Episode 12 - Sojourner Truth: I Am Woman's Rights

Today, on HerStance, we're diving deep into the life of a woman who didn't just break barriers, she obliterated them. We'll trace her journey from slavery to the forefront of the women's rights movement, and examine how her fight for intersectionality fuels the fire of today's feminism. 

There are other episodes, 1 - 11 on YouTube at  http://www.youtube.com/@HerStance

So definitely check those episodes out – courageous women like Eve and Mary Magdelene of the Christian Bible, Medusa from Greek Mythology, and the real story of Pocahontas.

Music by All Good Folks; Something Greater, Version 16029-02-39

Intersectionality Worksheet https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m0udZcu8pMx4p0wHuH54qNkNYiO-hiKM/view?usp=drive_link

Sojourner Truth's 1851 Speech - two versions                 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I-wywqFLZfKmJQcrdZZ5qihD01Ln03yk/view?usp=drive_link

https://www.facebook.com/sandra.koelle/

www.linkedin.com/in/positivitymindsetgrowth

https://theleap.co/creator/herstance/

Transcript

Hi there. Welcome in.

I’m your host, Sandra Koelle/

I have a great episode for you today - a true inspirational story.

Before we get into that, a few things I want to share as a matter of ‘housekeeping’

This is a new format for HerStance, an audio only podcast.

There are other episodes, 1 - 11 on YouTube at  http://www.youtube.com/@HerStance

So definitely check those episodes out – courageous women like Eve and Mary Magdelene of the Christian Bible, Medusa from Greek Mythology, and the real story of Pocahontas.

Also, at the end of each of our episodes going forward will be a HerStance Challenge. My hope is that you’ll be as inspired as I am by each of these women from our past that you’ll take up the challenge to do just one thing in your community or make a change in your life that carries her legacy forward.

Picture this: calloused hands, a voice forged in hardship, and a question that shattered the silence of a nation. 'Ain't I a woman?' Sojourner Truth wasn't asking for permission. She was demanding her place. Today, on HerStance, we're diving deep into the life of a woman who didn't just break barriers, she obliterated them. We'll trace her journey from slavery to the forefront of the women's rights movement, and examine how her fight for intersectionality fuels the fire of today's feminism. And remember, your HerStance Challenge awaits at the end, because your voice matters.

I’d like you to try to imagine a life born into chains, a name whispered in a language not your own. Isabella. That was her name, before she became a force of nature. Before she became Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery in 1797, her first words were Dutch, her world defined by the brutal realities of the 18th century. But even then, a spark ignited within her, a fire that would eventually set a nation ablaze. This isn't just a history lesson; it's a story of resilience, of defiance, of a woman who refused to be silenced.

The journey of Isabella Baumfree is hard to imagine, here is a woman who endured the unthinkable. Five children, born into bondage, her first born to her at age 13. Four masters, each a chapter of cruelty. But then, a moment of breathtaking courage: she walked away, claiming her freedom, not waiting for a law to grant it. She took it. Just like that.

And that was just the beginning.

Isabella had a child stolen away, sold into the darkness of the South. She actually took on the very system that sought to crush her, and she won. With the help of unlikely allies – Quakers – she went to court, and she won and her son was brought home to her.

Once she had her freedom she began working in New York City as a household helper becoming a spiritual seeker, joining a Millennial group that disbanded in a scandal which threatened to destroy her reputation. Even though she could not read or write, she took them to court and proved libel, emerging victorious. She wouldn't be defined by anyone else's narrative.

But then, something shifted. A divine calling. She shed the name Isabella and became Sojourner Truth, a preacher, a truth-teller, a woman on a mission. She walked, she talked, she ignited hearts.

She found herself in a utopian community, a place where equality was more than a dream. And there, in Florence, Massachusetts, she built a home, paid for with the power of her own story, her own voice.

She wasn’t home often. Sojourner Truth took her fight on the road, speaking truth to power, demanding justice. She stood shoulder to shoulder with presidents, she marched, she sat-in, she tried to vote in the 1872 election. She dared to redefine what it meant to be a reformer, a woman, a human.

And when the nation tore itself apart in the Civil War, she was there. Gathering supplies, integrating streetcars, counseling the newly freed. She was a force of nature, a beacon of hope, a woman who never stopped demanding a better world.

