on the topic and allow me the opportunity to empathize and hear his pain.
It's my hope with reviews to encourage others to seek historically accurate writings in the first person.
What is so fascinating to me is people such as Ms? Truth or Mr. Douglas show no nasty angst against the oppressors. Their reality had every right to spew inflammatory remarks.
These and so many others I've read merely stick to their observations. Truth tellers of origin stories we can reflect on and it's my hope to continue to shift and be the change we wish to see in the world.
For a free PDF of Ms. Truth’s historic life story click below 👇🏼
https://d1lexza0zk46za.cloudfront.net...
Downloaded this to Speechify for audio conversion. Listened and followed along in print.
For me, this is a win while acclimating more deeply into ideas of anti-racist contrast to the denial of inequity. Understanding history helps me hear and see through a very different lens than that which the government and society cultured me to believe.
Being in another person's shoes while having learned the plight of my Italian great grandfather during the early 1900s before acceptance of this culture nationally. Who is eventually classified as white under European, but not before immediately Americanizing his name upon immigrating here and even telling census takers a little over a decade later he’s born and raised in NY making it super hard to impossible for locating historical artifacts during genealogical studies.
Counteracted by fun facts of my family being in this country since the early 1700’s following fleeing regions persecution then helping build a church that is still active today. Originally purchasing land from their native friends with help from William Penn’s sons empowering generations to build a town in Pennsylvania. Buildings in New York City. Even sculpt statues like the Lincoln Memorial, Sequoia, and many others. This is one of the coolest things I've read so far about a cousin.
The stories like mine and maybe yours are gems of empathy we can use to embrace our collective truth as Americans and Human beings.
This includes the enslaved past and the people who America has not yet enabled love and equity in a way that truly makes all men and women equal.
Without the hearts of humanity, I'm wondering how will we move forward?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💯
General lessons compared to these first-person accounts are of huge difference. Especially for me being from and having walked in the same spaces shared by Sojourner.
NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH, by Olive Gilbert, based on information provided by Sojourner Truth, written in 1850 is a perspective of reality that once again provides an ache for people who were determined enslavable based on various factors of which is most obviously skin color.
I've read many books and listened to various people speak on how this began with a Nobel man in the 1600’s. From indentured life including Irish and African’s to enslavement for greed's sake.
In the early 1900s, other cultures like Italian’s became targets. Considered less than the ‘negro’ and mass lynchings across America yielded little support to protect yet another people.
Eventually, Italians were allowed to assimilate. People with darker skin continue to be abused amidst inequity and horrible deaths. Such as Emmett Louis Till that continues through today.
The basics of the case can be read in this FBI essay.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-ca...
An excerpt that reminds me of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in that a graphic description breaks both heart and spirit... The one major detail that still weighs heavy for me is about his mother’s love and description of why Christians are the worst owners.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s The Black Church taught me how slave owners in an attempt to suppress freedom manipulate scriptures not to include freed slaves for fear of revolt and question.
It’s this type of history withheld from Americans for far too long that drives me to read, learn, and engender an expansive relationship to people, places, and things that embrace shifting our racist culture to one of understanding and compassion.
This excerpt from Sojourner originally Isabella, among so many really seared my heart on many levels as a mother of a boy.
“Oh, mammy, she said she wished I was with Bell. Sometimes I crawled under the stoop, mammy, the blood running all about me, and my back would stick to the boards; and sometimes Miss Eliza would come and grease my sores, when all were abed and asleep.”
The justice, noting his appearance, bade him forget his master and attend only to him. But the boy persisted in denying his mother, and clinging to his master, saying his mother did not live in such a place as that. However, they allowed the mother to identify her son; and Esquire Demain pleaded that he claimed the boy for her, on the ground that he had been sold out of the State, contrary to the laws in such cases made and provided—spoke of the penalties annexed to the said crime, and of the sum of money the delinquent was to pay, in case anyone chose to prosecute him for the offense he had committed. Isabella, who was sitting in a corner, scarcely daring to breathe, thought within herself, 'If I can but get the boy, the $200 may remain for whoever else chooses to prosecute—I have done enough to make myself enemies already'—and she trembled at the thought of the formidable enemies she had probably arrayed against herself— helpless and despised as she was. When the pleading was at an end, Isabella understood the Judge to declare, as the sentence of the Court, that the 'boy be delivered into the hands of the mother—having no other master, no other controller, no other conductor, but his mother.' This sentence was obeyed; he was delivered into her hands, the boy meanwhile begging, most piteously, not to be taken from his dear master, saying she was not his mother, and that his mother did not live in such a place as that. And it was some time before lawyer Demain, the clerks, and Isabella, could collectively succeed in calming the child's fears, and in convincing him that Isabella was not some terrible monster, as he had for the last months, probably, been trained to believe; and who, in taking him away from his master, was taking him from all good, and consigning him to all evil.
