Truth, Sojourner, c.1797–1883, American abolitionist, a freed slave, originally called Isabella, b. Ulster co., N.Y. Convinced that she heard heavenly voices, she left (1843) domestic employment in New York City, adopted the name Sojourner Truth, and traveled throughout the North preaching emancipation and women's rights. A remarkable personality, she spoke with much effectiveness even though she remained illiterate. Like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, she is regarded as a radical intellectual and influential activist.
See O. Gilbert, Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1878, repr. 1968); A. H. Fauset (1938, repr. 1971); H. E. Pauli (1962); E. B. Claflin (1987); C. Mabee and S. Mabee Newhouse (1993); N. Painter (1996); M. Washington, Sojourner Truth's America (2009); K. Smiet, Sojourner Truth and Intersectionality (2021).
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