I discovered Sojourner Truth in College when I read the famous “Ain’t I a Woman?’ speech in the Norton’s Anthology of Women in Literature..

Let me set the scene for you: the 1851 Women's Rights Convention, a room filled with passionate voices, a nation grappling with the very definition of freedom. And then, Sojourner Truth stepped forward. A black woman who had walked through fire, who carried the weight of injustice in her very bones. She didn't offer polite pleas or delicate arguments. She spoke truth, raw and unfiltered.

And what we know of her most famous speech, 'Ain't I a Woman?', almost didn't survive in its truest form. You see, Sojourner Truth, a woman who couldn't read or write, relied on the power of her spoken word. Her voice, her presence, were her weapons.

The first account, published just days later in the Anti-Slavery Bugle by her friend Rev. Marius Robinson, captured the essence of that moment. The title should have been “I am a Woman’s Rights”. He wrote, 'It is impossible to transfer it to paper, or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gestures, and listened to her strong and truthful tones.' He saw her. He heard her. And he tried his best to capture the lightning in a bottle.

But then, a tragedy. Twelve years later, another version emerged, penned by a white abolitionist named Frances Dana Barker Gage. A version that twisted Sojourner Truth's words, that draped her in a caricature of a Southern slave dialect, erasing her distinct New York Dutch roots.

Why? Perhaps Gage thought she was helping, amplifying Sojourner's message for a white audience. Remember, this was printed 12 years after the speech was delivered. But in doing so, she robbed Sojourner of her voice, her identity, her very self. She took a woman who spoke with the strength of her lived experience and turned her into a stereotype.

I want to stop here and let us take a moment to hear the words or what she likely said at the Woman’s Rights Convention in 1851. The first version is the accurate version, printed just days after it was delivered, and reviewed by her prior to it’s printing.   The second version will be the Gage printing 12 YEARS after the delivery. 

Let’s hear the original:

May I say a few words?

• I want to say a few words about this matter.
• 
  
• I am a woman’s rights.
• 
  
• (a) I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man.
• 
  
• (b) I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that?
• 
  
• I have heard much about the sexes being equal; I can carry as much as any man, and can (c) eat as much too, if (d) I can get it.
• 
  
• I am as strong as any man that is now.
• 
  
• As for intellect, all I can say is, (e) if women have a pint and man a quart - why can’t she have her little pint full?
• 
  
• You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, for we cant take more than our pint’ll hold.
• 
  
• The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and dont know what to do.
• 
  
• Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better.
• 
  
• You will have your own rights, and they wont be so much trouble.
• 
  
• I cant read, but I can hear.
• I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin.
• 
  
• Well if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again.
• The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right.
• 
  
• When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother.
• And Jesus wept - and Lazarus came forth.
• 
  
• And how came Jesus into the world?
• (f) Through God who created him and woman who bore him.
• (g)Man, where is your part?
• 
  
• But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them.
• 
  
• But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between-a hawk and a buzzard.

Now, let’s hear the more ‘famous’ one, Aint’ I a woman. 

I will not read it in any sort of dialect, as I do not want to show any type of disrespect). You can listen for a few of the same phrases that are in the original. And you can see the two versions printed in the show notes and compare.

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that 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 ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head 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 thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out 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? [member of audience whispers, "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 mean 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 Him.

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.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.

What do you make of the changes? Which moves you more? Why?   

Think about how easily history can be rewritten, how easily a voice can be silenced. We'll never know the exact cadence of her Dutch accent, the precise lilt of her words. But can we agree that what Gage did was wrong?  We know that every person deserves to be heard in their own voice, with their own truth.

Because Sojourner Truth isn't just a historical figure. She's a symbol, a myth, a force that continues to resonate. But beneath the symbol, beneath the myth, was a real woman. A woman who fought, who endured, who demanded to be seen and heard.

And her simple, powerful question, 'Ain't I a Woman?', is a timeless reminder that the fight for equality isn't just about laws and policies. It's about recognizing the humanity in every single person. It's about honoring their voice, their story, their truth.

And Sojourner Truth helps us to go one step further.

Sojourner Truth, in her very being, forced us to confront a truth we often ignore: we are not one-dimensional. We are a collection of experiences, identities, and struggles. And those complexities, those intersections, matter when we talk about women's rights.

