Sojourner Truth was born a slave but was freed at the age of 29, when New York ended slavery within the state in 1827. Once she was free, she traveled all over the United States, giving speeches about her life as a slave. Truth believed all people were equal, and her speeches helped others understand the struggles African Americans and women of all races faced. Her most famous speech is “Ain’t I A Woman,” which she gave at the 1851 Women’s Convention. In it, she highlighted the different ways African American women were treated compared to white women. While Sojourner Truth did not live to see women granted the right to vote, her speeches and writing inspired other African American activists.
Ida B. Wells was a writer inspired by the work of Sojourner Truth. Wells was never a slave, but she was still mistreated because of the color of her skin. Because of these experiences, she decided to become an activist who fought for equality for all people. At first, her work focused on equality for African Americans, but she later focused on women’s rights. She learned that many African American women did not have the resources to learn about politics, which made her work even harder to educate them. She started the Alpha Suffrage club, bringing African American suffragists together to become a more powerful group.
Ida B. Wells attended the National American Woman Suffrage Association parade in Washington D.C. in 1913. The white suffragists tried to make her and other African American women march at the back of the parade. Wells refused to participate until she was allowed to march alongside the white women. This story became widely told and drew attention to the struggles African American women faced within the women’s suffrage movement.