'Ain’t I a Woman?' was the title of a speech given by which women’s rights activist?

'Ain’t I a Woman?' was the title of a speech given by the American abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) at a Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. Not only did Truth fight on behalf of women, but she also fought for the rights of African Americans. The biographer Nell Irvin Painter wrote, “At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks.” Truth was born into slavery but managed to escape, after which she set about improving lives for black people. Her determination won her a place in the '100 Most Significant Americans of All Time' listed by the Smithsonian magazine in 2014.

Since the oration was unplanned, Truth did not make any written notes, and historians rely on accounts and transcripts by those in attendance, which contain many differences. Yet, they all agree that Truth demanded equal human rights for all women, both white and black. She spoke about her life as a formerly enslaved woman and combined her call for women’s rights with abolitionism.

The term 'Ain’t I a Woman' stems from the phrase 'Am I not a man and a brother?', which British abolitionists coined during the 18th century. In the early 19th century, feminist abolitionists rewrote the phrase to read, 'Am I not a woman and a sister?'