t Matthias and Truth’s later employer, was arrested for the murder of Elijah Pierson. Being that Truth was under employment of Matthews at the time and was previously employed by Pierson, she was accused of aiding in the murder. In addition, the Folgers, members of Pierson’s cult, accused Sojourner of attempting to poison them as well. There was not enough evidence supporting that Matthews committed the crime, so he was acquitted. After Sojourner was found innocent of being an accomplice to the murder of Elijah Pierson, she filed a lawsuit against the members of Pierson’s cult, the Folgers, for slander. In 1835, Truth was yet again the first African-American woman to win a civil case of that sort.
As mentioned earlier, during her first few years of freedom, Truth had converted to Christianity, particularly Evangelical faith. This could be the reason she worked for both Pierson and Matthews, as they were both significant in the Christian community. In 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, which translates to traveling preacher. This was the first step in devoting her life to Christianity. In the same fashion, Truth traveled to attend and even hold her own prayer groups across New England. She later went on to join the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts. The organization was founded by fellow abolitionists, such as Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, with the intent to support broad reform, ranging from women’s rights to opposition of war. Truth lived on the self-sufficient community grounds and made connections with several abolitionist leaders during her stay.
After the community broke up, Truth published a memoir entitled The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. William Lloyd Garrison, whom she met through the Northampton community, wrote the introduction to the book. Provided that truth did not know how to read or write, Oliver Gilbert wrote the rest memoir with the information she provided him. Truth’s narrative not only included her recollections of her experience as a child growing up in slavery, which were not limited to sexual abuse, whippings and beatings, but also contradicted the southern belief that slaves were satisfied with their condition and could not be self-sufficient or independent. From the revenue she acquired from her autobiography, Truth was able to purchase a home in Cattle Creek, Michigan.
After her memoir was published, she continued to make her voice heard by delivering speeches at several events across the nation. She made sure that people were aware of the hardships she endured as a slave leading up to her eventual freedom, but what made her speeches so effective and inspiring was her use of reason and religion, opposed to aggression and violence that was seen from other abolitionists. While touring she realized women did not have the right to vote or hold official political positions. In other words, it dawned on her that not only was she being oppressed because of the color of her skin, but she was also being struck down for her gender, both of which were far from a just reason. Because of this, she scolded and reminded her fellow advocates that women – both black and white – should not be forgotten, as they too did not have political standing or rights. Still other civil rights activists believed her to be too controversial and did not head her warnings. But Sojourner would not stop at antislavery reform and women’s rights, she also fought to repeal capital punishment. She even took her case to the Michigan state legislature to voice her opinions on the practice of the death sentence.
In October of 1851, Truth delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. The purpose of her speech was to persuade her audience that women – especially black women are equal to men and deserve equal rights. She effectively does this by using several rhetorical devices, such as repetition. Her repetition of the phrase “ain’t I a woman” did not limitedly convey her pent-up frustration, but also contr