Think about it. We still grapple with what it means to be a woman. Healthcare, workplace policies, even something as seemingly simple as sports – these debates are messy, they're complicated, because womanhood itself is messy and complicated. For generations, it was tied to motherhood, but women have always pushed back, claiming their right to define themselves.

And let's be real, who gets to define us matters. Remember how Sojourner's own words were twisted, her voice erased? That's not just a historical footnote. That's a warning. When we label others, when we try to fit them into boxes they don't belong in, we undermine their very identity. That's terrifying, and it's something we have to fight against.

Because here's the thing: before Sojourner Truth, the face of feminism was often white and privileged. She shattered that image. She brought her lived experience as a Black, Dutch-speaking, formerly enslaved woman to the table. And that changed everything.

Today, we call that intersectional feminism. It's a framework, a way of understanding that we can't talk about women's rights without talking about race, class, sexuality, ability – all the things that make us who we are.

And that's Sojourner's lasting legacy. She didn't just demand a seat at the table; she made the table bigger. She forced us to see the vast, beautiful tapestry of womanhood.

We're at a crossroads right now. The debates about women's rights are intense, they're personal, and they're political. And in these moments, we need to remember Sojourner Truth. True equality isn't about making everyone fit into one mold. It's about amplifying every voice, every story.

Her life reminds us that the fight for justice is never over. We have to keep questioning, keep challenging, keep listening. We have to embrace intersectionality, not as a buzzword, but as a guiding principle.

Because that question, 'Ain't I a Woman?', it's not just a history lesson. It's a living, breathing challenge. It's a call to action. It's a reminder that liberation comes when every woman, in all her glorious complexity, is seen, heard, and valued.

And that, my friends, is the HerStance we must all take.

It’s time for today’s HerStance Challenge

Twenty-eight years ago, Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” in a paper as a way to help explain the oppression of African-American women. Her work showed how black women face unfair treatment because of both their gender and race. Intersectional feminism shows that there are special challenges faced by women of color, LBGTQ+ people and those with disabilities. By seeing things through an intersectional lens, feminists can make a movement that helps all women, no matter who they are.

I challenge you to look at your own beliefs about social justice today. Do you think that women are getting equal treatment under the law? In the workplace? Provided the right healthcare? Why do you think that? 

If you are a person of white European descent, affluent, well educated … maybe you should put on a different lens.

Intersectional analysis serves as a tool to uncover the structural inequalities deeply ingrained within our society. It exposes the interconnected systems of oppression — racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and classism — that reinforce one another, perpetuating cycles of disadvantage. By examining the root causes of social injustices through an intersectional lens, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complex web that sustains inequality.

For instance, White women make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. Black women get 64 cents, and Hispanic women just 56 cents. These numbers show why feminism needs to help women of color more, who face both racial and gender bias.

This might astound you – Data shows 51% of all women and 61% of rural women don’t use the internet. This is unlike 44% of men and 30% of urban women. This divide makes economic gaps worse.

Looking at disability rights through an intersectional lens helps us see how it affects communities of color. For example, Black people face more surveillance and less opportunities than white people, even with disabilities. Feminist Disability Studies helps us understand these complex issues better.

There are many ways that we can apply a lens of intersectionality and when we do we will forge coalitions and collaborations between interest groups all in a movement to be seen and heard. That makes for more powerful voices and impactful inclusive statements. 

Intersectionality unveils the disproportionate impact of environmental challenges on marginalized communities; dismantle systemic barriers, address healthcare inequalities, and create a healthcare system that truly serves the diverse needs of all individuals; and transform educational curriculum and create spaces that encourage critical thinking, inclusivity, and a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities of our world.

Try on those new lenses and speak up for other groups of women within the organizations you are engaging with. How can you be more inclusive where you work when thinking about the policies that are being created and enforced.

When you are being lifted up, who are you bringing with you?

Thanks for listening to this episode of HerStance.

For more tools and information about Intersectionality, and to sign up for my monthly newsletter go to https://theleap.co/creator/herstance/

Visit the show notes for a printed version of I Am a Woman’s Rights and Ain’t I A Woman by Sojourner Truth.

And please subscribe and rate this episode with 5 stars.  All comments and likes are appreciated.

I’m your host and producer, Sandra Koelle.   I’ll see you in two weeks on HerStance.