[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4769-S4770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Sojourner Truth

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, today is a very special day for me. 
As a woman and a New Yorker, it thrills me that today we are honoring 
one of the earliest and greatest figures in the history of women's 
rights and civil rights: Sojourner Truth. We are placing a statue of 
Sojourner Truth in Statuary Hall today--the first African-American 
woman to have a statue in the Capitol. She will be the 12th woman 
depicted in works of sculpture among the 92 sculptures of our male 
leaders. From this day forward, Sojourner Truth's groundbreaking work 
advancing the basic rights of women will be given its due prominence 
beside so many other great Americans in the seat of our democracy.
  Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree as a slave in 1797 who 
never learned to read or write, yet became an all-important messenger 
for truth and equality. Although beaten and branded, she responded with 
dignity and faith rather than hatred and violence. Her views were 
shaped not only by her personal hardships--enslavement, daily beatings, 
grueling work, and seeing her 13 children kidnapped and sold away--but 
also from an innate understanding that equality is an inalienable 
American right and should not be ascribed based on gender or color.
  Once freed from bondage in 1817, she changed her name to Sojourner 
Truth, telling her friends that the spirit had called her to speak the 
truth for justice. She then traveled our Nation speaking honest words 
about the shortcomings of the American dream--the stain that slavery 
and injustice imposed on America's life and laws and noting for all to 
see where the reality failed to reflect the noble tenets of our 
Founding Fathers. She dedicated her life, indeed, she risked her 
freedom, to oppose the trappings of injustice and prejudice.
  Despite being born into slavery, stripped of any legal standing, 
protection, or property, and denied any access to education, Sojourner 
Truth understood that freedom and equality are fundamental rights. 
Embracing our greatest traditions and arguing with simple passion that 
neither gender nor color could overpower justice, she demonstrated a 
courage and a conviction that compels us to act today, almost 125 years 
after her death.
  Sojourner Truth raised her voice without a chorus of women behind 
her. Most abolitionists questioned her determination to link women's 
rights with the abolition of slavery. She rejected their concerns, 
asking them the direct question they couldn't avoid: ``And ain't I a 
woman?'' With those few words, she refused to parse justice. With those 
few words, she forced audiences past and present to recognize that 
human dignity and respect are part and parcel of who we are as 
Americans--male or female, African-American or Caucasian, educated or 
not. Sojourner Truth represents the courage that the American ideal 
imparts and calls all of us to action.
  As we honor this bold, daring New Yorker today, I am also proud that 
New York has time and time again helped to foster those who have chosen 
to carry on her fight. Today, I can think of at least two others 
committed

[[Page S4770]]

to justice who, though from very different backgrounds, continually 
risk themselves for justice and human rights.
  The battles fought by Sojourner Truth were not left only as lessons 
of history, but they stood as a beacon of hope for the next generation 
to carry the torch one mile further. One of the next in our history to 
carry on the cause for equal justice was Eleanor Roosevelt.
  Eleanor Roosevelt could have been content with a life defined by 
privilege and limited education. But like Sojourner Truth, she 
travelled the nation and indeed the world to fight for equality and 
human rights. Like Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt raised her voice 
to attack segregation and gender bias. Like Sojourner Truth, she risked 
her life to practice what she preached and to hold us accountable when 
we wanted to turn our back on justice and American ideals. Like 
Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt told us that we ``must hazard all we 
have'' to make the American dream real. She told us that employment, 
housing, education, health care policies that favored the privileged 
undermined us all, that women had a critical role and responsibility, 
and encouraged women to run for office, to organize, to get out the 
vote, and to reach across party, gender, and racial lines to get the 
work done.
  Eleanor Roosevelt took this same determination with her to the United 
Nations where, like Sojourner Truth, she used strength and grace to 
advance the recognition of equal rights. Embracing her responsibility 
as the only woman on the American delegation and one of the few women 
delegates to the General Assembly, she played an instrumental role in 
drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, especially 
the concept as stated in article 1, that ``all human beings are born 
free and equal.''
  Just as Sojourner Truth had done in a century before and Eleanor 
Roosevelt had done decades earlier, the cause was enlisted by another 
great woman. Recognizing that equality had not yet been achieved, 
Hillary Clinton stood and fought for the rights of women. As first 
lady, Hillary Clinton understood the political costs of speaking out 
forthrightly for women's rights and human rights. Yet like Sojourner 
Truth and Eleanor Roosevelt before her, she would not ignore the rights 
and needs of women despite the possible diplomatic repercussions.
  She travelled to China in 1995 and stood before the world to oppose 
injustice and to proclaim that ``once and for all, women's rights are 
human rights and human rights are women's rights.''
  How Sojourner Truth must have relished that moment. From Akron, OH, 
Beijing, China--from newspapers to the Internet and C-SPAN--their 
message spanned the globe.
  Hillary Clinton played an instrumental role in the dedication we 
celebrate today. Hillary Clinton and Sheila Jackson-Lee were inspired 
by the efforts of Dr. C. Delores Tucker, former chair of the National 
Congress of Black Women, to formally recognize Sojourner Truth in the 
U.S. Capitol. They felt that the unfinished portion of the monument to 
suffragists was surely intended to hold the image of Sojourner Truth. 
After long consideration, it was determined to carve a unique place for 
Sojourner Truth--appropriately so as the first statue in Emancipation 
Hall.
  And now it stands erect in the Capitol Visitors Center for all to 
see. As the Senator from their home state, I am so grateful to be here 
today to honor Sojourner Truth. Her courage and her vision are timeless 
and bold and brave--Her statue will be a constant reminder that our 
rights must never be take for granted and that with these rights come 
the responsibility to enforce them.
  To honor Sojourner Truth and all women before us, we continue that 
struggle as there is still much to do. Today the fight is for equal pay 
and recognition in the workplace. Even in 2009, for every dollar a man 
earns, a woman makes just 78 cents. And the disparity is even worse for 
women of color, with Latino women earning only 53 cents and African-
American women earning 62 cents on the dollar. Working women and their 
families stand to lose $250,000 over the course of their career because 
of pay inequity. It is unacceptable, and it needs to change. The 
Paycheck Fairness Act introduced by then-Senator Hillary Clinton and 
Rep. Rosa DeLauro is an important step towards that goal. I proudly 
join in helping carry Secretary Clinton's work towards equality here in 
the Senate.
  These steps towards equality for all are our duty. As Eleanor 
Roosevelt often said, ``we are all on trial to show what democracy 
means.'' We have made such important strides, but we still have a long 
way to go.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico). The Senator from New 
Hampshire is recognized.