Life of Sojourner Truth highlighted in Hudson Heritage Association's January meeting

The Hudson Heritage Association will highlight the life of Sojourner Truth at its Jan. 11 meeting.

Regarded as one of the 19th century’s most important human rights advocates, Sojourner Truth delivered what is considered one of the most significant abolitionist and women’s rights speeches in American history just a few miles from Hudson when she spoke at the Second Women’s Rights Convention in Akron in 1851. A dramatization of Truth’s historic speech, “Ain’t I a Woman,” will be part of the program.

Isabella Baumfree was born in 1797 to a New York slave owner who refused to honor the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827. Taking her life into her own hands, Baumfree walked away from bondage and subsequently experienced a religious conversion and took the name Sojourner Truth. She became an itinerant preacher, became involved in the abolitionist movement and also took up the cause of women’s rights. She spoke out for the rights of women and African Americans until her death in 1883.

HHA’s January meeting at Barlow Community Center will feature members of The Sojourner Truth Project in Akron and will include background on the life of the formerly enslaved woman as well as an update on the project designed to recognize Truth’s work and the suffrage centennial in Summit County. Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers and through contributions community-wide, as well as support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza will be dedicated on North High Street, beside the United Way building, in May 2024. Details about the project can be found at https://www.truthstatue.org/

Presenters at HHA’s meeting will include Leianne Neff Heppner, president and CEO, The Summit County Historical Society of Akron; Towanda Mullins, chair of the Sojourner Truth Project - Akron; Margaret Maurer, Education Committee Chair for Sojourner Truth Project-Akron; and Hazel Burney Malone, retired teacher, Akron Public Schools.

The meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

Founded in 1962, Hudson Heritage Association works to protect Hudson’s historic buildings, the village streetscape, and the city’s Western Reserve architectural aesthetic. For details, visit www.HudsonHeritage.org or search “Hudson Heritage Association” on Facebook and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hudson Heritage Association features Sojourner Truth in January