The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Dictated to her friend Olive Gilbert and first published privately in 1850, “The Narrative of Sojourner Truth” is the memoir of Sojourner Truth, an African American woman who struggled against the bondages of slavery in the early 1800s. Sojourner Truth was born into slavery around 1797 but escaped with her infant daughter in 1826, finding refuge in the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen of New Paltz, New York. Subsequently in 1828 she would become the first black woman to win a case against a white man when she sued to recover her son, who was still enslaved. Born Isabella Bomefree, Sojourner changed her name to signify her belief that God had tasked her with the mission to go forth and preach the message of abolition. With the strength of her spirituality, Sojourner Truth would overcome many struggles in her life and go on to become a leading abolitionist and champion of women’s rights. One of the most famous slave narratives of all time, “The Narrative of Sojourner Truth” is an important historical document of slavery in the United States during first half of the 19th century. This edition includes a biographical afterword.