The Flickr Sojournertruth Image Generatr

During the slavery days, the city of Battle Creek was one of the "stations" along the Underground Railway for destinations around the state and onward to Canada, too. Some of the residents were prominent figures in the Abolitionist movement and Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree) lived in the city. This life-sized monument reminds each successive generation of those times. See also, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth

Press L for lightbox (large) view; click the image or press Z for full image display.

Hover the mouse pointer over the image for pop-up remarks.

Text adapted from a plaque at Monument
Sojourner Truth was born as the slave Isabella in New York State about 1797. As a child she spoke only low Dutch and, like most slaves, she never learned to read or write. While she was in bondage, she married Thomas, a fellow slave, and had five children. She was sold to four new owners before walking away to freedom in 1826.

Isabella then settled in New York City until 1849, when she changed her name to Sojourner Truth. Relying on her deep religious faith, she was determined to travel the land as an itinerant preacher, speaking the truth and fighting against injustice. She became a prominent figure in in several national social reform movements, working for the abolition of slavery, women's rights, temperance, prison reform and the rights of former slaves. Truth was perhaps the most famous African American woman in 19th century American. For over forty years she was passionate advocate for the dispossessed using her quick wit and fearless tongue to fight for human rights.

Truth moved to the Battle Creek, Michigan area in 1857. She died on November 26. 1883

The monument was dedicated by the people of Battle Creek, Michigan to preserve the image and honor the legacy of Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), who lived in the area for the last 27 years of her life. She escaped slavery in her 30s. When her son was illegally sold to a plantation in Alabama from New York she successfully sued for the freedom of her son. She was the first Black women to win against a white man in court. Although she could neither read nor write, the charismatic ex-slave was empowered to carry her message of social reform and individual rights across the country. Using humor, wit and song in her oratory, Truth transformed National attitude and institutions. (Source: Various, including a plaque at the Monument)

"Her given name was Isabella. Standing six feet tall with a deep, resonant voice, this unlettered former Ulster County, New York, slave assumed the name 'Sojourner' because, she said, 'I was to travel up and down the land showin' the people their sins an' bein a sign unto them.' She electrified her audiences and irritated those who did not agree with her. Alone and in company with her friend Frederick Douglass and other leading abolitionists, always in the plainest of clothes, she wandered the land speaking with an orator's eloquence and a victim's rage against slavery and for women's rights" (Blockson 29, One Hundred and One Influential Books). In the hopes of imitating the success of Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845), she began dictating her own story to her friend Olive Gilbert, who helped shape it into Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A Northern Slave (1850). Proceeds from sales of the book and cartes-de-visite enabled her to purchase a home in Florence, Massachusetts. A second edition was published in 1853, though the most significant changes to the text would appear in this 1875 edition, with significant edits to the text, and considerably expanded to include her "Book of Life," speeches, and various quotes. An exemplary copy of one of the cornerstone works on the African-American experience. BLOCKSON 3434.
www.lornebair.com

First Printing. Octavo (19.75cm); dark blue-green cloth, with titling and portrait of the author stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; xii,[13]-324pp, with an engraved tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of the author, and the errata slip tipped onto the preface at gutter. Contemporary ink ownership inscription to front pastedown ("L.G. Ransom's Book" – possibly Limon G. Ransom, a Methodist churchman from Iowa), with a holograph correction and marginal annotation on the Preface page in an editorial hand. Light wear to spine ends and corner tips, a tiny rubbed spot to right edge of rear cover, hint of sunning to spine, with faint creases to a handful of page corners, subtle toning to the edges of the frontispiece, and a brief (early) holograph note in pencil on p.324; hinges sound, with the text notably fresh and without foxing; Near Fine.

Sojourner Truth. 1864. Truth sold cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards, such as this one, to raise money for her work. These cards carried her name accompanied by the following text "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance".

Sojourner Truth, Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sculptor: Meredith Bergmann
Central Park

Monument Park, Battle Creek, Michigan.

Insta360 X3 camera. DNG file processed using PTGui (instead of the usual Insta360 Studio).

Monument Park, Battle Creek, Michigan.

Insta360 X3 camera. DNG file processed using PTGui (instead of the usual Insta360 Studio).

PTGui produces images that use the full resolution of the DNG file captured by the camera.

Central Park
New York, New York USA
06.08.23

Eastern Market

As seen from the grounds of the Ulster County Courthouse

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

Built in 1818, this charming courthouse was originally designed and built by architects/contractors Jacob Ten Broeck, John Beekman, and James Cockburn. It was expanded in 1897 using the designs of Andrew F. Mason. The building features a blend of Georgian, Greek Revival, and Italianate elements.

The structure was the site of the 1823 trial where Sojourner Truth, then known as Isabella Baumfree, sued for her son's recovery from slavery. She was the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. The courthouse is a contributing property to the Kingston Stockade Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

Built in 1818, this charming courthouse was originally designed and built by architects/contractors Jacob Ten Broeck, John Beekman, and James Cockburn. It was expanded in 1897 using the designs of Andrew F. Mason. The building features a blend of Georgian, Greek Revival, and Italianate elements.

The structure was the site of the 1823 trial where Sojourner Truth, then known as Isabella Baumfree, sued for her son's recovery from slavery. She was the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. The courthouse is a contributing property to the Kingston Stockade Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

Built in 1818, this charming courthouse was originally designed and built by architects/contractors Jacob Ten Broeck, John Beekman, and James Cockburn. It was expanded in 1897 using the designs of Andrew F. Mason. The building features a blend of Georgian, Greek Revival, and Italianate elements.

The structure was the site of the 1823 trial where Sojourner Truth, then known as Isabella Baumfree, sued for her son's recovery from slavery. She was the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. The courthouse is a contributing property to the Kingston Stockade Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

As seen from the grounds of the Ulster County Courthouse

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

As seen from the grounds of the Ulster County Courthouse

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.

As seen from the grounds of the Ulster County Courthouse

Kingston, New York is a lovely, small Hudson Valley city located about 60 miles south of Albany, and about 30 miles northwest of Poughkeepsie. It traces its establishment to 1652 during the Dutch Colonial period.