Sojourner Truth, 19th century representative of womanism.
had become quite active in the antislavery and women's suffrage movements and that she was probably not very strange to the leaders of the meetings, Gage describes their shock and outrage at her presence.
Gage writes: The leaders of the movement, staggering under the weight of disapprobation already laid upon them, and tremblingly alive to every appearance of evil that might spring up in their midst, were many of them almost thrown into panics on the first day of the meeting, by seeing a tall, gaunt black woman in a gray dress and white turban, surmounted by an uncouth sun-bonnet, march deliberately into the church, walk with the air of a queen up the aisle, and take her seat upon the pulpit steps. (Painter, 167)
And she further writes:
There was a hissing sound of disapprobation above and below. I rose and announced "Sojourner Truth," and begged the audience to keep silence for a few moments. The tumult subsided at once, and every eye was fixed on this almost Amazon form, which stood nearly six feet high, head erect, and eye piercing the upper air like one in a dream. (Painter, 167)
Gage writes that after the speech, when everyone was in tears and applauding this woman who they didn't want to speak when they saw her:
She had taken us up in her great strong arms and carried us safely over the slough of difficulty, turning the whole tide in our favor. (Painter, 167)
Gage takes us through four steps with this imaging of Truth. First she has appeared uninvited and without welcome from the rest of the organization. She is intimidating in size and uncouth in appearance. While there is an air of humbleness, she does, however, say that she walks "with the air of a queen." Thus, Truth has the potential for the type of pride that will be deserving of an icon. Secondly, Truth walks to the stage uninvited, again, and begins to make her speech. Thirdly, Truth delivers a remarkable and touching speech in the broken, almost incomprehensible and primitive manner which finally delivers a message that saves all of them and, as she wrote, carried them safely over, and in their favor.
In the 1851 account, the journalist, Marius Robinson, does not build the sensationalism that Gage builds. In fact, this writer writes that Sojourner Truth asked permission to speak before approaching the podium.
"She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity: 'may I say a few words?'
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