Sojourner Truth: Women's Rights Activist

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It is difficult to even imagine what black women and men as well, went through when slavery was taking place. Families would be taken from their homes against their will and moved in horrific overcrowded, diseased conditions on ships. Many of these people would die during that time on the ship. The people who lived would then be sold as slaves and become the property of someone. They had no rights at all. They worked really hard for many hours a day in terrible conditions because they had no other choice but to obey their owners. Walking for miles in the hot sun, living in rough cabins and sleeping on a dirt floor were their life. Their owners would control their slaves by whipping them. The slaves worked so hard which caused them to only lived …show more content…
“Born into slavery in 1797, Isabella Baumfree, who later changed her name to Sojourner Truth, would become one of the most powerful advocates for human rights in the nineteenth century.”(National Historical Park New York) Her and other slaves experienced the sadness of being sold and were cruelly beaten and mistreated. She wanted to change lives and change the way white Americans and others viewed blacks. She became more and more involved in the issue of women's suffrage. She was best known for being a former slave who became a protester of slavery and women's rights activist. She also believed in women's rights and basic civil rights of all people. Sojourner traveled the country telling people what it was like to be a slave. She was an excellent speaker and when she told her story and explained how slaves were treated, people were moved. Her most famous speech was given at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 called “Ain’t I a Woman”. Sojourner was an important leader in the fight to end slavery. Her stories and speeches helped people to understand how dishonest slavery was and that it must be