Sojourner Truth
Subtitle: a life, a symbol
By: Nell Irvin Painter.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 370
Subjects: Truth, Sojourner, d. 1883; African American abolitionists -- Biography; Abolitionists -- United States -- Biography; Women abolitionists -- United States -- Biography; Social reformers -- United States -- Biography; Women social reformers -- United States -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Description: Sojourner Truth: ex-slave and fiery abolitionist, figure of imposing physique, riveting preacher and spellbinding singer who dazzled listeners with her wit and originality. Straight talking and unsentimental, Truth became a national symbol for strong black women - indeed, for all strong women. Like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, she is regarded as a radical of immense and enduring influence; yet unlike them, what is remembered of her consists more of myth than of historical fact.

Now, in a masterful blend of scholarship and sympathetic understanding, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter goes beyond the myths, words, and photographs to uncover the life of a complex woman who was born into slavery and died a legend. Inspired by religion, Truth transformed herself from a domestic servant named Isabella into an itinerant Pentecostal preacher; her words of empowerment have inspired black women and poor people the world over to this day.

As an abolitionist and a feminist, Truth defied the stereotype of "the slave" as male and "the woman" as white - expounding a fact that still bears repeating: among blacks there are women; among women, there are blacks.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-343) and index.