Sojourner Truth didn’t want to read what women in her time were traditionally supposed to and expected to read. Instead of letters, she wanted to read what had impact to the world, a genre of writing forbidden to women. Women weren’t granted the right to vote, and were limited career-wise before World War I. As a black woman, she was subject to Jim Crow laws, discriminatory laws that caused segregation in all public facilities, including schools, buses, and even in the war. With all these obstacles in mind, it is remarkable for someone in her time to have a voice, and even more extraordinary for her to be a leader of the women’s rights movement. Without her contributions, a large portion of America would have been silent and unrepresented.
