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Sojourner Truth
The formerly enslaved preacher who linked the freedom of Black people and of women in one voice.
The rise
Born enslaved in New York as Isabella Baumfree, she escaped in 1826, won a landmark court case to recover her son, and reinvented herself as the travelling preacher Sojourner Truth.
What they did
She became a magnetic abolitionist and women's-rights speaker — her 'Ain't I a Woman?' address is legendary — recruited Black troops during the Civil War, and lobbied for land for freed people.
The full picture
Illiterate and often poor, she navigated a movement that could sideline Black women, and the most famous version of her speech was reshaped by others after the fact.
Why it matters
Truth stands as an early, fearless voice for intersectional justice, insisting Black women be counted in every fight for rights.
“I feel safe even in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.”