When at last kind words and bon-bons had quieted his fears, and he could listen to their explanations, he said to Isabella—'Well, you do look like my mother used to'; and she was soon able to make him comprehend some of the obligations he was under, and the relation he stood in, both to herself and his master. She commenced as soon as practicable to examine the boy, and found, to her utter astonishment, that from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, the callosities and indurations on his entire body were most frightful to behold. His back she described as being like her fingers, as she laid them side by side.
'Heavens! what is all this? ' said Isabel. He answered, 'It is where Fowler whipped, kicked, and beat me.' She exclaimed, 'Oh, Lord Jesus, look! see my poor child! Oh Lord, "render unto them double" for all this! Oh my God! Pete, how did you bear it?'.
'Oh, this is nothing, mammy—if you should see Phillis, I guess you'd scare! She had a little baby, and Fowler cut her till the milk as well as blood ran down her body. You would scare to see Phillis, mammy.'.
When Isabella inquired, 'What did Miss Eliza 2 say, Pete, when you were treated so badly?' he replied, 'Oh, mammy, she said she wished I was with Bell. Sometimes I crawled under the stoop, mammy, the blood running all about me, and my back would stick to the boards; and sometimes Miss Eliza would come and grease my sores when all were abed and asleep.”
This vulnerable authentic look into reality isn't standard knowledge or reading of children. Minimally in Junior and Senior High can be shared, discussed, empathized in ways to shift the narrative of misinformation of our nations history amongst Americans.
I'm always amazed by the withholding of compassion for humanity when we see in the truest form what harm has created a divide between us.
As a believer in the true intent of faith by Christianity know it's not the design of our creator to withhold his peace or love for our access.
The energy that harmed Ms. Truth in her day is the same vibe splitting us now. As I know a house divided can not stand.
What I've witnessed lately from ‘nice racism’ or people who overcompensate for ‘not being racist’ or unwilling to acknowledge their persona is part of the withholding of different toward equity is astounding to me.
Even two of my best friends lay silent when our other friend, a man of color, tells them of his pain. Which makes him believe the cycle will never change. Though, he has been gracious to speak with me often on the topic and allow me the opportunity to empathize and hear his pain.
It's my hope with reviews to encourage others to seek historically accurate writings in the first person.
What is so fascinating to me is people such as Ms? Truth or Mr. Douglas show no nasty angst against the oppressors. Their reality had every right to spew inflammatory remarks.
These and so many others I've read merely stick to their observations. Truth tellers of origin stories we can reflect on and it's my hope to continue to shift and be the change we wish to see in the world.
For a free PDF of Ms. Truth’s historic life story click below 👇🏼
https://d1lexza0zk46za.cloudfront.net...
Downloaded this to Speechify for audio conversion. Listened and followed along in print.
For me, this is a win while acclimating more deeply into ideas of anti-racist contrast to the denial of inequity. Understanding history helps me hear and see through a very different lens than that which the government and society cultured me to believe.
Being in another person's shoes while having learned the plight of my Italian great grandfather during the early 1900s before acceptance of this culture nationally. Who is eventually classified as white under European, but not before immediately Americanizing his name upon immigrating here and even telling census takers a little over a decade later he’s born and raised in NY making it super hard to impossible for locating historical artifacts during genealogical studies.
Counteracted by fun facts of my family being in this country since the early 1700’s following fleeing regions persecution then helping build a church that is still active today. Originally purchasing land from their native friends with help from William Penn’s sons empowering generations to build a town in Pennsylvania. Buildings in New York City. Even sculpt statues like the Lincoln Memorial, Sequoia, and many others. This is one of the coolest things I've read so far about a cousin.
The stories like mine and maybe yours are gems of empathy we can use to embrace our collective truth as Americans and Human beings.
This includes the enslaved past and the people who America has not yet enabled love and equity in a way that truly makes all men and women equal.
Without the hearts of humanity, I'm wondering how will we move forward?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💯
October 13, 2014
What an inspiring individual! She had courage, compassion and a compelling drive to get things done.
A great story...all the greater because it is true.
There is a special place in heaven reserved for people like Sojourner Truth.
A great story...all the greater because it is true.
There is a special place in heaven reserved for people like Sojourner Truth.
June 7, 2020
Talk about superhero. This woman is/was one. She came into the world as Isabella, one of many children born to Bomefree and Mau-mau Bett. Their owner was Dutch and so the language they spoke was low Dutch. Her story is heartrending, inspiring and while there is a sense of forgiveness in part, there is a rooted relentless remembrance that she claims as her mission and what she is called to forever hold up and out to any who would forget or deny.
