Wall, chilern,
whar dar is so much racket
dar must be somethin' out o' kilter.
I tink dat 'twixt de nigger of de Souf
and de womin at de Norf,
all talkin' 'bout rights,
de white men will be in a fix pretty soon.
But what's all dis here talkin' 'bout?
Dat man ober dar say
dat womin needs to be helped into carriages,
and lifted ober ditches,
and to hab de best place everywhar.
Nobody eber halps me into carriages,
or ober mudpuddles,
or gibs me any best place!
And ar'n't I a woman?
Look at me!
Look at my arm!
I have ploughed,
and planted,
and gathered into barns,
and no man could head me!
And ar'n't I a woman?
I could work as much
and eat as much as a man --
when I could get it --
and bear de lash as well!
And ar'n't' I a woman?
I have borne thirteen chilern,
and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery,
and when I cried out with my mother's grief,
none but Jesus heard me!
And ar'n't I a woman?
Den dey talks 'bout dis ting in de head;
what dis dey call it?
"Intellect,"
(whispered someone near).
Dat's it, honey.
What's dat got to do wid womin's rights
or nigger's rights?
If my cup won't hold but a pint,
and yourn holds a quart,
wouldn't ye be mean
not to let me have my little half-measure full?
Den dat little man in black dar,
he say women can't have as much rights as men,
'cause Christ wan't a woman!
Whar did your Christ come from?
Whar did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!
Man had nothin' to do wid Him.
If de fust woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn de world upside down
all alone,
dese women togedder ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!
And now dey is asking to do it,
de men better let 'em.
Bleeged to ye for hearin' on me,
and now ole Sojourner
han't got nothin' more to say."
Notes
Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio.
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Comments
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I love these words because I believe they speak to a deeper point than just women's rights, but rights of all peoples oppressed and they are appropriate today as if they were just spoken in this room. Her very keen insight made her intellect obvious to me. "Whar did your Christ come from?" she asks and then answers beautifully, "From God and a woman, man had nothin' to do wid Him!" This must make many men feel a bit taken aback. Not only spoken by a woman, but a black woman of slavery; uneducated, disrespected, perhaps even reviled by some. But this woman spoke truth. And truth is like a sword, it cuts quick and deep. And in order to heal from such a truth, one must change their ways. I love this speech, always have. Thanks for placing it here. Peace, Rhonda
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I'm really trying hard to put my thoughts about this poem into words. I don't see so muich as a poem but a statement by a woman, a black woman who is seen to be unworthy of being 'helped' into a carriage by a man because of her colour. She is literally screaming out loud, I AM a woman just look at me AND YOU WILL SEE I AM! All they chose to see was the colour of her skin, and because of this colour her babies were taken away and sold. This is a sad statement by a lady who is called Truth and speaks it too. Von
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