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Visual art has long provided its own protest, commentary, escape and perspective for African Americans. The Black painters, sculptors, photographers and textile artists featured exemplify the tradition of exhibiting resilience in times of conflict, as well as the ritual of creation, and the defiant pleasure of healing.

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Photo by MPI/Stringer/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Sojourner Truth's name is synonymous with her iconic speech given at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio on May 29, 1851. Subsequently titled "Ain't I a Woman," the speech has become one of the most famous on women's rights in American history. But it still lies between mystery, myth, and truth.

As the illustration below shows, Truth is almost always portrayed as a towering, fiery woman who spoke in a broken southern dialect, which was a common image for enslaved people. But Sojourner Truth was far from common.

Truth was born Isabella Baumfree circa 1797 in Swartekill, New York to an enslaved couple, James and Elizabeth Baumfree. Her early years were spent enslaved to Johannes Hardenberg Jr. and later to his son Charles Johannes Hardenberg. Isabella was nine years old when Charles died and she was auctioned off to John Neely, a storekeeper living in the area.

A woman of deep faith, Isabella grew up speaking Dutch. Neely beat her almost daily because she spoke no English, and young Isabella learned English to stop the violence. She became a spellbinding singer and had a gift for empowering others with words, although people noted throughout her life that she spoke with a distinct low-Dutch accent.

Isabella was only two years old when the state of New York passed a gradual emancipation law that emancipated children of enslaved mothers born after July 1799. The 1799 law would have excluded Isabella from gaining her freedom if not for another law passed in 1817 that emancipated all enslaved persons living in New York on July 4, 1827.

Isabella was sold several more times before she claimed her freedom. John Dumont, another one of Isabella's enslavers, had promised to free Isabella in 1826, a year before the state manumission act, in recognition of her loyal service. However, he reneged on his promise claiming that an injury to her hand decreased her productivity.

Angered by this, Isabella took her daughter one morning, late in 1826, and walked away. She took refuge in the home of a nearby Dutch family, the Van Wageners. The Van Wageners did not support slavery, and when Dumont came to their home and demanded Isabella's return, they paid him $20 for the remainder of her term of servitude and an additional $5 for her daughter.

While enslaved, Isabella had given birth to five children. Finally free, she set out to find them. Most would have received their freedom by 1827 under New York law. However, one of her children, a son, had been sold south to Alabama.

Since New York had passed a law in 1819 prohibiting the transport of enslaved people across state borders, Isabella filed a suit and managed to have the court order the return of her son, an action unprecedented at the time and depicted in her narrative pictured below.

Now calling herself Sojourner Truth, she recounted what she felt reclaiming her son: "[I]...felt so tall within - I felt as if the power of a nation was with me!"

True to her name, Sojourner journeyed far and became an outspoken advocate for freedom and women's rights for thirty years. She took ownership of her image, selling cartes de visite (calling cards or small photographs like the portrait below) bearing the phrase "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance" to support her advocacy work (see her portrait from the 1860s below).

Nevertheless, her famous speech in Akron would be molded to fit an imagined version of the woman that others wanted her to be. Marcus Robinson published the first version of the speech a month after Truth delivered it, but the most well-known edition was published on April 23, 1863, by Frances Gage. It reads differently from the first version.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Staff/Getty Images

Many historians today embrace the idea that Robinson's version of the speech is closer to the exact words she spoke that day in May 1851. Robinson was a personal friend of Sojourner and her host in Akron. In all likelihood, he confirmed his transcription of her speech with her before publication. He also served as the secretary for the conference and transcribed many of its other speeches.

Robinson's version excluded dialect and emphasized Truth's characteristic elegance and wit. In his edition of the speech, Truth never once voices the refrain, "Ain't I a Woman."

Frances Gage's version, however, falsely emphasized the image of a southern Black enslaved woman almost hurling thunderbolts with her speech. It was Gage's version where the iconic phrase, "Ain't I a Woman" featured repeatedly, giving the speech its name.

That version of the speech, complete with Southern-sounding dialect, shaped her identity as a Southern enslaved woman and obscured her real personhood.

In reality, because slavery was almost everywhere in the United States at one point in the nation's history, enslaved people had many regional identities and experiences. It is astonishing that much of what is widely embraced about Sojourner Truth is a myth, while the truth lives in the shadows.

Learn More:
Sojourner Truth, Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Nell Irvin Painter, Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997).

Deborah Gray White, Ar'n't I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999).

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Much of what is widely embraced about the famous activist and orator, Sojourner Truth, is mythology, while the truth lives in the shadows. This article explores the myths that formed around Truth in which white abolitionists emphasized the image of a southern Black enslaved woman over her real identity.

