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Classroom · Grades 6–12

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth insisted that abolition and women’s rights were one cause, yet her most famous words reached us through other people’s pens, so studying her means asking who records a speaker’s voice and how.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 6–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 4 (Individual Development and Identity), 10 (Civic Ideals and Practices), and 2 (Time, Continuity, and Change); C3 D2.His.4, D2.His.10, D2.His.11
Reading
Sojourner Truth (profile)

Big Idea

Sojourner Truth insisted that abolition and women’s rights were one cause, yet her most famous words reached us through other people’s pens, so studying her means asking who records a speaker’s voice and how.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Sojourner Truth, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why do historians trust Marius Robinson’s 1851 report of the Akron speech more than Frances Dana Gage’s 1863 version?
  2. Gage wrote Truth’s words in a Southern dialect Truth never spoke. Why might Gage have done that, and what effect did it have on readers?
  3. Truth could not read or write, but she copyrighted and sold her own photographs. How did she use images to control her public identity?
  4. In 1828 Truth won her son’s return from illegal slavery in Alabama. What does that case reveal about her understanding of the law?
  5. Why is it significant that Truth tried to vote in 1872?

Activity

Divide the class in half. One half reads Marius Robinson’s 1851 report of the Akron speech; the other reads Frances Dana Gage’s 1863 version. Each group lists three things the speaker argues and describes how the speaker sounds. Pair students across groups to compare notes, then project Truth’s carte de visite portrait and share the caption she sold such photographs with: “I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance.” Discuss: which source gives us the truest sense of Truth, and why did she choose photography to present herself? (30–40 minutes.)

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Sojourner Truth.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/sojourner-truth/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Sojourner Truth. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/sojourner-truth/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Sojourner Truth.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/sojourner-truth/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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