I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance.
It is humbling and with a heavy heart that I read through this, and other works that have the scraps of speeches given during her long life. Her experiences are of every stripe of abuse. Her captivity complete, and her freedom given, but limited when others of her family are not free. She finds welcome among and joins the mission of the abolitionists and even wins the first suit of a black woman against a white owner in the recovery of her young son Peter, is only one traumatic story in Isabella's life.
I cannot rightly give stars for a person's report of their life, but as the stars are meant as a means of measuring my level of recommendation to others to read this work, book, writing - I give the most. It was written almost 200 years ago. Think about the troubles that still nip at our ankles, due to the incredible evils tolerated in the social norms of which Isabella and Olive Gilbert are reporting. . . .we have come far in some ways (economic, technology, industrial). Of others - human rights, enacting and enforcing laws protecting all people - such as the above-mentioned, our pride in progress is misplaced and overblown.
If you haven't read this, do. Settle in the most hopeful place you know: a quiet, peaceful place where you can comfort yourself, because if you are anything like me, you will be troubled at the end of your read. Keep it at the forefront of your mind. Make it productive. We haven't changed enough. We still need to change.
I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance.
It is humbling and with a heavy heart that I read through this, and other works that have the scraps of speeches given during her long life. Her experiences are of every stripe of abuse. Her captivity complete, and her freedom given, but limited when others of her family are not free. She finds welcome among and joins the mission of the abolitionists and even wins the first suit of a black woman against a white owner in the recovery of her young son Peter, is only one traumatic story in Isabella's life.
I cannot rightly give stars for a person's report of their life, but as the stars are meant as a means of measuring my level of recommendation to others to read this work, book, writing - I give the most. It was written almost 200 years ago. Think about the troubles that still nip at our ankles, due to the incredible evils tolerated in the social norms of which Isabella and Olive Gilbert are reporting. . . .we have come far in some ways (economic, technology, industrial). Of others - human rights, enacting and enforcing laws protecting all people - such as the above-mentioned, our pride in progress is misplaced and overblown.
If you haven't read this, do. Settle in the most hopeful place you know: a quiet, peaceful place where you can comfort yourself, because if you are anything like me, you will be troubled at the end of your read. Keep it at the forefront of your mind. Make it productive. We haven't changed enough. We still need to change.
July 11, 2013
The book didn't really appeal to me that much, because I was having authenticity issues with the book. It was wrote by Sojourner herself, it was wrote by someone else, transcribing Sojourner's words directly. So that for me caused a block to go up, just because Sojourner was black and lived during a time where blacks were considered merchandise. She was a slave. I kept thinking what if the writer added words to Sojourner's, because she thought Sojourner was indeed unable and ignorant to write her own letters. Maybe the end product was what the writer wanted and not what Sojourner wanted. Maybe the writer couldn't communicate the ideas and culture of Sojourner correctly, so she did her best. This was in my head in reading the narrative, so it was very hard for me to get into the read.
I do think everyone should read the piece, because it does show you how very different slavery was in the North from the South, as well as, give insight to the conditions of freed slaves in the North.
I do think everyone should read the piece, because it does show you how very different slavery was in the North from the South, as well as, give insight to the conditions of freed slaves in the North.
June 1, 2016
Buyer beware! Sojourner Truth did not actually write this book. A woman named Olive Gilbert wrote it after having some conversations with Truth. The question you have to ask yourself is: How interested are you in Olive Gilbert? Here's a sample of her prose:
"We will now turn from the outward and temporal to the inward and spiritual life of our subject." (p. 39)
Everything wrong with the book is in that sentence. Gilbert is not interested in telling Truth's story in Truth's words. She's interested in bashing slavery and discussing Christian revival denominations of the 1840s. Even though, I hate slavery and have an interest in Christian history, I found Gilbert annoying and dull. She has an American icon as her subject, yet chooses pious ramblings and preachiness over presenting the facts of the story. Page after page, I kept wishing that I was reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass instead.
During the final chapter, it becomes evident that Gilbert wrote this as a way to raise rent money for Sojourner Truth. I'm glad they paid the landlord, but I'm disappointed that they couldn't do it with a better book.
"We will now turn from the outward and temporal to the inward and spiritual life of our subject." (p. 39)
Everything wrong with the book is in that sentence. Gilbert is not interested in telling Truth's story in Truth's words. She's interested in bashing slavery and discussing Christian revival denominations of the 1840s. Even though, I hate slavery and have an interest in Christian history, I found Gilbert annoying and dull. She has an American icon as her subject, yet chooses pious ramblings and preachiness over presenting the facts of the story. Page after page, I kept wishing that I was reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass instead.
