Books for Kids: Sojourner Truth

My Name is Truth: The Story of Sojourner Truth

By Ann Turner, Illustrated by James Ransome

This book tells the remarkable story of how former slave Isabella Baumfree transformed herself into the preacher and orator Sojourner Truth. She was an iconic figure of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. 6-10 years

So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom

By Gary D. Schmidt, Illustrated by Daniel Minter

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery but possessed a mind and a vision that knew no bounds. So Tall Within traces her life from her painful childhood through her remarkable emancipation to her incredible leadership in the movement for rights for both women and African Americans. 4-8 years

Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth

By Anne Rockwell, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Sojourner Truth traveled the country in the latter half of the 19th century speaking out against slavery and telling her story. She was sold three times by age 13, beaten for not understanding her master’s orders, and watched her parents die of cold and hunger when they could no longer work. Sojourner’s simple yet powerful words helped people understand the truth about slavery. 6-9 years

Who Was Sojourner Truth?

By Yona Zeldis McDonough, Illustrated by Jim Eldridge

Almost 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, Sojourner Truth was mistreated by a streetcar conductor. She took him to court and won her case. Born a slave in New York around 1797, she was later sold and separated from her family. Even after she escaped from slavery, she knew her work was not done. She changed her name from Belle to Sojourner and traveled  around America sharing her story until her death at age 86. 8-12 years

Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride

By Andrea Davis Pinkney, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Born into slavery, Belle had to endure the cruelty of several masters before she escaped to freedom. But she knew she wouldn’t really be free unless she helped to end the injustice of slavery. That’s when she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and traveled across the country demanding equal rights for African Americans and women. Many people weren’t ready for her message, but she was brave and her truth powerful. And slowly, but surely as her step-stomp stride, Americans began to change. 5-9 years

Sojourner Truth: Path to Glory

By Peter Merchant, Illustrated by Julia Denos

Sojourner Truth had a difficult childhood. She was born a slave and many of the families she worked from treated her poorly. But when she escaped from slavery, she used her life to teach others about the power of freedom. Level 3 reader, 6-8 years

When Harriet Met Sojourner

By Catherine Clinton, Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

This book is about two women with similar backgrounds. Both were slaves, both were fiercely independent, and both were great in different ways. Harriet Tubman was a brave pioneer who led her fellow slaves to freedom. Sojourner Truth was a strong woman who spoke up for African American rights. One day in 1864, they met. This is a portrait of two remarkable women, from their inauspicious beginnings to their pivotal roles in the battle for America’s future. 4-8 years

Sojourner Truth: Fighting for Freedom

By Jeri Cipriano, Illustrated by Scott R. Brooks

Sojourner Truth was born to slaves. She had no choice. But when she grew to be a young mother herself, she ran away with her child looking for freedom. She used her voice to speak for all slaves wanting to be free. 5-8 years

The book descriptions are primarily from the publishers.

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

You may like: Harriet Tubman at: https://barbaralowell.com/harriet-tubman

Books For Kids: Harriet Tubman at: https://barbaralowell.com/books-for-kids-harriet-tubman

Books For Kids: The Underground Railroad at: https://barbaralowell.com/books-kids-underground-railroad

The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton Poet

Author-Illustrator Don Tate opens his Crystal Kite Award winning book, The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton Poet with these words: “George loved words. He wanted to learn how to read, but George was enslaved.” 

Don Tate tells the story of George Moses Horton born a slave in North Carolina in the late 1700s. As a child, George listened to the words in songs and in sermons and from the Bible. And he listened to the white children on the plantation recite the alphabet, until he too, could recite it.  But George could not read. It was forbidden for slaves to learn to read.

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George Moses Horton

Then, George found a spelling book and taught himself to read. And George read everything he could. It was poetry he loved to read most. So George began to write poems, memorizing them.

I feel myself in need

   Of the inspiring strains of ancient lore,

My heart to lift, my empty mind to feed,

   And all the world explore.

When he was seventeen, George became the property of his master’s son and was taken away from his family. On Sundays, George traveled eight miles to the University of North Carolina’s campus to sell the plantations’ vegetables and fruit. He recited his poetry and students there were amazed that he, a slave, had written them.

I know that I am old

   And never can recover what is past,

But for the future may some light unfold

   And soar from ages blast.

George recited his poems and they were written down by students. He began to sell them for 25 cents and sometimes for clothing. 

I feel resolved to try,

   My wish to prove, my calling to pursue,

Or mount up from the earth into the sky,

   To show what Heaven can do.

A writer, poet, and professor’s wife, Caroline Lee Hentz taught George to write. Now George wrote down the poems he had created and memorized. And through Hentz’s work, George became the first American slave to be published. 

My genius from a boy,

   Has fluttered like a bird within my heart;

But could not thus confined her powers employ,

   Impatient to depart.

