Portrait of Sojourner Truth (ca. 1797–1883)

Sojourner Truth was a dedicated abolitionist and suffragist. Today she is also recognized as an icon of intersectional feminism, drawing attention to the ways sexism and racism are mutually reinforcing and compounding forms of oppression. Born into slavery, Truth was not allowed to learn to read or write. Despite her illiteracy, she became a forceful orator. Her words have been imperfectly transmitted, primarily through the writing of educated white women like Olive Gilbert, to whom Truth dictated her autobiography.



As Truth grew more assertive in controlling her self-representation, she turned to photography. When she sat for this portrait, knitting had patriotic connotations. During the Civil War, white women were called upon to knit socks for soldiers on the battlefield. Here she presents herself in full possession of this skill, using symbols of feminine domesticity to declare herself industrious and useful.