Truth
1797-1883
Sojourner Truth, a nationally known speaker on human rights for slaves and women, was born Isabella Baumfree, a slave in New York. Treated cruelly by her masters, she ran away in 1826 leaving all but one of her children behind. Her freedom was bought for $25. On June 1, 1843, she took on the name Sojourner Truth, because she traveled around the northeast part of the United States to tell the truth of what slavery was really like. She became well-known and developed a reputation. Due to this, she was invited to the White House to meet President Abraham Lincoln. Later she served as a counselor for the National Freedman's Relief Association, retiring in 1875.