Brooklyn courts go back in time for tea with Sojourner Truth
For its latest Black History Month event, the Kings County Supreme Court traveled back in time to have tea with abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth in a discussion called “Ain’t I a Woman?” in Downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Truth, who was born in 1797 and died in 1883, was expertly played by attorney Shirley Paul. Truth is best known for being the first black woman to win the freedom of her son, a slave, in a lawsuit.
“She was Fab-u-lous,” Justice Robin K. Sheares said of Paul’s performance. “Her mannerisms, the pauses, everything was excellent and the costume itself was on point. They even gave her little twists of grey hair. It was perfect.”
Truth, as played by Paul, sat down with June Farrow to discuss Truth’s life, her role in the abolitionist movement before the Civil War and her work for women’s rights. The two discussed her meetings with U.S. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln, as well has her various lawsuits.