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“Ar’nt I a Woman?” Sojourner Truth and the Abolitionist Movement | BRIdge from the Past
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How can images help us understand the role of African American women in the abolitionist movement? In this episode, Mary explores an image of Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery in New York, she dedicated her life to abolition and equal rights for women and men. How did her famous "Ar'nt I a Woman?" speech convey her life-long commitment to the ideals of liberty and equality?
*The source we reviewed used the phrase "Ar'nt I a Woman?" but Sojourner Truth's speech is often also titled "Ain't I a Woman?"
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BRIdge from the Past: Art Across U.S. History is a new YouTube series for students that explores an important historic image every episode to gain insights into the culture, politics, and society of a particular time in U.S. history. Host Mary Patterson will explain how each primary source is its own “window to the past,” revealing new areas for contemplation and discussion.
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Use this Lesson with Alice Paul and the Struggle for Women's Suffrage Narrative, the Elihu Root vs. William Jennings Bryan on Women's Suffrage, 1894-1914 Primary Source, and the Carrie Chapman Catt, Open Address to the U.S. Congress, 1917 Primary Source to further explore the journey of the women's suffrage movement.
How did the suffragists map out a pathway for change to achieve the vote through the Nineteenth Amendment?