Today's Black History Month Goes To Sojourner Truth

Today's post is dedicated to a truly courageous woman, Sojourner Truth. Isabella Wagner was her legal name, which she changed in 1843, vowing to follow her supernatural calling to travel the land and spread the word of God. Sojourner Truth was an evangelist who dedicated her life to preaching the word of God and the women’s rights movement. Sojourner Truth the daughter of slaves and was a woman who was abused by her many slave owners until her final slave owner released her. She then went to court to fight to get her son back who was sold illegally by a slave owner in the south. Sojourner Truth recovered her son, her four other children and began her battle. In 1829, she joined Elijah Pierson preaching in the streets of New York City. In 1843, she left New York City and traveled preaching the word of God in camps, churches and village streets. Sojourner traveled throughout the Midwest preaching to anyone who would listen to accept the biblical message of God's goodness and fellowship of man. Truth supported herself by selling copies her book The Narrative of Sojourner Truth.

In 1850 Sojourner Truth encountered the women's rights movement and encouraged other women leaders to get involved and appear at gatherings to encourage the rights of women. Sojourner spoke at gatherings for women's rights for encouraging them to read Sojourner Truth: What Time of Night It Is.

In the 1850s Sojourner Truth settled in Battle Creek, Michigan. At the beginning of the American Civil War, she gathered supplies for black volunteer regiments. In 1864 she went to Washington, D.C., helped integrate streetcars and was received at the White House by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1864, she accepted an appointment with the National Freedmen's Relief Association counseling former slaves in resettlement. In the 1870s, she encouraged the migration of freedmen to Kansas and Missouri. In 1875, she retired to her home in Battle Creek, Michigan where she remained until she passed on November 26, 1883. Sojourner Truth lived from 1797 to 1883 and was a courageous strong woman who accomplished some amazing things through out of lifetime.