Sojourner Truth

Black and white illustration of a woman's head and shoulders with black text across the bottom

Sojourner Truth, originally named Isabella Baumfree, was born in 1797 and died in 1883 at age 86. She was a prominent African-American abolitionist that also promoted Women’s rights and sought to aid former slaves adjust to a life of freedom. After escaping slavery in 1826, with her infant daughter, Truth changed her name and settled in nearby New Paltz, New York with a family willing to take in her and her daughter. In 1828, Truth took John Dumont, her former master, to court for the custody of her older children that still were the property of Dumont. She won and became the first African-American woman to successfully beat a white man in court over a slave custody case. Truth later went on to advocate for African-American involvement in the Union Army to help the war effort. In 1999, a 12-foot bronze statute was erected in her honor and placed in Battle Creek, Michigan where she is buried.