Narrative of Sojourner Truth

One of the most famous and admired African-American women in U.S. history.

In Sojourner Truth, you’ll get to know the tall, powerful former slave whose biblical-based call for equality—for both blacks and women—secured her a place in American history.

“Truth's narrative is a powerful rendering of bondage, denial, and loss transcended by genius, family, and a spiritual base. It juxtaposes spirituality with moral turpitude. Truth was a freethinker who lived within a family of wretched circumstances in New York's Ulster County; she was a wife whose runaway husband had been beated into submission; a mother who reclaimed her only son from a brutal Georgia slaver; a person of principles who was duped by slavers and false prophets; and, finally, at 46, an orator, abolitionist, and member of the Northampton Utopian community.” -Library Journal

Narrative of Sojourner Truth is one of the most important documents of slavery ever written, as well as being a partial autobiography of the woman who became a pioneer in the struggles for racial and sexual equality. With an eloquence that resonates more than a century after its original publication in 1850, the narrative bears witness to Sojourner Truth's thirty years of bondage in upstate New York and to the mystical revelations that turned her into a passionate and indefatigable abolitionist.

One of the most famous and admired African-American women in U.S. history, Sojourner Truth sang, preached, and debated at camp meetings across the country, led by her devotion to the antislavery movement and her ardent pursuit of women's rights. Born into slavery in 1797, Truth fled from bondage some 30 years later to become a powerful figure in the progressive movements reshaping American society. This remarkable narrative, first published in 1850, offers a rare glimpse into the little-documented world of Northern slavery. Truth recounts her life as a slave in rural New York, her separation from her family, her religious conversion, and her life as a traveling preacher during the 1840s. She also describes her work as a social reformer, counselor of former slaves, and sponsor of a black migration to the West. A spellbinding orator and implacable prophet, Truth mesmerized audiences with her tales of life in bondage and with her moving renditions of Methodist hymns and her own songs. Frederick Douglass described her message as a "strange compound of wit and wisdom, of wild enthusiasm, and flint-like common sense." This inspiring account of a black woman's struggles for racial and sexual equality is essential reading for students of American history, as well as for those interested in the continuing quest for equality of opportunity.

CONTENTS: PREFACE HER BIRTH AND PARENTAGE ACCOMMODATIONS HER BROTHERS AND SISTERS HER RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION THE AUCTION DEATH OF MAU-MAU BETT LAST DAYS OF BOMEFREE DEATH OF BOMEFREE COMMENCEMENT OF ISABELLA'S TRIALS IN LIFE TRIALS CONTINUED HER STANDING WITH HER NEW MASTER AND MISTRESS ISABELLA'S MARRIAGE ISABELLA AS A MOTHER SLAVEHOLDER'S PROMISES HER ESCAPE ILLEGAL SALE OF HER SON IT IS OFTEN DARKEST JUST BEFORE DAWN DEATH OF MRS. ELIZA FOWLER ISABELLA'S RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE NEW TRIALS FINDING A BROTHER AND SISTER GLEANINGS THE MATTHIAS DELUSION FASTING THE CAUSE OF HER LEAVING THE CITY THE CONSEQUENCES OF REFUSING A TRAVELLER A NIGHT'S LODGING SOME OF HER VIEWS AND REASONINGS THE SECOND ADVENT DOCTRINES ANOTHER CAMP-MEETING HER LAST INTERVIEW WITH HER MASTER CERTIFICATES OF CHARACTER