During the final chapter, it becomes evident that Gilbert wrote this as a way to raise rent money for Sojourner Truth. I'm glad they paid the landlord, but I'm disappointed that they couldn't do it with a better book.
February 24, 2020
This was less satisfying than other slave narratives I have read. Actually, I guess, all of them have really moved me except this one. Mostly this is due to interference from the person who wrote it down. No doubt when Sojourner Truth told this story herself it was something to experience. The reporter so much as says this: But her saying this doesn’t let us experience it. There are even several parts where the writer confesses to leaving out really dramatic events for fear of embarrassing living people. Probably those were important and illustrative scenes. The writer attributes their omission to Sojourner, but who knows. This would have been much better if the reporter had just written it down as Sojourner told it.
What comes across was that Sojourner Truth had an original, fiercely independent, and extraordinary mind; great faith and integrity; and an uncommonly direct and frank way of interacting with her world. It’s incredibly fortunate we know something of her life, and that this narrative can encourage us to investigate it further in other sources (which I will now do); but you don’t really get a feeling for what Sojourner Truth was like in this narrative, you just get hints of what she was like.
What comes across was that Sojourner Truth had an original, fiercely independent, and extraordinary mind; great faith and integrity; and an uncommonly direct and frank way of interacting with her world. It’s incredibly fortunate we know something of her life, and that this narrative can encourage us to investigate it further in other sources (which I will now do); but you don’t really get a feeling for what Sojourner Truth was like in this narrative, you just get hints of what she was like.
July 15, 2007
Powerful, heart-breaking, uplifting. Historically fascinating because many newspaper accounts, meeting notices and personal greetings are excerpted from her "Book of Life", a kind of scrapbook/autograph book she carried with her on her travels. Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Ulysses S. Grant all signed it during her lifetime. My only regret about her narrative is that the persons to whom she dictated her life story chose, for the most part, to edit her words/vernacular/dialect into "proper" (more palatable?) English. The few passages that are left unedited (her exact words and phraseology) are a thousand times more powerful. Incredible book. A must-read.
October 3, 2016
I'd like to read the real story written by Sojourner Truth please. Without any teasing about things that were left out to protect people's identities. I could also do without the religious sermonising. Apart from that it's a fine example of slave narratives that were white washed for people's palates.
August 4, 2011
Sojourner Truth had to be one of the most charismatic people ever to walk the Earth.* Charisma is hard to convey in any mode that's not face-to-face. This book might be as close to capturing raw charisma as I have ever seen. She stands out even in an era of incredibly charismatic people.
My edition had both The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, and the Book of Life. The latter was Sojourner's scrapbook and autograph book she carried around as she traveled preaching and telling her story.
My reaction to her Narrative is that it is an absolute 5-star read. Holy guacamole, what this woman endured! Multiple things surprised me. First, it's not told in Sojourner Truth's voice. She remained unable to read or write her whole life, and relied on a friend to retell her story. That woman was Olive Gilbert. Gilbert injects quite a bit of her own commentary on both Truth and the abolitionist movement. This makes it quite difficult to ascertain what were Truth's own words, and what were manipulated by Gilbert. Second, Truth grew up in a Low Dutch farm in New York, and didn't learn to speak English until she was 10. She never had a formal education, and didn't even hear a preacher until she claimed her own emancipation in 1826.^ Despite all this, she wandered the eastern seaboard (and later beyond) preaching about God, Jesus and plight of enslaved peoples by relating her own story. Third, her story doesn't dwell on the physical hardships and punishments she endured while a slave. In fact, she only hints at most of them. Yet the slave part of her story is horrific.
On to the Book of Life - I would give it 3-stars for putting Truth's Narrative into context and continuing her story to the end of her life. This is mostly newspaper clippings telling about how Sojourner Truth came to speak at this church, or that meeting, and how she had everyone in rapture with her stories and songs. Those parts get extremely repetitious, but it's amazing to see how many places she traveled and how she was warmly welcomed. Perhaps even more amazing is the number (not all) that describe her in non-racial tones. They almost all mention her race, but only a few tack on "...for her race" when they mention that she is forceful, commanding, impressive, etc.. Considering the times, she transcended many racial lines. Truth's Book of Life also contains letters and signatures from famous people - including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S Grant, Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony.
