It is one thing to be discriminated against as a slave of the black race, but it is a totally different experience to be discriminated against on the basis of gender. The worst case scenario, however, is where all these are combined and are faced by the same individual. It is commonly said that what does not kill you makes you stronger. Sourjourner Truth went through this forms of discrimination and instead of silencing her, the hardships made her a voice for the poor and the oppressed. She rose to be an advocate for the rights of the meek in the society. These efforts made her name appear in the books of history as a woman who contributed to the American civilization. The essay below looks at her life, indicating the various contributions that she had in the civilization process and how her efforts came to be recognized.
According to Women in History (1), Sojourners’s birth name was Isabella Baumfree. She was born back in 1797 in Ulster County, New York to Elizabeth and James Baumfree. Her origin was of the slavery decent since her parents were both slaves on the Hardenbergh plantation. This meant that right from birth, she was treated as a slave, a property that could be traded for and that deserved no respect at all.
Her family used the Dutch language, and this is what she learnt on the first instance. She stayed with her family until the age of 9 years when she was sold out to another slave owner. The new master was so harsh on her and he quickly had to learn the English language so as to be effective at taking instructions. Though she acquired the new language, she held onto her Dutch accent for the rest of her life. A year after her first sale, she was again resold to a new owner, Mr. John Dumont of New Platz, New York. While at his house, she suffered a lot of hardships. The masters humiliated her for no reason that is o record and were quite harsh on her.
Later in life, she fell in love with a slave from a different master who was called Robert. It so happened that Robert’s master was not pleased with the relationship since he felt that should Isabella conceive, then she would bear a child for her master and he would have no control over the new ‘property.’ When the two insisted on their relationship, Robert’s master and his son followed Robert on a visit to Isabella. They beat him mercilessly and dragged him off in a desperate state. Isabella never saw Robert again. She later bore a son, and after the abolitionists movements began, she escaped from slavery and settled with the family of Van Wagenens. This is where her transformation began.
When living with the Wagenens, she claimed that she had a voice of truth that called her to go and serve the people and take the truth to them. This is where she encountered the spiritual transformation. In a bid to heed to the call, she even changed her name from Isabella Baumfree and took the new name Sojourner Truth. Her new name had a meaning that she was supposed to go out and reach to the people with the truth (Bio.com, 1).
The call for truth made Truth go to great extents to prove her point. She was bent on leaving no stone unturned until she accomplished her mission. At one time, it so happened that she learnt that her former master, Dumont, had conspired and sold her young son, Peter, into slavery. This happened at the time when the New York City had already adopted the abolitionist movements. With the help of the Wagenens, she filed a case in court where she reclaimed her son. It took several months of legal proceedings but she finally got back her son, who had already been abused by the master who had bought him (Gilbert, 1).
This victory was not just a victory for Truth. Rather, it had a greater and deeper meaning for other people who were discriminated against. Given that she was the first black woman to go to court against a white man and won the case, many people felt that this was an eye-opener for them. They could also rise up and fight for their rights. In other words, her victory set precedence for other people to follow as they advocated for their rights.
Not only did Truth fight for the rights of the slaves, but also for the legal rights of the women. Her efforts in speaking out for the women is seen in her award winning speech entitled “Ain’t I A Woman’ (Speech Topics Help.org, 1). In this speech, she addresses an array of issues that are of importance to the woman, and that the society needs to put into consideration as it deals with the women.
Women’s rights were top on her agenda. She argued that the women had toiled just as hard as the men. They had ploughed the land and even during slavery, they had received a similar harsh treatment as the men. She therefore argued that there was no way that the woman could be seen as an inferior being. She had to be respected and treated as an equal to the man. In a way, this set the pace for women suffrage in America.
She also addressed the issue of abolitionism. Given that she was born a slave and had had all the bad experiences that a slave can, her voice could be heard and trusted by many since she spoke from personal experience. In such a manner, she took part in strengthening the abolitionist movement which saw to the end of the slavery that was so rampant in the America continent.
There were also other issues that she advocated for which mark the American civilization. For instance, she talked about the rights of the black people, especially the right to education. In this perspective, she felt that all human beings were equal and deserved to be treated as such. She also talked of the morality of individuals where eh called on the people to have a self-restraining behavior or what can be termed as self-control. This could lead to peaceful co-existence of the people, and it is the basis for civilization.
Her speech also addressed the issue of religion. There was no way she could leave this behind given that she had proclaimed that she was following the voice of truth. All in all, it can be seen from this discussion that Sojourner Truth addressed issues that were pertinent to the American civilization. She faced these issues without fear or favor, and this is the reason as to why her name goes into history as one of those who participated in making American civilization a reality.
Works Cited
Bio.com. Sojourner Truth- Biography. 2012. Web, 18th April 2012, http://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284
Gilbert, Olive. Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A Northern Slave. 1850. Web, 18th April 2012, http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html
Speech Topics Help. Sojourner Truths Speech Text: Ain’t I a Woman. 2011. Web, 18th April 2012, http://www.speech-topics-help.com/sojourner-truths-speech.html
Women in History. Sojourner Truth (Isabella Baumfree). 2012. Web, 18th April 2012, http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm
