Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue (Florence, Massachusetts)
Dublin Core
Title
Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue (Florence, Massachusetts)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Antislavery movements--United States
Freedom
Massachusetts--Florence
Public art
Public sculpture
Women--Suffrage
Antislavery movements--United States
Freedom
Massachusetts--Florence
Public art
Public sculpture
Women--Suffrage
Subject (Name)
Truth, Sojourner, c. 1797-1883
Truth, Sojourner, c. 1797-1883
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Commemorative sculpture
Description
The life-size bronze figure of Sojourner Truth stands at the center of a square concrete base. Truth is shown bespectacled, wearing a period-appropriate head covering, long scarf, and floor-length dress. Her arms are open at her side, in an inviting gesture. She holds a walking stick in her right hand.
Creator
Warren, Thomas Jay, 1958-
Source
Photograph: Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee
Date
October 6, 2002
Contributor
Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue Committee; Massachusetts Monument Grants program; Florence Savings Bank; Smith College; Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; Denig Design Associates of Northampton
Rights
Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, 481 Station Road, Amherst, Massachusetts, 01002, United States
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
Sojourner Truth Memorial Park, 121 Pine Street, Florence, Massachusetts, 01062, United States
Has Part
Bronze plaque set in concrete (1):
The Northhampton Association of Education and Industry was a number of utopian communities that arose during in the 1840s. Its members were ardent abolitionists who believed in equality for blacks and women. The Association served as a haven for radical reformers and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Sojourner Truth and David Ruggles, a well-known African-American abolitionist, were valued members. Engaged in silk manufacturing and other economic activities, the Association paid all workers equally. Frederick Douglass remembers its people as "the most democratic I have ever met. There was no high, no low, no masters, no servants, no white, no black."
In 1993, the Committee for Northampton was formed to dismantle racism and to call for social justice. This memorial was inspired by the life of Sojourner Truth and the interracial community to which she belonged. Welcome to this site and to this cause.
The Northhampton Association of Education and Industry was a number of utopian communities that arose during in the 1840s. Its members were ardent abolitionists who believed in equality for blacks and women. The Association served as a haven for radical reformers and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Sojourner Truth and David Ruggles, a well-known African-American abolitionist, were valued members. Engaged in silk manufacturing and other economic activities, the Association paid all workers equally. Frederick Douglass remembers its people as "the most democratic I have ever met. There was no high, no low, no masters, no servants, no white, no black."
In 1993, the Committee for Northampton was formed to dismantle racism and to call for social justice. This memorial was inspired by the life of Sojourner Truth and the interracial community to which she belonged. Welcome to this site and to this cause.
Bronze plaque set in concrete (2):
Sojourner Truth was born a slave named Isabella in upstate New York in 1797. She worked for a series of five masters while raising five children. When slavery ended in New York State in 1827, she settled in New York City. A deeply religious woman, Isabella took the name Sojourner Truth after God spoke to her. She was 46 years old when she set out walking and preaching through Long Island and Connecticut. Eventually, she reached Massachusetts and joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry.
From her home here in what is now Florence, Truth broadened her mission and began speaking out for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights.
Small bronze plaque:
A gift to the City of Northampton
2002
Sculptor: Thomas Jay Warren
Landscape Architect: Denig Design Associates
Sojourner Truth was born a slave named Isabella in upstate New York in 1797. She worked for a series of five masters while raising five children. When slavery ended in New York State in 1827, she settled in New York City. A deeply religious woman, Isabella took the name Sojourner Truth after God spoke to her. She was 46 years old when she set out walking and preaching through Long Island and Connecticut. Eventually, she reached Massachusetts and joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry.
From her home here in what is now Florence, Truth broadened her mission and began speaking out for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights.
Small bronze plaque:
A gift to the City of Northampton
2002
Sculptor: Thomas Jay Warren
Landscape Architect: Denig Design Associates
Bronze plaque set in concrete (3):
After the demise of the Northampton Association, Samuel L. Hill and others founded the factory village of Florence. With Hill's help, Sojourner Truth brought her home on Park Street. Unable to read or write, Truth dictated her story to a neighbor, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, was published in 1850. She became well-known as an orator, singer, evangelist, abolitionist and reformer, selling her Narrative and photographs of herself throughout the nation.
Although she moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1857, she was fondly remembered in Florence, where her wisdom and wit were especially valued. Samuel Hill noted that his long aquaintance with Sojourner Truth confirmed her "title to the name you have chosen, and its record in humanity's 'Book of Life.'
After the demise of the Northampton Association, Samuel L. Hill and others founded the factory village of Florence. With Hill's help, Sojourner Truth brought her home on Park Street. Unable to read or write, Truth dictated her story to a neighbor, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, was published in 1850. She became well-known as an orator, singer, evangelist, abolitionist and reformer, selling her Narrative and photographs of herself throughout the nation.
Although she moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1857, she was fondly remembered in Florence, where her wisdom and wit were especially valued. Samuel Hill noted that his long aquaintance with Sojourner Truth confirmed her "title to the name you have chosen, and its record in humanity's 'Book of Life.'
Medium
Bronze; Concrete
Bibliographic Citation
Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee. “Memorial Statue.” Accessed October 31, 2019. https://sojournertruthmemorial.org/about-us/memorial-statue/.
Western Massachusetts Master Gardner Association. "Sojourner Truth Memorial Park." Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.wmmga.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=101643&module_id=227884.
Mass Moments. "Northampton Dedicates Sojourner Truth Statue." October 4, 2022. Accessed October 31, 2019. https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/northampton-dedicates-sojourner-truth-statue.html.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Sculpture
Collection
Citation
Warren, Thomas Jay, 1958-, “Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue (Florence, Massachusetts),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 1, 2026, https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1198.