Perhaps most fascinating between the two - her Narrative and The Book of Life - is the discrepancies in her personal story. The story of her life partially evolved as she traveled around retelling the narrative. Most likely, though, is that it was variations in the retelling. The big stand-out is Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1863 article in the Atlantic Monthly, titled: "Libyan Sibyl". This article not only propelled Truth into nation-wide fame, but gave her a nickname that she she grew tired of. Stowe takes many liberties in the article, including quoting Truth in a Southern US slave dialect that Truth never had. (She had a slightly Dutch accent, and often described as a "peculiar" way of speech.) What's worse, Stowe claimed Truth was dead, when in fact she went on to live another 20 years. Perhaps all those changes developed the persona of Sojourner Truth and aided in her popularity? According to the editor of my edition, Truth herself might have been guilty of perpetuating un-truths, in order to present a persuasive argument and be the larger-than-life character of Sojourner Truth.
One of the funniest, most witty anecdotes about Truth goes something like this: Truth was speaking in front of a large meeting that contained friends and foes alike. There were grumblings in the audience that she wasn't who she claimed to be -- that in fact, she was a man. Truth was six feet tall, very muscular, wore her short hair under a Quaker cap, and was by all accounts an imposing presence with a booming voice. When she heard the accusations, she said (paraphrasing the paraphrasing): "You think I'm a man? Let me tell you something. I suckled many white babes at my breasts, often to the neglect of my own children. And those white children turned into finer men than you could ever be!" She then proceeded to whip our her bare breast and said: "Suck this!"
Sojourner Truth was awesome.
*(If there are humans hanging out somewhere else in the Universe, they are just boring sacks of carbon. Thanks a lot for not contacting us. Losers.)
^(Seriously, her emancipation is a story you need to read for yourself. It shows the kind of woman she was at heart.)
My edition had both The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, and the Book of Life. The latter was Sojourner's scrapbook and autograph book she carried around as she traveled preaching and telling her story.
My reaction to her Narrative is that it is an absolute 5-star read. Holy guacamole, what this woman endured! Multiple things surprised me. First, it's not told in Sojourner Truth's voice. She remained unable to read or write her whole life, and relied on a friend to retell her story. That woman was Olive Gilbert. Gilbert injects quite a bit of her own commentary on both Truth and the abolitionist movement. This makes it quite difficult to ascertain what were Truth's own words, and what were manipulated by Gilbert. Second, Truth grew up in a Low Dutch farm in New York, and didn't learn to speak English until she was 10. She never had a formal education, and didn't even hear a preacher until she claimed her own emancipation in 1826.^ Despite all this, she wandered the eastern seaboard (and later beyond) preaching about God, Jesus and plight of enslaved peoples by relating her own story. Third, her story doesn't dwell on the physical hardships and punishments she endured while a slave. In fact, she only hints at most of them. Yet the slave part of her story is horrific.
On to the Book of Life - I would give it 3-stars for putting Truth's Narrative into context and continuing her story to the end of her life. This is mostly newspaper clippings telling about how Sojourner Truth came to speak at this church, or that meeting, and how she had everyone in rapture with her stories and songs. Those parts get extremely repetitious, but it's amazing to see how many places she traveled and how she was warmly welcomed. Perhaps even more amazing is the number (not all) that describe her in non-racial tones. They almost all mention her race, but only a few tack on "...for her race" when they mention that she is forceful, commanding, impressive, etc.. Considering the times, she transcended many racial lines. Truth's Book of Life also contains letters and signatures from famous people - including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S Grant, Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony.
Perhaps most fascinating between the two - her Narrative and The Book of Life - is the discrepancies in her personal story. The story of her life partially evolved as she traveled around retelling the narrative. Most likely, though, is that it was variations in the retelling. The big stand-out is Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1863 article in the Atlantic Monthly, titled: "Libyan Sibyl". This article not only propelled Truth into nation-wide fame, but gave her a nickname that she she grew tired of. Stowe takes many liberties in the article, including quoting Truth in a Southern US slave dialect that Truth never had. (She had a slightly Dutch accent, and often described as a "peculiar" way of speech.) What's worse, Stowe claimed Truth was dead, when in fact she went on to live another 20 years. Perhaps all those changes developed the persona of Sojourner Truth and aided in her popularity? According to the editor of my edition, Truth herself might have been guilty of perpetuating un-truths, in order to present a persuasive argument and be the larger-than-life character of Sojourner Truth.
One of the funniest, most witty anecdotes about Truth goes something like this: Truth was speaking in front of a large meeting that contained friends and foes alike. There were grumblings in the audience that she wasn't who she claimed to be -- that in fact, she was a man. Truth was six feet tall, very muscular, wore her short hair under a Quaker cap, and was by all accounts an imposing presence with a booming voice. When she heard the accusations, she said (paraphrasing the paraphrasing): "You think I'm a man? Let me tell you something. I suckled many white babes at my breasts, often to the neglect of my own children. And those white children turned into finer men than you could ever be!" She then proceeded to whip our her bare breast and said: "Suck this!"
