,,iv  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ba  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,january #aa1        
#bjbc,ms4 ,jackson ,lee submitted the   
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on the ,judiciary    
,,resolution  ,commemorating the life   
and legacy of ,sojourner ,truth4        
,whereas ,sojourner ,truth was born     
,isabella ,baumfree to her slave parents
 ,james and ,elizabeth ,baumfree1 in    
#ahig in ,dutch-speaking ,swartekill1   
,ulster ,county1 ,new ,york2 ,whereas   
,sojourner ,truth was born two years    
before ,an ,act for the ,gradual        
,elimination of ,slavery became law in  
,pennsylvania1 which consigned her to   
the status of slave for the rest of her 
life2 ,whereas ,sojourner ,truth1       
starting at the age of #i and continuing
 into adolescence1 was bought and sold  
#d times and bore at least #e children1 
but lived to overcome her hardscrabble  
beginning to become one of the most     
famous and influential women of the     

#aith century2 ,whereas1 in #ahbg1 the  
year before a ,new ,york law freeing    
slaves took effect1 ,sojourner ,truth   
escaped from bondage with her infant    
daughter ,sophia and sought refuge with 
staunch abolitionists ,maria ,van       
,wagener and her husband ,dr4 ,isaac    
,van ,wagener2 ,whereas for #bj dollars 
the ,van ,wageners bought ,sojourner    
,truth's freedom and helped her         
successfully sue for the return of her  
#e-year-old son ,peter1 who had been    
illegally sold into slavery in ,alabama2
 ,whereas1 in #ahbh1 ,sojourner ,truth  
moved to ,new ,york ,city to work for a 
local minister and1 by the early #ahcjs1
 her reputation of being a charismatic  
speaker was becoming well known2        
,whereas1 in #ahdc1 ,sojourner ,truth   
declared that the ,holy ,spirit called  
on her to preach the truth1 renaming    
herself ,sojourner ,truth2 ,whereas     
,sojourner ,truth used her divinely     
inspired gift of speech to advocate for 
equal treatment of all persons1         

including the right of all women to     
enjoy the same privileges and immunities
 the ,constitution bestowed upon men2   
,whereas the most famous expression of  
,sojourner ,truth's deeply held         
conviction that all women were entitled 
to equal treatment under the law came in
 her address at the ,women's ,convention
 in ,akron1 ,ohio on ,may #bi1 #ahea1 in
 which she declared1 ,that man over     
there says that women need to be helped 
into carriages1 and lifted over ditches1
 and to have the best place everywhere4 
,nobody ever helps me into carriages1 or
 over mud-puddles1 or gives me any best 
place6 ,and ain't ,i a woman8 ,look at  
me6 ,look at my arm6 ,i have ploughed   
and planted1 and gathered into barns1   
and no man could head me6 ,and ain't ,i 
a woman8 ,i could work as much and eat  
as much as a man--when ,i could get     
it--and bear the lash as well6 ,and     
ain't ,i a woman8 ,i have borne thirteen
 children1 and seen most all sold off to
 slavery1 and when ,i cried out with my 

mother's grief1 none but ,jesus heard   
me6 ,and ain't ,i a woman8 and ,if the  
first woman ,god ever made was strong   
enough to turn the world upside down all
 alone1 these women together ought to be
 able to turn it back1 and get it right 
side up again6 ,and now they is asking  
to do it1 the men better let them42     
,whereas the enduring legacy of         
,sojourner ,truth is her steadfast      
belief that all men and women are       
created equal--a refrain that is echoed 
in the ,i ,have a ,dream speech given on
 the steps of the ,lincoln ,memorial on 
,august #bh1 #aifc1 by the ,reverend    
,dr4 ,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr42       
,whereas1 in the #ahejs1 ,sojourner     
,truth settled in ,battle ,creek1       
,michigan1 where #c of her daughters    
lived and continued to speak nationally 
and help to resettle slaves who had     
escaped to freedom2 ,whereas at the     
onset of the ,civil ,war1 ,sojourner    
,truth urged free ,black men to join the
 ,union ,army cause and worked to       

organize supplies for ,black troops2    
,whereas after the ,civil ,war1         
,sojourner ,truth was honored with an   
invitation to the ,white ,house and     
became involved with the ,freedmen's    
,bureau1 helping freed slaves find jobs 
and build new and better lives2 ,whereas
 ,sojourner ,truth continued her        
advocacy for human and civil rights for 
former slaves as she fought against de  
jure segregation2 and ,whereas1 at #fc  
years of age1 ,sojourner ,truth stood up
 to a streetcar conductor who tried to  
violently block her from riding1        
predating and modeling the courage of   
,rosa ,parks1 who less than #ajj years  
later stood up for justice by sitting   
down3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is
 the sense of the ,house of             
,representatives that--  7#a7 the life  
of ,sojourner ,truth reflects the       
experience of millions of women of      
,african descent brought to the         
,americas in violence and in violation  
of their human rights to be the         

progenitors of slaves1 but who not only 
survived that existence1 but thrived to 
shape new paths to an awakening of how  
people view race and gender2  7#b7      
,sojourner ,truth demonstrates the      
indomitable will of people everywhere   
who yearn to be free and overcome       
impossible odds to win freedom for      
themselves and others2 and  7#c7        
,sojourner ,truth reflects the best     
,american tradition of using one's      
courage and intellect to transcend      
societal limits to reinvent and renew   
the ,american ,dream and pass it on to  
succeeding generations1 endowing them   
with the freedom to unleash their       
imagination and pursue their dreams4