Half c orner

Sojourner Truth was born a Dutch owned slave in 1797 in the New York colony. She was given the name Isabelle Buamfree. Sojourner Truth would later change her name in 1843 after escaping slavery. She was an inspirational speaker, slavery abolitionist, women’s rights activist, suffragist, Union Army recruiter, and correspondent of former President Abraham Lincoln.

Sojourner Truth was captivating during her time. She won the first ever legal case of freeing her son from slavery by arguing the case herself in a US court of law. Truth would then deliver speeches to motivate Blacks and whites to join the Union Army to ultimately win the Civil War. Her most famous speech of during the Civil War was entitled, “Aint I A Woman?”. She met with two former presidents and countless Black leaders and abolitionists such as Fredrick Douglass.

Sojourner Truth is regarded as one of “The 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time”. In 2016, the US Treasury decided to honor Sojourner Truth and other women with their likenesses appearing on US currency which will enter circulation in the year 2020 to recognize the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.

Thomas Mundy Peterson is the first African American to ever vote under the 15th Amendment on March 31, 1870. The 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution gave American men the right to vote regardless of their race, color, and previous condition of servitude. Peterson voted in a New Jersey local election regarding his town’s charter.

Peterson was born to former slaves in October 6, 1824 in Metuchen, New Jersey. He was a school janitor and a general handyman by profession. Peterson was a registered member of the Republican Party and the Prohibition Party. He was also the first person of color to serve jury duty in New Jersey.