First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday reflected on her own family’s rise from slavery to the White House as she helped to unveil a statue of abolitionist Sojourner Truth — the first black woman to be so honored at the Capitol.
“I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as the first lady of the United States of America,” Mrs. Obama said to loud applause at a ceremony at the Capitol Visitor Center.
An early crusader for women’s right to vote and for an end to slavery, Truth met presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and Ulysses S. Grant in 1870, and delivered her signature “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851. Truth, a former slave, tried to vote on two occasions, but was turned away both times. She died in November 1883 at her home in Battle Creek, Mich.
Lawmakers, students and actress Cicely Tyson were among those who gathered at the visitor’s center to celebrate Truth’s legacy and watch Mrs. Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others unveil the bronze bust of Truth.
“We’re here because of barriers she challenged and fought to tear down, and paths she helped to forge and trod alone,” Clinton said to an audience made up mostly of women.
For the full article, see Ann Sanner, “First lady honors abolitionist Sojourner Truth”, Oakland Press, April 28, 2009.
Also see Sojourner Truth Bust