Sojourner Truth was awesome.
*(If there are humans hanging out somewhere else in the Universe, they are just boring sacks of carbon. Thanks a lot for not contacting us. Losers.)
^(Seriously, her emancipation is a story you need to read for yourself. It shows the kind of woman she was at heart.)
May 22, 2020
Read in honor of the centennial of US Women's Suffrage. In The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, Elaine F. Weiss points out that women's professional work experience made possible their work of getting the vote. Black and white women did the work. Some/Many black women also exercised the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Admendment to the US Constitution--even when and where black men could not exercise this right. Weiss speaks of a abolitionists and preachers as being among the women professionals.
By writing her book with help of an amanuensis (a word Sojourner Truth used) Sojourner Truth worked as an abolitionist. In her book Sojourner Truth writes of her experience as a preacher. Some much had changed from the time of Anne Hutchinson who had been excommunicated from her church and then banished from her colony. Anne had opened the way. Sojourner Truth built upon that way for women to have their own spiritual paths, to have the right to speak--if she could with the help of God--control the crowd, to have the right to preach to women and to men if they would listen. Sojourner Truth furthered the work of Anne Hutchinson--the simple sharing of spiritual experience and understanding.
my review of American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans
__________
A Previous Review
I am sure someone in my graduate American Southern history reading course (1995) read this narrative and Frederick Douglas' narrative. I just wanted to read this one myself. I live in another time and place (different part of US) and other another ethnicity so that I find it hard to bridge the gap. I do recognize the gap and honor this spiritual sojourner who travelled a difficult path. So I respect, not really like, this narrator and her narrative.
By writing her book with help of an amanuensis (a word Sojourner Truth used) Sojourner Truth worked as an abolitionist. In her book Sojourner Truth writes of her experience as a preacher. Some much had changed from the time of Anne Hutchinson who had been excommunicated from her church and then banished from her colony. Anne had opened the way. Sojourner Truth built upon that way for women to have their own spiritual paths, to have the right to speak--if she could with the help of God--control the crowd, to have the right to preach to women and to men if they would listen. Sojourner Truth furthered the work of Anne Hutchinson--the simple sharing of spiritual experience and understanding.
my review of American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans
__________
A Previous Review
I am sure someone in my graduate American Southern history reading course (1995) read this narrative and Frederick Douglas' narrative. I just wanted to read this one myself. I live in another time and place (different part of US) and other another ethnicity so that I find it hard to bridge the gap. I do recognize the gap and honor this spiritual sojourner who travelled a difficult path. So I respect, not really like, this narrator and her narrative.
January 6, 2016
This is not the narrative of Sojourner Truth. Even though it's presented as an autobiography, it is a white person’s interpretation of certain events in Truth’s life, with heavy emphasis on the religious ones (if you wanted to read some shallow ruminations about the relationship between Jehovah and Jesus, help yourself). The focus on the white people involved and the insistence on leaving out the more gruesome details because it would damage certain people’s reputation get really frustrating (if you’re not going to talk about something, then don’t bring it up is all I’m saying). The slant towards the white interveners might have to do with the fact that the entire narrative seems to be an appeal to the community to provide for Truth in her old age. This is jarring to me (among many other reasons including, of course, White saviourism) because the speech Truth is best known for came after this book was first published, so she couldn’t have been that decrepit at the time of writing.
All the same, the book is an interesting glimpse into what life was like in New England in the early-to-mid 1800s. Watching the author try to conjure up a medium that would enable her to preserve Truth’s passion, tone of voice and countenance is amusing.
This book is also a testament to Truth’s intellect and courage, despite her not knowing how to read or count or tell time.
All the same, the book is an interesting glimpse into what life was like in New England in the early-to-mid 1800s. Watching the author try to conjure up a medium that would enable her to preserve Truth’s passion, tone of voice and countenance is amusing.
This book is also a testament to Truth’s intellect and courage, despite her not knowing how to read or count or tell time.
October 19, 2014
A Compelling, Fascinating & Insightful Story!
October 11, 2017
"There was no place where God was not." I don't even know where to begin to express how I feel about this woman and what she stood for and the conscious decision she made to accomplish so much with her life. She stands as one of my pinnacle heroes. The entire narrative is one huge quotation so I won't try and lay out all of the places I have marked in my copy of this narrative. But I do want to share one passage that lights me up every time I read it.
