Committee Awarded Grant By Northampton Education Foundation

The Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee has been awarded a grant from the Northampton Education Foundation for an educational project that will share with Northampton fifth graders the legacy of Sojourner Truth in the Pioneer Valley.

The Committee will work in collaboration with a group of five fifth grade teachers representing the Jackson Street School, RK Finn Ryan Road School, and Leeds Elementary School to bring 120 students on walking tours of historic Florence. Students will first learn about Sojourner Truth's history, through reading literary and primary sources. Then students will be led on a one-hour walking tour down the streets and to houses and factories where Sojourner Truth and other abolitionists, such as David Ruggles, lived and worked, and where Frederick Douglass delivered anti-slavery speeches. After taking the walking tour, students will be reminded, whenever they pass by the Sojourner Truth statue, of the significance of their local history.

Tours are expected to take place during May and June, under the leadership of tour guide Wendy Sinton, a member of the committee for 13 years, who has led tours for many school groups. Her interest in this work comes from a love of local history and a belief in the relevance of Sojourner Truth's story for today's students.