Historic Marker Plaque
*On this date in 1851, Sojourner Truth gave her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech for the first time. Though it did not originally have a title and was delivered impromptu, it has inspired the Black feminists’ community since.
After gaining her freedom in 1827, Sojourner Truth became a well-known anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio. Two contemporary newspapers briefly reported on it, and a transcript was published in the Anti-Slavery Bugle on June 21, 1851.
It received wider publicity in 1863 during the American Civil War when Frances Dana Barker Gage published a different version, which became known as Ain't I a Woman? Because of its oft-repeated question.
The later, better-known, and more widely available version has been referenced by most historians.