"Previous to these exercises of mind, she heard Jesus mentioned in reading or speaking, but had received from what she heard no impression that he was any other than an eminent man, like a Washington or a Lafayette. Now he appeared to her delighted mental vision as so mild, so good, and so every way lovely, and he loved her so much! And, how strange that he had always loved her, and she had never known it! And how great a blessing he conferred, in that he should stand between her and God! And God was no longer a terror and a dread to her."
"Previous to these exercises of mind, she heard Jesus mentioned in reading or speaking, but had received from what she heard no impression that he was any other than an eminent man, like a Washington or a Lafayette. Now he appeared to her delighted mental vision as so mild, so good, and so every way lovely, and he loved her so much! And, how strange that he had always loved her, and she had never known it! And how great a blessing he conferred, in that he should stand between her and God! And God was no longer a terror and a dread to her."
January 28, 2014
It's not that Sojourner Truth's story isn't worth being told, it's the manner in which it was presented. The person who penned her narrative, Olive Gilbert, in my opinion, did a poor job conveying Truth's account and inserted too much of their self into it. As such, it was a job to read this, and not a thing of leisure. Truth should have shone through more, in a way that Frederick Douglas did in his first and second narratives (which so happen to have been authored by his own hand).
October 18, 2017
Sojourner Truth had amazing courage and faith -- What an inspiration. Her story deserves to be read.
Some of the religious aspects of her journey were weird (like cultish weird) but everything she learned about God she learned on her own, and faith was such an important part of her journey.
"I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.”
Some of the religious aspects of her journey were weird (like cultish weird) but everything she learned about God she learned on her own, and faith was such an important part of her journey.
"I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.”
September 26, 2014
Chilling account of one of America's most clear~thinking, courageous women. Be prepared for parts that are graphically harrowing. A living testimony of human cruelty on the one hand and triumphant compassion on the other. What an amazing, amazing woman.
November 13, 2012
This book showed me how a woman can make a change despite the unfair age she lived in, remarkable strong woman who contributed to shaping of society in her own way!!
July 18, 2025
I'm fascinated by Sojourner Truth's resilience and compassion having survived what she did; truly an inspiration and I'm glad she has been immortalized as the first black woman to win a court case against a white man!
October 24, 2022
uma ótima história minimizada por uma narrativa fraquíssima. o que salva é o prólogo da eliana alves cruz. no mais…
September 3, 2019
INFORMATIVE AND INSPIRATIONAL.
“…she wishes that all who would fain believe that slave parents have not natural affection for their offspring could have listened as she did, while Bomefree and Mau-mau Bett,—their dark cellar lighted by a blazing pine-knot,—would sit for hours, recalling and recounting every endearing, as well as harrowing circumstance that taxed memory could supply, from the histories of those dear departed ones, of whom they had been robbed, and for whom their hearts still bled.” (p. 3).
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth offers a first-hand, personal glimpse, of slavery in the early- to mid-1800s; and into the strength and character of a very inspirational / exceptional woman.
Recommendation: Not as readable as the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas; Sojourner Truth is yet a very worthwhile read for all who are interested in personal / oral history, especially of pre-Civil War.
“Through all the scenes of her eventful life may be traced the energy of a naturally powerful mind—the fearlessness and child-like simplicity of one untrammelled by education or conventional customs—purity of character—an unflinching adherence to principle—and a native enthusiasm, which, under different circumstances, might easily have produced another Joan of Arc.” (p. 90).
Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. 95 pages.
“…she wishes that all who would fain believe that slave parents have not natural affection for their offspring could have listened as she did, while Bomefree and Mau-mau Bett,—their dark cellar lighted by a blazing pine-knot,—would sit for hours, recalling and recounting every endearing, as well as harrowing circumstance that taxed memory could supply, from the histories of those dear departed ones, of whom they had been robbed, and for whom their hearts still bled.” (p. 3).
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth offers a first-hand, personal glimpse, of slavery in the early- to mid-1800s; and into the strength and character of a very inspirational / exceptional woman.
Recommendation: Not as readable as the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas; Sojourner Truth is yet a very worthwhile read for all who are interested in personal / oral history, especially of pre-Civil War.
“Through all the scenes of her eventful life may be traced the energy of a naturally powerful mind—the fearlessness and child-like simplicity of one untrammelled by education or conventional customs—purity of character—an unflinching adherence to principle—and a native enthusiasm, which, under different circumstances, might easily have produced another Joan of Arc.” (p. 90).
Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. 95 pages.
December 19, 2023
An all-time classic. I read the Penguin edition edited by Nell Irvin Painter, and it was great (post forthcoming surveying all of the various editions and introductions of the Narrative).