George worked out an arrangement with his master, paying him with the money he earned writing and working small jobs. This allowed George to stay at the University and work as a full-time writer. But George was still owned by his master.

She like a restless bird,

   Would spread her wing, her power to be unfurl’d,

And let her songs be loudly heard,

   And dart from world to world. — George Moses Horton, Myself

George continued to write, and in 1829 published a book of poetry, The Hope Of Liberty. George became the first Southern African-American to publish a book. But George could not gain his freedom with the book’s earnings. His master would not allow it. And as the abolitionist movement grew, so did repression in the South. The Hope of Liberty contained anti-slavery material and George knew that now under North Carolina law he could be severely punished if he continued to write against slavery. 

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The Poetical Works of George M. Horton about “life, love, death, and friendship” was published in 1845. During the years of the American Civil War, George had to return to work on his master’s farm.  At the end of the war, as a free man, he left the farm and traveled with the 9th Michigan Cavalry Volunteers. As they traveled through North Carolina, George wrote his third poetry collection, Naked Genius, published in 1865.

George lived in Philadelphia until his death in about 1883. The poetry of George Moses Horton is in the public domain and available online.

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Author-Illustrator Don Tate

Visit him at: http://www.dontate.com

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

You may like: Phillis Wheatley Poet and Slave https://barbaralowell.com/phillis-wheatley-poet-and-slave

 

Barnstorming Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman, born to Texas sharecroppers in 1892, wanted more out of life than picking cotton. She wanted to “amount to something.” One of thirteen children, Bessie left Texas for Chicago in 1915, to live with her brothers Walter and John.

Bessie attended a beauty school and became a manicurist. She worked at the White Sox Barber Shop during World War I. Bessie listened to the daring stories told by pilots returning from Europe. Her brother, John, who had served in WWI teased her that French women were superior because they could fly planes. Bessie decided she would fly too. But no U.S. aviation schools would accept her. She was an African American woman.

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Bessie Coleman

Bessie enjoyed reading the African American newspaper the Chicago Defender. The publisher, Robert S. Abbott, learned about Bessie’s dream to fly. He suggested that she learn French and apply for training at a French flight school. Bessie quickly learned the language and was accepted by a leading aviation school in France.

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Bessie Coleman

Learning to fly the Nieuport Type 82 biplane required skill and daring. Although Bessie witnessed the death of a fellow student, she continued to fly determined to succeed. She trained for seven months. On June 15, 1921, Bessie received her pilot’s license. She was the first African American woman to do so. And the first African American to receive an International pilot’s license.

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Returning home, Bessie was unable to find employment as an aviator. She traveled again to Europe for advanced training and to learn aerial stunt flying. Bessie was considered by experienced European pilots to be an exceptional flyer.

Returning again to the U.S., Bessie had a new dream. She would open a flight school to train African American women. Bessie needed money to finance this. With her skill and training, she became a  barnstormer. In the early days of flying, pilots toured the country performing stunts at exhibitions to earn a living. They were called barnstormers.ColemanBessie5

Bessie Coleman In Her Uniform

Bessie first appeared at an air show in Garden City, Long Island. She dressed in a military style uniform. She performed loops and spirals over the crowd. The show billed Bessie as “the world’s greatest woman flier.”

Bessie appeared in more air shows. In 1923, she was able to purchase a Curtiss JM4 military surplus biplane known as a Jenny. Bessie flew in her Jenny before a Los Angeles crowd in June that year. Her plane stalled and crashed. Bessie survived the accident, but was left with a broken leg and three broken ribs.  

On June 19, 1925, Bessie returned to the air in Texas to celebrate Juneteenth. Texas slaves were effectively freed from slavery by U.S. troops on June 19, 1865. Beginning that day, Bessie refused to perform in the south if African Americans were banned from attendance.

To help raise funds for her flight school, Bessie spoke to audiences about flying. She encouraged African Americans to consider flying too.

Bessie never realized her dream of opening a flight school. She purchased another Jenny biplane in 1926. Many people including her family considered it to be in poor condition. On April 30, 1926, Bessie flew as a passenger in the plane scouting a landing site for a parachute jump. The pilot, William Wills, lost control. Bessie and Wills like many early aviators lost their lives flying.

Bessie Coleman, called “Brave Bess” inspired women to live their dreams as she had lived hers. In 2006, she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

You may also like: Amelia Earhart Crosses The Atlantic https://www.amelia-earhart-crosses-atlantic

Harriet Quimby America’s First Female Licensed Pilot https://barbaralowell.com/harriet-quimby-pilot

Elinor Smith Teenage Flying Flapper https://barbaralowell.com/elinor-smith-flying-flapper 

Books For Kids:

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Fly High!

By Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger

Illustrated by Teresa Flavin

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Talkin’ About Bessie The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

By Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by E.B. Lewis