Enslavement and racism defined important aspects of Isabella, “Bell’s,” childhood and young womanhood in Ulster County. In the face of these powerful forces, Black assertiveness shaped her identity, sense of self, and sense of community. Isabella observed, participated in, and took advantage of socio-economic change in Ulster County. She made the most of change and opportunities to pursue personal growth, family formation, religion, self-emancipation, and abolition. The Black family, Black culture, and Black resistance shaped the early life of the woman who became Sojourner Truth.

Margaret Washington is the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History, Emerita, at Cornell University. She joined the Cornell history department in 1988 as associate professor specializing in African American history and culture; African American women; and Southern history. 

Dr. Washington authored the prize-winning definitive biography Sojourner Truth’s America, published in 2009 by University of Illinois Press. Washington presents Sojourner’s life within the broader panorama of American history, slavery, antislavery, women’s rights, and other reforms in the turbulent age of Abraham Lincoln. Sojourner Truth’s America notably provides a unique lens into the unlikely ascendancy of an unschooled formerly enslaved New Yorker who became an activist preacher, political orator, and suffragist.

Registration is FREE, but space is limited. Please let us know you’re coming in advance!

If you are interested in purchasing Dr. Margaret Washington’s book, Sojourner Truth’s America you may do so on HHS’s online Museum Shop by clicking here.

This is a community partnership program between the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center, the Elting Memorial Library, Historic Huguenot Street, and the New Paltz Historical Society.