Some highlights for me:
- her views of reparations (132–144)
- her interactions with Baptist Leonard Grimes (141–147)
- her interactions with every significant anti-slavery figure--Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and more
- Abraham Lincoln's note to "Auntie Sojourner Truth"
- interaction with Baptist abolitionist Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor
- she traveled through Minnesota and Wisconsin at one time!
- would LOVE to find the text of the speech where Wendell Phillips spoke after Sojourner at a meeting and basically riffed on her remarks: "Sojourner says, 'I was utterly astonished to hear him say, "Well has Sojourner said so and so"; and I said to myself, Lord did I say that? How differently it sounded coming from his lips!"
Some highlights for me:
- her views of reparations (132–144)
- her interactions with Baptist Leonard Grimes (141–147)
- her interactions with every significant anti-slavery figure--Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and more
- Abraham Lincoln's note to "Auntie Sojourner Truth"
- interaction with Baptist abolitionist Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor
- she traveled through Minnesota and Wisconsin at one time!
- would LOVE to find the text of the speech where Wendell Phillips spoke after Sojourner at a meeting and basically riffed on her remarks: "Sojourner says, 'I was utterly astonished to hear him say, "Well has Sojourner said so and so"; and I said to myself, Lord did I say that? How differently it sounded coming from his lips!"
January 20, 2012
This is an important piece of historical literature by Sojourner Truth to primarily point out the evils of slavery. It is helpful to read a biography of her first and be familiar with her life. This little volume was penned for her by someone else, as she could not read nor write. This narrative was published for her to sell as a way to help support herself as she traveled about speaking against slavery. This only covers the beginning of her life, and she had many more adventures that followed this account. The woman writing this for her does insert some of her own interpretations, ideas, and examples, so this is not precisely in her own words. Worth being aware of.
February 4, 2018
This was really good and interesting. The language is dated and a bit too much God for my atheist tastes but standard in this type of narrative.
I own a digital copy of this book and listened to the audiobook on hoopla. I did not care for the audiobook at all.
I own a digital copy of this book and listened to the audiobook on hoopla. I did not care for the audiobook at all.
March 22, 2017
This book was very good. It had a lot of details about her life. Over all, I thought this book was good!
Read
August 7, 2023É difícil classificar este livro.
A narrativa de Sojourner Truth é escrita por uma tal de Olive Gilbert, cujo nome é apenas mencionado de raspão num dos textos introdutórios e numa página de rosto.
A obra em si, a suposta biografia de Sojourner (ou Isabella), foi escrita e publicada em 1850, mas pouco se fala nos textos introdutórios sobre o contexto que levou a biógrafa a escrever esta narrativa, que antecedeu o famoso discurso proferido pela ex-escravizada, em 1851, na Convenção dos Direitos da Mulher, em Akron, Ohio.
Em suma, penso que a mistura de textos com informações dispersas cronologicamente me confundiu um pouco e tive alguma dificuldade a compreender a sucessão dos acontecimentos.
De qualquer modo, fiquei muito agradada com o facto de ter aprendido um pouco mais sobre a primeira mulher escravizada a conseguir condenar um senhor de escravos na justiça, tendo seguido um caminho de luta pelos direitos dos negros e das mulheres.
A narrativa de Sojourner Truth é escrita por uma tal de Olive Gilbert, cujo nome é apenas mencionado de raspão num dos textos introdutórios e numa página de rosto.
A obra em si, a suposta biografia de Sojourner (ou Isabella), foi escrita e publicada em 1850, mas pouco se fala nos textos introdutórios sobre o contexto que levou a biógrafa a escrever esta narrativa, que antecedeu o famoso discurso proferido pela ex-escravizada, em 1851, na Convenção dos Direitos da Mulher, em Akron, Ohio.
Em suma, penso que a mistura de textos com informações dispersas cronologicamente me confundiu um pouco e tive alguma dificuldade a compreender a sucessão dos acontecimentos.
De qualquer modo, fiquei muito agradada com o facto de ter aprendido um pouco mais sobre a primeira mulher escravizada a conseguir condenar um senhor de escravos na justiça, tendo seguido um caminho de luta pelos direitos dos negros e das mulheres.
February 19, 2019
The third slave narrative I have been reading over the past few months, the most religious one which depicts how the slave gained liberty through the formal abolition of slavery in the State of New York and how she moves on to be one of the most remarkable preachers in Massachusetts, attracting the religious and taming the hideous. In contrast with Harriet Jacobs's account, it doesn't really stick to the femininity in the matter of slavery and interestingly, it's written by someone else as if Sojourner Truth must have recounted it. Somehow the apocalyptic depictions of mobs and how she stands against them all alone is very interesting! I still prefer her speeches, though!
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