On May 29, 1851, a former slave named Sojourner Truth stood before a crowd at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, and spoke about human rights and gender equity. Her comments on the strength, intelligence, and character of women captured the audience’s attention and struck a particularly deep chord with the nineteenthcentury lecturer and coordinator of the convention, Frances Dana Gage. Truth’s speech is commonly referred to as the “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.