She's Meant to Lead: Challenge What It Means to Be a Leader
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) US African AmericanTranscript
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Sojourner Truth. Sojourner Truth. Born Isabella Bomb Free was born into slavery in New York in 17 97. As an enslaved person, She was bought and sold four times and received violent punishments from Enslave Urz. She had to endure strenuous physical labor And eventually escaped in 1827 after an enslave er refused to free her in accordance with the New York Anti slavery law of 1827. Despite his promises, she would later say to him, I did not run away. I walked away by daylight. In the 1830s, she became a charismatic speaker in New York City. By 1843, she renamed herself soldier in her truth because she believed God had called her to preach the truth to the masses. Truth was an abolitionist and gave many speeches about the evils of slavery. In 1850, she published her autobiography, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Although she could not read or write, she dictated this autobiography to writer Oliver Gilbert who helped her publish the book. Not only concerned with being an abolitionist Truth was also a woman's rights activist. You may have heard her most famous speech and one of the most famous speeches in history. Ain't I a woman in the speech? She says that man over there says women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches and to have the best place everywhere nobody ever helps me into carriages or over mud puddles or gives me any best place. And ain't I a woman? Look at me, look at my arm. I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns and no man could heed me and ain't I a woman, I could work as much and eat as much as a man when I could get it and bear the lash as well. And ain't I a woman? I have borne 13 Children and seen most all sold off to slavery. And when I cried with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me and ain't I a woman? Then they talk about this thing in the head. What's this? They call it intellect, that's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or Negroes rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be me? Not to let me have my little half measure full. Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men cause Christ wasn't a woman. Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From? God and a woman? Man had nothing to do with it. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down. All alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again. And now they is asking to do it. The men better let them Truth campaign for the rights of black women as she felt they were especially vulnerable in a white patriarchy in the United States. In fact, though she worked closely with famous abolitionist, Frederick Douglass Truth would later part with him because Douglas believed they should place the rights of black women on the back burner and fight first for the rights of black men.