DOZ Issue 27 January 2018 | Page 9

of slavery. She quickly became a women’s rights activist who boldly spoke out for the rights of women. At this stage of her life, she dropped the name Isabella Baumfree and adopted the name Sojourner Truth. She began her journey as a slave but ended as a legend. In her lifetime, she met three presidents of the United States of America. Interestingly, when she met Abraham Lincoln, she mentioned that she had never heard of him until he became president. President Lincoln smiled and responded, “I had heard of you many times before that.” He would later go on to sign her book of life, “For Auntie Sojourner Truth.” She died in 1883. The Leadership Lessons from the Life of Sojourner Truth are; Great women do not choose their beginnings, but they certainly choose their end. They have no control over the circumstances of their birth, no control over the family they come from, their race, etc. but they choose how they will end their journey. Sojourner went from a slave to a legend, and it is said that she was a hero for at least three centuries. This was her choice! Great women rise above their circumstances to do great things. Small women make excuses and bemoan their situation, but great women rise above them. Great women are pioneers. Sojourner Truth was one of the first black women to take a white man to court and win. Great women are not afraid to do what others haven’t done or to go where others haven’t gone. Sojourner was certainly not afraid to take a white man to court. And she certainly wasn’t afraid to take her freedom from slavery. Great women do not bother with what they don’t have rather they focus on what they do have. Sojourner Truth was uneducated, but she didn’t let that deter her. She once said, I can’t read a book, but I can read people. Great women are a people of great faith. She had faith in God; she had faith that her future would be better than her past and present. Her faith caused her to act each time it was necessary thereby obtaining the victory. Great women are a people of courage. It took a great deal of courage for Sojourner to walk out of slavery. It took courage for her to take a white man to court and get her son back. It took courage to speak out against slavery. Great women fight to change what they can and learn to live with what they can’t. Sojourner couldn’t change who she was, that is, a black woman. She learned to live with it, but she did fight to change how society viewed and treated black people and how they viewed and treated women. Great women are determined women. Sojourner was a very determined woman, and we see her determination not only in her struggle to get back her son but also in her fight to stop the discrimination against black people and women. Great women have no time for self-hate. It takes a healthy self-esteem to become a person of greatness. For no one who hates herself can fulfil her purpose. Great women act regardless of the consequences. When Sojourner walked out of slavery, she did so regardless of the consequences. Same thing when she went to court to get back her son, and when she became an activist. Great women are decisive. Sojourner was not a woman to waste time talking. At every point, she knew what she wanted to do, and she did it. In conclusion, I would like to say this; perhaps like Sojourner Truth you were born into unfavourable circumstances, you had no control over that, no one does, but what are you doing today to ensure that your end is better than your beginning? DOZ Magazine January 2018 9 «