Sojourner Truth's Famous Speech Ain't I a Woman?

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery and did not gain her freedom until over 30 years later. By the time she gave her speech at the women's convention in Akron, Ohio she had seen and experienced many things. She had experienced oppression first hand as a slave, as a woman, and being black during that time. Her message that day was so powerful and appropriate for that time because of the life she had lead. The fact that those issues are still a problem today just shows our progress as a country.

Her speech addresses how black women and other women of color struggled for a place in the women's movement during the nineteenth century. Truth points out that even though the experiences of black women may be different from white women, they are still women and should be included in the movement. During this time the end of slavery was still fresh in society and as slaves black women were not respected as women. This made the importance of including black women in the feminist movement even more important because just like white women they too had been oppressed. Though the oppression may have been differed it still was oppression. Black women needed a voice just as much as white women did. This is what Sojourner was trying to get across: oppression is oppression and a woman is a woman.

This speech remains a touchstone for the twentieth century because more women have joined in the struggle. It is not just black women and white women any longer there are more women of color and women around the world. The speech laid to foundation that carried over from the nineteenth to the twentieth century and even today in the 21^st. Sojourner's historical speech reminds women to make sure that the feminist fight for equality is an all inclusive one. This ensures that no woman, no matter how different her experiences is left out.