Ain't I a Woman?: Main Idea
Ain't I a Woman?: Main Idea
Equality Means Everyone is Equal
Breaking news: the founding principle of the U.S.—that all men are created equal—is not just for white men.
No, with merely an application of logic, common sense, and human decency, Black men and all women too can have the full rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens. And there's no equality until everyone is equal.
Questions
- How does Sojourner Truth describe the typical attitude toward women at the time…and why is it different for Black people and white people?
- Why was this short, completely spontaneous speech at a local suffrage conference from a female former slave so compelling that you're still reading about it today?
- How does Truth question the religious basis for discrimination, and how might that apply to similar situations today?
Chew On This
Sojourner Truth stood up and gave abolitionists and suffragists a wake-up call, essentially saying, "Hey: remember the Black women, too."
Since Sojourner Truth was capable of planting, working, and being beaten like a man, it follows logically that she should have been treated equal to a man.
Quotes
Quote #1
I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. (2)
That's what's known as between a rock and a hard place, in Sojourner's opinion. She was right: it took organization and dedication to see change done. It may have taken sixty-nine years between her speech and all citizens getting the vote, but it was doable.
Quote #2
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? (4-10)
The last name "Truth" has never been more applicable. Why were Black women considered capable of physical work, but white women weren't? Sadly, it wouldn't be until Rosie the Riveter and WWII that women were seen as capable as men. (And that promptly reversed itself, but that's another story.)
Quote #3
If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full? (18)
This sounds a bit like a word problem (pints? Quarts? Half measures?) but the meaning is clear: if someone has little, and you have a lot, it's just cruel to tell them they can't have anything.
Quote #4
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. (19-23)
Good point, Truth. If Christ was the son of Mary, why are women denied rights? Sure, Christ was male…but he never would have been born if it hadn't been for his mother.
Quote #5
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them. (24-25)
Continuing on with the Biblical imagery, Truth defended Eve as a force of change and slyly suggested women were still being punished by men for being cast out of Eden in a hyper-Christian era. This was a call to arms and a powerful closing statement.