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Title: Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? (acceptance speech for the 1993 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine
ISBN: B0008YYIVA
Author:
Patricia McKissack
Fredrick McKissack
Publicate Date: 1994-01-01
Publish: 1994-01-01
List Price: $5.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Digital
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.95
Amazon Merchant Price: $5.95
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1: An Eloquent Woman
Her name was Isabella but her parents called her, Belle. Sojourner Truth is a story about a strong woman who demanded integrity. Slavery's long shadow cast over families rendered them helpless to save their own children who were sold, and powerless to save themselves from cruel and unkind treatment by the masters. Their lives were filled with heartbreak and suffering and the only times of relief were when they got together to sing mournful songs or cried out to their god to help them. Belle was one of the first black women in the country to win a court case. She won back her six-year-old son who was sold. She was free, but her four daughters were left in slavery. She took her son and went to New York to seek better opportunity and promised to send for them once they were freed at twenty-one years of age. Her son, Peter, had an obsession with taking things that did not belong to him and she needed to seek rehab for him. She was very tall and her feet wore size twelve shoe. She never owned a pair of shoes until she was an adult and hired a cobbler to custom make them. The book is a collection of data, rather than a mellifluous story, rife with names of people involved in the slavery issue, so that it is difficult to follow in many places. After Belle and Peter arrived in New York they found a Methodist Church where black people worshipped. There a brother and sister who had been sold away from her parents years ago found her. She found that one of the elders of the church whom she had worshipped with and who had passed away was another sister. Belle was taken in by a religious scheme and accused of murder. It took her three years to prove her innocence. Peter never rehabilitated and finally after being jailed numerous times his mother and a minister got him commissioned for duty on a ship at sea. He wrote letters but she never saw him again. In the 1830's New York was a center for the abolitionist movement and the management of the Underground Railroad. Slaves wanting to run away were contacted by a "conductor" who would give them directions to safe houses along the way until they were in a free state or Canada. Songs were used to pass code messages and the North Star was used as a guiding light. At forty-six, 1843, Belle changed her name to Sojourner Truth and went East which she thought was directions from God. She traveled to camp meetings speaking and singing and talking about the suffering of slavery. The simplicity of her language and the sincerity of her message, combined with the courage of her convictions made Sojourner a sought-after speaker. She was cautious of fanaticism and didn't like noise and commotion. Noted abolitionists were William Lloyd Garrison, publisher of The Liberator; Wendell Phillips, known as abolition's Golden Trumpet, and George Thompson, a noted British abolitionist. David Ruggles and William Sill have been credited with helping to free over 600 fugitives while serving on the Underground Railroad. Fifty thousand slaves escaped through this organization. Women's rights were also sought during this same timeframe. Sojourner was not educated, but Olive Gilbert wrote her biography and she sold it at meetings. The audiences changed drastically as a pro-slavery group called the Copperheads formed in the north. Her mission became dangerous, but she never gave up. She attended a woman's rights convention in Akron, Ohio where she gave a historical speech aimed at the pedants and hypocrites, combining her slavery experience with women's inequality and frequently reiterating, "Ain't I a woman?" The fugitive slave law was an obstacle to abolitionists to the point that some were preparing for war, but Sojourner did not want war. From 1851 to 1857 she spoke out for anti-slavery and women's rights. In 1853 she visited Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, written in 1852 as a response to the Fugitive Slave Act. By 1856 over two million copies had been sold. Sojourner retired at 60 in Harmonia, Michigan and was joined by two of her daughters and two grandchildren. At 62, she went back on the speaking tour, accompanied by her grandson, Sammy. There were at least two hundred slave uprisings between 1800 and 1859. John Brown was a radical abolitionist and after his trial and execution was hailed as martyr, a symbol of freedom. People sang "John Brown's Body" and later during the civil war Julia Ward Howe wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" to the music of "John Brown's Body." It was a personal favorite of Abraham Lincoln, who would be remembered as "the Emancipator." Sojourner visited with Lincoln and ask for an autograph for her "Book of Life," a scrapbook of her memoirs. She thanked him for doing so much for her race. The civil war was over April 9, 1965 and Lincoln was dead of an assassin's bullet six days later. At seventy, Sojourner worked for the war department at Freedman's Hospital. Susan B.Anthony devoted efforts to women's suffrage in 1869 after the fifteenth amendment was passed in 1868 and Sojourner teamed up with her. Black males were allowed to vote, but not females. They all died before women won the right in 1919. Sojourner's last cause was to travel with a petition for congress to sign a land grant proposal for the black people who had worked for no pay. Sammy grew ill with a fever and died before he was twenty-five. She never stopped mourning for him but continued to do occasional speaking and women's rights projects until her death at eighty-six.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope(Amazon.com),South State Street Journal, and Memory Flatlined.
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2: A book...with a Twist!
A thrilling book that I was intrigued to read during my summer home for 2 weeks. The book takes a rather twist which im impressed how not many decided to put on their reviews.
It's a great more than a biography of a groovy... woman...but what's more is that it chronicles of not just one, but many courageous individuals battles against injustice... really!
There's an impressive ending which it has been posted before in this amazon review section.
Buy the book!!! Places to go, take a look in a reading rainbow!
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3: Good
I liked this book because it took you through her whole life in chronological order. However, it was not very useful for the information I was looking for. It talks about her as a slave and an abolitionist, but it doesn't say much about her as a feminist. I would've been five stars if the author had given more on her and feminism.
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4: Sojourner Truth, an Inspiring Lady.
This book starts out with the birth of Sojourner Truth and takes you all the way through her life. You learn about her as a slave, as a free woman, as a preacher, an abolitionist, and an activist for the rights of both blacks and woman.I personally did not know much about Sojourner Truth, but I do now. If you are looking for a great novel to entertain you or for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, then this book probably isn't what your looking for. If you want to learn about history and an inspiring lady than I would say pick up this book and read. There is nothing worng with knowledge and this book is a great way to learn.
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5: Sojourner Truth Ain't I a Woman
Sojouner Truth Ain't I a Woman takes place in the 1700's-1800's, about 300 years ago. This genre is non-fiction. If you like true stories then read this!
This story is about black people being slaves. Sojouner works for a family that beats her. She works for them for about 13 years. Then she gets sold again and the family tells her she can leave at 27 years (a year before she is suppose to.) The family says, "No you can't leave we changed our mind," when she was about to leave. They finally make a deal and say, "Okay, you can leave." She knows she has no place to live and people invite her to live with them, but she has to work for them to get money. Then she leaves and tells stories of her life and people like the stories!
When I read this book, I thought to myself, I feel sorry for black people back then. I really loved this book so much! My opinion is if you are prejudiced then you should read this book, and that might change your mind.
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