Sojourner Truth was the self-given name of a woman born into slavery. The year of her birth is uncertain, and is usually taken to be 1797. Originally Isabella Baumfree, she renamed herself after she was freed in 1827. She worked as a domestic servant for over a decade, and joined Elijah Pierson in evangelical preaching on street-corners.

Later in life she became a noted speaker for both the Abolitionist movement and the women's rights movement. Perhaps one of her most famous speeches was Ain't I A Woman?, a short but pointed commentary delivered in 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio.

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References and external links: An obituary written by Harriet Beecher Stowe is available from the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/