WASHINGTON — 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 Capitol.
"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.
Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the unveiling of a Sojourner Truth statue on Tuesday. Mrs. Obama wore designer Sophie Theallet, according to the blog First Lady Of Style. Clinton wore a tangerine pantsuit.
An early crusader for women's rights to vote who also 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.
Lawmakers, students and actress Cicely Tyson were among those who gathered at the visitor's center to celebrate Truth's legacy and watch Mrs. Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others unveil the bronze bust of Truth.
"We're here because of barriers she challenged and fought to tear down, and paths she helped to forge and trod alone," Clinton said to an audience made up mostly of women.
Artist Artis Lane created the bust, which was paid for with private money.
Truth's sculpture will remain on permanent display in the underground visitor center's main space, called Emancipation Hall in part because slaves helped build the Capitol.
"Now many young boys and girls, like my own daughters, will come to Emancipation Hall and see the face of a woman who looks like them," Mrs. Obama said.
Few minority women are enshrined in the Capitol. There are several statues of American Indian women, but no Asian or Hispanic women, according Donald Ritchie, a Senate historian.
Many of the statues in the Capitol's collection were given by the states in the 19th century, Ritchie said. Most of the collection's diversity has come in the last several decades.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Truth wouldn't remain for long the only black woman honored with a statue in the Capitol because a statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks will soon be placed there.
In 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law a requirement that a bust of Truth be placed in a "suitable, permanent location in the Capitol." Clinton co-sponsored the measure when she served in the Senate.
The National Congress of Black Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of black women and their families, has pushed for Truth to be memorialized in the Capitol for almost 10 years.
Kim Fuller, a member of the organization from Philadelphia, said black women have not been represented at the Capitol for "far too long."
"But now we are," said Fuller, 49. "And who better to begin the representation _ this is not the end of the representation ... who better to begin than Sojourner Truth?"
I Am So Happy That They Finally Gave Her The Recognition That Is Due Her Legacy.
I Taken Up Some Classes Back In 1990 And I Had To Pick A Person To Write About Four Black History And I Chose Her For My Subject.
After Researching Her History I Was Blown Away And Very Impressed With Her Legacy.
After Reading Up On Her, For Years I Always Wondered Why They Had Never Recognize Her Or Why They Had Not Set Aside A Day In Honor Of Her Legacy.
As Being The First African American Woman Or As The First Woman That Started The Women Rights Movement.
Because She Really Did Play A Big Part In A History Making Moment For Us African American Women's In This Country.
And I Tip My Hat To The First Lady And The Rest Of The Ladies' That Was Involved In This History Making Moment Of Recognition Of Sojourner Troope.
I Think This Honor Was One That Was Long Overdue And It Makes Me Feel Like Now She Can Taken Her Rightfully Place And Our History, As A Woman Of Noble Decent.
Who Played The Biggest Role In Our History And Who Put Up The Biggest Fight To Make Sure Us African American Women's Have The Same Equal Opportunities Just As Every Other Woman Of This Country.
Sunday, May 3rd 2009 at 10:13PM
Judith A. Birt
Thank you so much for posting this. It is vitally important that we honour our ancestors, heroes and sheroes.
