Born enslaved in New York and freed by state law in 1827, Isabella Baumfree took the name Sojourner Truth and became one of the most powerful speakers of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements, famous for the Ain’t I a Woman address.
Unable to read or write, she dictated this narrative of her life to a friend, and it became a bestselling tool for the antislavery cause. Her voice, direct and unafraid, still carries across nearly two centuries.
