MAAP | Mapping the African American Past

Three-quarter length portrait of Sojourner Truth

Born a slave in 1797 in Ulster County, New York, Sojourner Truth spoke out against slavery and injustice, and for women’s rights, making people from President Lincoln to street toughs listen. The phrase "I sell the shadow..." often accompanied copies of this portrait, which was sold to raise funds for the anti-slavery cause.

Source: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture/Photographs and Prints Division/The New York Public Library


Produced by CCNMTL, Chase, Teachers College, and CCI