Sojourner Truth

SOJOURNER TRUTH

Sojourner Truth, an enslaved Black Woman, was born Isabella Baumfree. She worked for the abolition of slavey, as well as for women's suffrage. Her most famous speech, "Ain't I A Woman," was delivered at a women's rights conference at Akron, Ohio.

After a nearly 10 year campaign, led by the late Dr. C. Delores Tucker who devoted the last years of her life to this effort, Congress passed a Bill on December 6, 2006 to memorialize the work of Sojourner Truth. The final effort was led in the House by Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and in the Senate by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Arlen Specter. This will be the first memorial to a Black woman to be placed in the U.S Capitol. Funds raised will be used not only to sculpt the bust, but to perpetually carry on educational program to promote the work and the spirit of Sojourner Truth through educational seminars, through College for Kids, College for Teens, Study Abroad Program and Civil Rights Tours for young people.

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. thanks you for your support, and says, "This accomplishment has been a struggle, but Black Women have learned that from our struggles come our victories. This bust of Sojourner in the Capitol is an honor to all women, and will forever serve as a part of our history that celebrates the right to vote for all of us and to be free of the shackles of slavery. We are proud of Congress for passing the necessary legislation, and we are grateful to our contributors who are helping to make the honor a reality at a time when Black women are working hard to overcome undeserved maligning and disrespect through racist, misogynistic lyrics on public airwaves."