Tribute to Sojourner Truth

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Cicely Tyson and a host of others were on hand at the Capitol today to unveil [finally] the bust of abolitionist and women’s rights activist, Sojourner Truth:

When Hillary Clinton was in the Senate, she was a key player in ensuring (on the legislative side of things) that the long-overdue memorial to Sojourner Truth would become a reality:

First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday reflected on her own family’s rise from slavery to the White House as she helped to unveil a statue of abolitionist Sojourner Truth — the first black woman to be so honored at the U.S Capitol building.

“I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as the first lady of the United States of America,” Mrs. Obama said to loud applause at a ceremony at the Capitol Visitor Center.

An early crusader for women’s rights to vote and for an end to slavery, Truth met presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and Ulysses S. Grant in 1870, and delivered her signature “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851. She tried to vote on two occasions, but was turned away both times. She died in November 1883 at her home in Battle Creek, Mich.

APRIL 28: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) delivers remarks during the unveiling ceremony for the bust of Sojourner Truth with First Lady Michelle Obama (L) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. Captiol Visitors Center April 28, 2009 in Washington, DC (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(photo REUTERS/Jason Reed)

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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