Sojourner Truth

was born a New York slave in 1797.  At birth her name was Isabelle VanWagener (some references use the name Isabelle Baumfree). She was freed by a New York law which proclaimed that all slaves twenty-eight years of age and over were to be freed. In her later life, she was inspired by God and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She joined the Anti-Slavery Society and became an abolitionist lecturer and a speaker for women's rights both black and white. After the Civil War, she spoke for equal rights. She died on November 26, 1883.

Researched by Farhana (a grade-schooler of the
Kyrene School District in Arizona, U.S.A.)