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BORN INTO SLAVERY<o:p></o:p>My parents were slaves owned by Colonel Hardenbergh. He had an estate about 100 miles north of New York City, where my parents, brothers and sisters all worked in the fields. The estate was in a Dutch-speaking area, so we spoke Dutch.My owners sold me when I was around nine years old. I tried to hide, but my master found me. I was traded for a flock of sheep and about 100 dollars. Slaves were bought and sold by white folk. My mother cried and I was frighted, but it was a business deal and human feelings did not count.My new master, John Neely, was a hard man and he seemed to enjoy beating his slaves.&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F5cc07e2b8f0c4d57830eeb895b29656a" alt="" style="color: rgb(21, 20, 20); width: 280.006px; height: 410.562px;"></div> <o:p></o:p>At the age of thirteen, I came to live on the property of John Dumont in West Park, New York and I finally learned to speak English.<div>A FRAGILE FAMILY</div>In 1815, I fell in love with a slave named Robert, and we had a daughter, Diana. Robert was owned by another slave master, Mr Catton. When Mr Catton heard of our relationship, he became very angry. He forbid Robert from seeing me because he knew that any children I had would be owned by my master and not him.&nbsp;I never saw Robert again.My master wanted me to have more children and married me off to an older slave that he owned. That was how it was - I had no choice. Soon, I was pregnant again. Would I survive? Would my child survive?&nbsp;Of the five children I had, one died in infancy, and the rest became Dumont’s property. Aged nearly 30, I was healthy but unhappy. There seemed no future for me apart from slavery.<div>A PATH TO FREEDOM</div>Then, one day I heard that the law in New York State was going to change, and that slavery would end in 1827. Mr Dumont promised he would free me – but he broke his promise.I was so angry that one night I picked up my baby, Sophia, and escaped to freedom. It was not an easy thing to do, as I had to leave my other children behind.&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fbfe9f79f754845ba8a3c9f24e868e5e1" alt="" style="width: 366.293px; height: 244.312px;"></div>I soon learned that Mr Dumont had illegally sold my son Peter, who was only five years old. With some help I became one of the first black women to go to court against a white man and win. I got my son Peter back and proved that white men’s laws could be used by black folk.&nbsp;In 1829, Peter, Sophia and I moved to New York City. It was time to start again as a truly free person. I became a devout Christian, and I worked hard for equal rights.In 1843, I took the name Sojourner Truth, enjoying the play on words. I chose Sojourner “because I was to travel up and down the land showing people their sins and being a sign to them, and Truth because I was to declare the truth to people.”<div>HELPING OTHERS</div>I spoke out many times and in 1851, a speech of mine called Ain’t I A Woman? caught the public’s imagination. I became known for my wit and straight talking, as I realised that this was often a better way to persuade people to see another point of view.When the Civil War started in 1861, I organised supplies for Black troops, and I helped African Americans find jobs and build new lives. I also had the honour of meeting President Lincoln.&nbsp;&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fcbd8139ff7294a2489637973b7f55309" alt="" style="width: 266.471px; height: 374.25px;"></div>I worked hard to change things and slowly they did. Black men finally got the vote. However, neither Black nor White women were granted this right at that time.&nbsp;In my life, I had seen many changes. I was born into slavery, but I never gave up my beliefs, and walking to freedom was the best thing I did. I was not given freedom - I took it.From that day, I tried to make the best use of it. May everyone who is born free respect it and may those who are still not free find the courage and strength to fight for it. That is a natural human right.LEGACY AND RECOGNITION<ul><li>In April 2009, a sculpture of Sojourner Truth was unveiled in Emancipation Hall at the US Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. It was the first sculpture of an African American woman to be displayed in the Capitol.&nbsp;</li><li>NASA selected the name “Sojourner” for the first rover scheduled to explore Mars. The name was chosen after a year-long, worldwide competition in which students were invited to a select a heroine and write an essay about her accomplishments. An essay about Sojourner Truth won.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Sojourner Truth was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1981. Other inductees include Elizabeth Blackwell, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Madam CJ Walker, and Sacagawea.</li></ul>IMAGE CAPTIONS AND CREDITSPeople being sold as slaves, (does not show Truth or her family), AlamyStatue of Sojourner Truth, Alamy<o:p></o:p>Sojourner Truth with Abraham Lincoln(1861), Alamy<o:p></o:p>

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