Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in Ulster County, New York, sometime around 1797, and she was given the name Isabella. In 1827, the year before the mandatory emancipation of slaves in New York, she was freed. Around 1829 she moved to New York City with her two youngest children, Peter and Sophia. For about eight years Truth lived in New York, maintaining a home for her two children and earning a living as a cook, maid, and laundry worker. In 1843 she felt divinely inspired to change her name to Sojourner Truth and to leave New York to spread religious teachings. Although Truth could not read or write, she became known as a powerful speaker as she spoke for the abolition of slavery and, less often, for women’s rights. During the Civil War, she traveled to Washington, D.C., where President Abraham Lincoln received her. Truth was also appointed “counselor to the freed people” of Arlington Heights, Virginia. After the Civil War, Truth embarked on lecture tours, where she spoke out for equality for African Americans and for women’s rights. Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1883.