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Resource

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Sundiata Keita was the first ruler of the Mali Empire in the 13th century C.E. He laid the foundation for a powerful and wealthy African empire and proclaimed the first charter of human rights, the Manden Charter.

Subjects

Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations, World History

Image

Mali Empire Ruins in Neni

Sundiata Keita founded the powerful Mali Empire. Known for its progressive values and their wealth, it followed the Ghana as the next great west African empire. Here are ruins from the Mali Empire, in what is now​ Neni, Mali.

Photograph by Insights/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Sundiata Keita was the first ruler of the Mali Empire from 1235 C.E. to 1255 C.E. Sundiata Keita, whose name means Lion Prince, was born early in the 13th century to a noble family within the Malinke people. The Malinke kingdom, Kangaba, was part of the Ghana empire of West Africa. Oral stories about Keita say that he was a sickly child or suffered from some sort of physical impairment. This explains why, when his brothers were killed by the rulers of Ghana, he was spared. Eventually, he became a local leader of the kingdom of Kangaba.

When the Ghana Empire tried to impose trade restrictions on the Malinke, Keita began a revolt. He managed to unite several peoples of West Africa to fight against Ghana's king, Sumanguru; he defeated Sumanguru at the battle of Kirina in 1235 C.E. After that, Keita's generals began to conquer other territories in West Africa. He called his new kingdom the Mali Empire, which would become one of the richest empires in the world.

Keita's victory over Sumanguru marked the beginning of the Mali Empire. Keita decided to rebuild the then-destroyed city of Niani near the Sankarini River as his new capital. This area soon became a hub for African and Arab traders. The Mali Empire grew wealthy due to its control of trade routes as well as its significant gold and copper resources.

The Mali Empire, under Sundiata Keita, created one of the very first charters of human rights, the Manden Charter, also known as the Kouroukan Fouga. This is an oral, rather than written, charter, which has been passed down by generations of Malinke. The Manden Charter speaks about peace within a diverse nation, the abolition of slavery, education, and food security, among other things.

Besides the Manden Charter, there is a large body of oral stories and legends passed down about Sundiata Keita, which occasionally contradict written sources. Whether Keita converted to Islam is a matter of debate among documentary scholars and those who've passed down oral legends. Some believe that Arab traders in the area converted Keita to Islam. Certainly, his descendants were Muslim, and many went on pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), and Keita's most famous descendent, Mansa Musa, dazzled Egypt and the Islamic world on his lavish pilgrimage east. However, the legendary oral tradition that surrounds Keita suggests that he never turned away from his native religion. These oral stories portray Sundiata Keita as a magician and believer in traditional Malinke religion. Some sources suggest that he was both: Muslim to work with the Muslim merchant class, and a practitioner of traditional Malinke religion to work with the rest of his people. Whatever the case, be it devout Malinke observer, a Muslim convert, or a mixture of both to the most effective administrator he could be, Keita's personal religious convictions remain a mystery.

Keita died in 1255 from an unclear cause, though some believe he was killed in an accident. As founder of the Mali Empire, he is the subject of a large oral storytelling tradition that describes him as a near-legendary figure. The empire he founded became one of the richest in the world, and his descendants included one of the richest individuals to ever live, Mansa Musa. His administration and military work allowed the empire to survive through the 16th century, solidifying him, his empire, and his family into the imaginations of storytellers around the world.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY Sundiata Keita was the first ruler of the Mali Empire in the 13th century C.E. He laid the foundation for a powerful and wealthy African empire and proclaimed the first charter of human rights, the Manden Charter. Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations, World History Image Mali Empire Ruins in Neni Sundiata Keita founded the powerful Mali Empire.

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Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. Always sporting a smile, Johnson was an important advocate for homeless LGBTQ+ youth, those effected by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transgender rights.

Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Assigned male at birth, Johnson grew up in an African American, working-class family. She was the fifth of seven children born to Malcolm Michaels Sr. and Alberta Claiborne. Johnson's father worked on the General Motors Assembly Line in Linden, NJ and her mother was a housekeeper. Johnson grew up in a religious family and began attending Mount Teman African Methodist Episcopal Church as a child; she remained a practicing Christian for the rest of her life. Johnson enjoyed wearing clothes made for women and wore dresses starting at age five. Even though these clothes reflected her sense of self, she felt pressured to stop due to other children's bullying and experiencing a sexual assault at the hands of a 13-year-old-boy. Immediately after graduating from Thomas A. Edison High School, Johnson moved to New York City with one bag of clothes and $15.

