Which abolitionist and feminist born into slavery advocated for abolition and women's rights?

• A. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• B. Sojourner Truth
• C. Harriet Tubman
• D. Clara Barton

Answer: (B)

The focus here is on someone who linked the abolition of slavery with the fight for women’s rights and who was born into slavery. Sojourner Truth fits this perfectly. Born Isabella Baumfree in slavery in New York, she escaped to freedom and became a powerful abolitionist. She also spoke out for women’s rights, using her platform to challenge both racial and gender inequality, famously articulating the idea that Black women deserve equal rights in her speeches—most famously the Ain’t I a Woman? address. This combination of abolitionist work and feminist advocacy, rooted in her lived experience as a person born into slavery, makes her the best answer.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a leading figure in the women’s rights movement but was born free, not enslaved. Harriet Tubman is renowned for guiding enslaved people to freedom and for abolition work; while she supported women’s rights, her legacy centers more on liberation and rescue work than on feminist advocacy in the way Truth is remembered for. Clara Barton is known for nursing and founding the American Red Cross and was not born into slavery.