I was very excited to see that I would get to publish a blog post the week we are reading Sojourner Truth--she's such a legend and her speech is truly enjoyable to read/listen to. I'll be honest, I generally find most historical speeches to be a little boring, but with Sojourner I don't have that problem.
That being said, I want to first address the elephant in the room: the "Ain't I A Woman?" speech that Truth is most famous for is not accurately represented; it's likely she never even said that phrase in her original speech. The speech that most are more familiar with comes from a white woman named Frances Gage, who transcribed her speech 12 years after it was originally spoken and consists of multiple inaccuracies, such as a stereotypical southern black woman accent (Truth came from the North) and false statements like claiming that Truth gave birth to 13 children. Gage felt that she did nothing wrong by heavily editing the speech, one source saying, "she felt justified and believed her version stronger and more palatable to the American public than Sojourner's original version" (https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/).
This is an important note to make that I think speaks volumes about the issue of "white saviorism." Often times progression is related to white liberals taking a stand on the front lines, fighting for the rights of marginalized people; this works to discredit and erase the efforts and desires of marginalized people instead. Gage's belief that she made Sojourner's speech more effective by amplifying stereotypes and inserting entire phrases is rooted in this idea that white people know better and thus need to help the "poor" others. White chivalry is dangerous, and I'm glad that this info is becoming more common when Sojourner is taught. A better version of the speech comes from a friend of Sojourner's, Marcus Robinson, who was present for it. This is a good website that includes both versions and discusses some differences between them: https://sojournertruthmemorial.org/sojourner-truth/her-words/.
(Sojourner Truth's Signature)
To close out this post, I want to take a closer look at some quotes that have been proven accurate or at least are more likely to have been spoken by Sojourner as a way to appreciate her rhetorical skills.
"The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better."
"I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again."
"And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part?"
Sojourner's wit is something to behold, even by today's standards. I laughed out loud at some of the things she's said because she makes issues sound so obvious that the people who oppose her look like complete fools. How is one supposed to argue that men are superior according to the bible when she says something as banger as the third quote? The religious comparisons she makes in order to argue for women's rights are so smart, especially considering the time period she lived in and how important the church still was during this time.
I also want to draw attention to this idea she presents about giving people their rights even if they are inferior to you--she makes the argument "as for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart -- why can't she have her little pint full?" In other words, why should the people in power, who believe they are superior, be afraid of giving those beneath them equal rights? In a way, she is challenging the men of that time's sense of masculinity by questioning why they seem to feel threatened by giving women their rights.
"I feel safe in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail."
I don't mean to ruin the vibe by bringing the old Greeks back into the mix, but I think there's something to note about how both the Ancient Greeks/Romans (and Egyptians) and Sojourner use this idea of "truth." So far, truth has largely been seen as a tool that can help one win arguments and add credibility to their name, but Sojourner positions truth as a tool for activism; by sharing her experiences and exposing hypocrisies in her society, eventually her truth will triumph over the sins others commit against her.
"I will shake every place I go to."
I really enjoyed reading this post especially since we are talking about the misrepresentations found in rhetoric in history this week. I think you pointed out exactly what we are talking about: how the "winning" side of history evolves the actuality of history. Sojourner Truth is a phenomenal woman who had amazing oratory talents, but I think it is fascinating that her legacy was somewhat corrupted by a white woman's transcription of her work. It is amazing how someone who had more privilege can completely alter the perception of history for almost forever until the real truth prevails, as Sojourner Truth once said. I loved this post because it really helped point out how our history may not be the real history that we thought we were reading. Rhetoric can shape our perceptions so easily, so it is important to be aware of what we are studying.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hype post for Sojourner Truth, as it should be! The things she accomplished are impressive by any standards, but for a Black woman to make such an impact at this point in history is monumental. I completely agree that her wit is such a notable part of the so-called "Ain't I a Woman" speech, especially compared to some of the drier pieces we've read over the course of the semester.
ReplyDeleteIt is, however, disappointing that we have so little diversity in our history of rhetoric because of the oppression of minorities. It is wonderful that we have work from Truth to look back upon, but the revisionist history of a white woman is quite frankly disgusting and furthers the idea that white woman have often been more concerned with fighting for themselves rather than woman as a whole.
Anyway, Sojourner Truth deserves a lot of praise and attention and I'm grateful that we have more accurate accounts of her work.
This is such an important point to make and I'm honestly frustrated that this was new information for me! The discussion is white saviorism is so important--it reminds me of a discussion from my Cultural Rhetorics class about the feminist practice of "strategic contemplation", which involves "engaging with an [imaginative] dialogue" with our women rhetorical subjects to understand their words, values, and priorities and whether they differ from our modern, culturally biased (usually in favor of Western rhetoric) understanding. It seems to me that Frances Gage failed pretty spectacularly in the strategic contemplation department in not representing Sojourner Truth truthfully and ethically. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIn the immortal words of Kronk: "Oh, I can feel [the hype]". That being said, the first part of your post has left me feeling somewhat troubled. Its unacceptable to create such massive changes to the content of Sojourner Truth's speech, and its unthinkable that the person doing it would straight up admit to it. What a slap to the face; I am glad you have pointed this out to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of the post, its mostly Sojourner Truth spitting
Sojourner truths. So that's pretty great. I will say, however, I don't understand one thing. You draw a distinction between Sojourner's use of truth and the Greek's use of truth. It seems to me that there is none; Sojourner uses truth to win arguments and (literally) add credibility to her name. The Greeks did the same thing. I find it likely they also used truth in their own forms of activism. Idk, it just seemed like a strange line to draw.
Kalynn, I am SO EXCITED that you pointed out the fact that the popular version of her speech that we hear so often is, in fact, not accurate to what she said. The discussion of white saviorism and the changing of Truth's words is also so important. Her knowledge of the Bible and understanding of religion is particularly useful in her arguments, seeing as how so many people justified their actions using the Bible. It's still something we see in recent history (I'm thinking specifically of something like Romans 13--I'm not sure about the exact chapter and verse, but I'm pretty sure that's it) where Bible passages that were used to justify slavery were used by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to justify building a wall along our Southern border.
ReplyDelete