Once in New York, Johnson returned to dressing in clothing made for women and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson; the "P" stood for "Pay It No Mind," a phrase that became her motto. Johnson described herself as a gay person, a transvestite, and a drag queen and used she/her pronouns; the term "transgender" only became commonly used after her death. According to her nephew, Johnson always maintained a close but fraught relationship with her family back in New Jersey.

It was not easy to live on the margins. New York State still persecuted gay people and frequently criminalized their activities and presence. Rights for LGBTQ+ people were limited and sometimes ignored completely. Having difficulty finding employment, Johnson turned to sex work. She was often abused by clients and arrested by the police. She also did not have a permanent home during this time, and bounced around sleeping at friends' homes, hotels, restaurants, and movie theaters. She also found work waiting tables and performing in drag shows. In a 1992 interview, Johnson said "I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen."

Not long after moving to New York, then 17-year-old Johnson met 11-year-old Sylvia Rivera. Rivera, a Puerto Rican transgender girl, and the two became instant friends. Rivera later said of Johnson, "she was like a mother to me." As Johnson had done for herself, she encouraged Rivera to love herself and her identity. Johnson adored wearing colorful, fun outfits that she made from finds at thrift stores and discarded items; she was also often seen wearing a crown of flowers.

Johnson's life changed when she found herself engaging with the resistance at The Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. In the early morning hours, police raided the bar and began arresting the patrons, most of whom were gay men. Johnson and Rivera arrived at Stonewall around 2am where, Johnson said in a later interview, "the place was already on fire, and there was a raid already. The riots had already started." There are many competing stories about what Johnson did during the raid on the Stonewall Inn, but it is clear she was on the front lines. Johnson, like many other transgender women, felt they had nothing to lose. They were not only angered by the police raid but also the oppression and fear they experienced every day. In the wake of the raid, Johnson and Rivera led a series of protests.

The raid on Stonewall galvanized the gay rights movement. The first Gay Pride Parade took place in 1970 and a series of gay rights groups-including the Gay Liberation Front, a more radical organization, and the Gay Activist Alliance, a more moderate and focused spin-off group-emerged. Johnson was involved in the early days of both but grew frustrated by the exclusion of transgender and LGBTQ+ people of color from the movement. She actively spoke out about the transphobia in the early gay rights movement. In 1970, Johnson and Rivera founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), "an organization dedicated to sheltering young transgender individuals who were shunned by their families." The two also began STAR House, a place where transgender youth could stay and feel safe. STAR House was of personal importance to Johnson and Rivera as they had both spent much of their youth experiencing homelessness and destitution. The first STAR House was in the back of an abandoned truck in Greenwich Village. STAR House then moved to a dilapidated building, which they tried to fix up, but the group was evicted after eight months.

Throughout the 1970s, Johnson became a more visible and prominent member of the gay rights movement. She began performing with the drag group, "Hot Peaches." She attracted the attention of many, including the pop artist Andy Warhol who included her in a series of prints in 1975 entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen." In an interview Johnson did for a 1972 book, she said her ambition was "to see gay people liberated and free and to have equal rights that other people have in America." She wanted to see her "gay brothers and sisters out of jail and on the streets again." In another interview, she said "as long as gay people don't have their rights all across America...there is no reason for celebration." In 1980, she was invited to ride in the lead car of the Gay Pride Parade in New York City.

Despite her joyous personality and ever-present smile, Johnson experienced hardship. She never let her personal setbacks stop her advocacy. In the 1970s, Johnson experienced a series of mental health breakdowns and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals. She also continued to engage in sex work, not knowing any other way to make money, and continued to get arrested. In 1990, Johnson was diagnosed with H.I.V. She spoke publicly about her diagnosis and how people should not be afraid of those with the disease in a June 26, 1992 interview.

On July 6, 1992, Johnson's body was found in the Hudson River. She was 46. Initially ruled a suicide, many friends questioned that conclusion and suspected foul play. At the time, 1992 was the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ violence according to the New York Anti-Violence Project. Police then reclassified the case as a drowning from undetermined cause, but the LGBTQ+ community was furious that the police refused to investigate further and that many press outlets did not cover her death. At her funeral, hundreds of people showed up at the church; it was so crowded that people stood on the street. In 2012, the New York Police Department reopened the case into Johnson's death.

In 2019, New York City announced that Marsha P. Johnson, along with Rivera, would be the subject of a monument commissioned by the Public Arts Campaign "She Built NYC." The monument will be the first in NYC to honor transgender women. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn for Johnson. Johnson is also now the subject of many documentaries. She remains one of the most recognized and admired LGBTQ+ advocates.

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Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.

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