Sojourner Truth

On a spring day in 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered a lecture that would become an pivotal vocalization for women’s equality and the plight of the black woman. Her speech continues to be widely popular, is taught in schools, and is frequently and proudly used by writers who promote women’s rights. A lesser known fact about the speech is that there are two versions. The first is the earlier version, recorded by Marcus Robinson just three weeks after the speech was given by Sojourner. The second, more commonly known version, is by Frances Gage, entitled “Ain't I A Woman?” The message behind each version evokes emotions and calls for action though there are major differences between the two. To fully analyze the meaning behind Truth’s oration,
Robinson, who recounted the speech less than a month later wrote a 427 word article. Gage’s was nearly three times longer at 1,155 words. It seems unusual that Gage would have remembered so many extra details over a decade after the speech. It is possible that she took notes and it is possible that Robinson paraphrased but it is unlikely that Gage would have been able to rewrite the speech word for word, the way that she repeats it. Giving more attention to the specific words used, it is clear that Gage and Robinson chose very different forms of syntax and phonetics. Gage uses “deep” AAVE (African American Vernacular English), starting Truth’s speech out with “Wall, chilern, whar dar is so much racket dar must be somethin‘ out o’ kilter” compared to Robinson’s first line, “I want to say a few words about this matter.” As a slave from upstate New York, Truth’s phonetic pattern would have been much closer to SAE (Standard American English) than her southern counterparts. In fact, in an interview with Truth from the same time period, she spoke about her pride in being able to speak “fairly correct English” even though she initially spoke
The only similar phrase in Robinson’s version is the statement, “I am a woman’s rights.” There are two poignant differences here. The first is that in Robinson’s version, Truth is making a statement, not asking a question. She is proudly standing up with women and not asking if she can have a seat at their table. The second difference is that Gage’s version shows the inequality between black and white womanhood. Black females were routinely stripped of their womanhood and femininity through the mammy stereotype or by being painted as Jezebels. A “real woman” was the embodiment of purity and modesty that did not include black women. This lack of womanhood “allowed them to resist traditional norms of gender that would limit them and to find avenues for activism that were unavailable to their white counterparts”