The Whole Truth

Sojourner Truth was a women's rights advocate known best for her famous speech "Ain't I a Woman?" But Truth never actually said these words. In fact, much of the Truth we know…is fiction. Depictions from different artists and journalists have tweaked Truth's legacy to fit their messages, giving her a “kaleidoscopic reputation,” according to Nell Irvin Painter, author of Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol.
 
So how did a speech she never gave make Sojourner Truth one of the most famous women’s suffragists of the 19th century? And what did Truth actually say? Turns out, the whole Truth is even better than fiction.

Transcript 

Guests:

• Nell Irvin Painter, author of Sojourner Truth: a Life, a Symbol; Edwards Professor of American History Emerita at Princeton University
• Ashleigh Coren, former content strategist for the Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past initiative
• Kim Sajet, director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and host of the Smithsonian's Portraits podcast

Smithsonian Links:

• The Smithsonian Magazine shares more about Sojourner Truth's life and how she is being remembered today by artists and communities.
• Listen to Seeing Truth, a PORTRAITS: Real People, Real Stories podcast by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, to explore the deliberate visual details of Sojourner Truth's "cartes-de-visite" photographs.
• The Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past explores the history and legacy of race and racism in the United States and beyond. The initiative seeks to spark positive social change and build a more equitable future by bringing people together to talk, share, and learn from each other.