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Speech at the Women’s Rights Your name

Convention (“Ain’t I a Woman?”)

by Sojourner Truth
UNITED STATES | 1851

Author Place & time

Sojourner Truth Women’s Rights Convention
born about 1797 Old Stone Church, Akron, Ohio
died 26 November 1883 29 May 1851

Sojourner Truth, whose birth name was Isabella Baumfree, was a former slave who became a
traveling preacher. She focused her work on, in her words, “[showing] the people their sins”
and “[declaring] the truth to the people.” The exact words of her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech
are unknown; the most commonly-recognized version was published in 1863, 12 years after
she gave the speech. The earliest published version — printed in 1851, about a month after
she delivered her address — does not include the phrase “Ain’t I a woman.” This 1851 version
is accepted by most historians as the most accurate rendering of Sojourner Truth’s words.

M
1 ay I say a few words?1 I want to your own rights, and they won’t be so much
say a few words about this mat- trouble. I can’t read, but I can hear. I have
ter. I am a woman’s rights. I heard the Bible and have learned that Eve
have as much muscle as any man, and can caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the
5 do as much work as any man. I have plowed 25 world, do give her a chance to set it right
and reaped and husked and chopped and side up again. The lady2 has spoken about
mowed, and can any man do more than Jesus, how he never spurned woman from
that? I have heard much about the sexes be- him, and she was right. When Lazarus
ing equal; I can carry as much as any man, died, Mary and Martha came to him with
NOTES
10 and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am 30 faith and love and besought him to raise
1. Here the original newspaper
as strong as any man that is now. As for their brother. And Jesus wept—and Laza- account notes that after
intellect, all I can say is, if woman have a rus came forth.3 And how came Jesus into “receiving an affirmative
answer, she proceeded.”
pint and man a quart—why can’t she have the world? Through God who created him
2. This is likely a reference to
her little pint full? You need not be afraid and woman who bore him. Man, where is a previous speaker at the
15 to give us our rights for fear we will take 35 your part? But the women are coming up— convention.

too much, for we can’t take more than our blessed be God—and a few of the men are 3. See John 11:1–44 in the New
Testament. John 11:35, which
pint’ll hold. The poor men seem to be all in coming up with them. But man is in a tight Sojourner Truth quotes
confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why place, the poor slave is on him, woman is here, is the shortest verse in
the Bible and reads simply,
children, if you have woman’s rights, give it coming on him, and he is surely between a “Jesus wept” (KJV).
20 to her and you will feel better. You will have 40 hawk and a buzzard.4 4. This is a reference to two
species of birds. A hawk
is a hunter that feeds
on live prey. A turkey
vulture, commonly called a
“buzzard” in North America,
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Source of text: The Anti-Slavery Bugle (newspaper), New Lisbon, Ohio, 21 June 1851, via the Library of Congress, dead.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/
Minor changes to the punctuation have been made in this version.