Alice Walker reads Sojourner Truth

[ckeahl]

Without a woman to carry the child and support his or her life their would be no men. Miss Suicide the debate you try to make about where the baby came from is not the point. Men leave the deposit (sperm). Women still have to carry it for it to live. Your debate is nill.

When arguing with someone, attack the issue not the person. The ad hominem in this thread makes my eyes hurt. So what if Gaelgese is a man hater. You are no better with the mysogyny. You two need to grow up and L2 argue.

[ckeahl]

When are both of you going to learn that men and women are both guilty of the one thing the both of you and most people don't want to acknowlege exists? Patriarchy..Women & men both uphold the ideals of the gender roles thrown at them. Men are expected to be the financial support and protect. If he doesn't he isn't a man.. A woman is required to be "well behaved" if she isn't she is a " bitch",cunt, or "whore". What you people in this thread don't realize is that everyone is oppressed.

[feybart]

Did you know the original speech was held in Dutch?

[sleepy7351]

i LOVE this this is one of the best speeches ever i mean the original was done strait from her head!!! just as good or better than i have a dream

[agray77]

I love this!..With attitude. Nicely Done.

[gaelgeseomra]

No it dident wether rich or poor man, women and children came first,women came first,that was chivelry which is now dead looking for superioritythanks to feminism,opressor women were never opressed if they were men and children would of got on the boats first,let me guess your a feminist looking for superioity on the back of the big opression lie.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra Wow. You're an ignorant cunt huh?

[gaelgeseomra]

@MissSuicidalCupcake Whats wrong man hater,you stuck for things to say so all you can do is use foul language ,poor little opressed cupcakes.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra I never said I was a man hater, I don't hate men at all, I never have. I just think it's incredibly ignorant to say that women have never been oppressed, or talking about "the oppression lie". It shows clear lack of any regard for other people and makes you look like an ignorant idiot who is totally clueless, and saying "let me guess you're a feminist"...just because someone makes a point on a feminist video, does not make them a feminist. Grow the fuck up.

[gaelgeseomra]

@MissSuicidalCupcake Women were never opressed,the fact that everthing was invented and built by men dosent make women opressed so stop seeing mens superiority in achievements as womens opression,you are a MAN HATER its easy to know by your filthy language,feminism is sexisim with deep roots in comunism,get over it cupcakes.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra Wow really?

You know, it's only on the internet where you can meet people as ignorant and stupid as you. If you think I'm a man hater because I acknowledge women's oppression, then by your backwards logic I must also be a white hater because I realise oppression of ethnicities, a German hater because I acknowledge the oppression of Jewish in the war. When in reality, the only thing I hate is people like you. I actually feel quite sorry for you.

[gaelgeseomra]

@MissSuicidalCupcake well there you go again on hate ie man hater and all of your kind when faced with the truth ,feminist women like you with your idiology would fall apart withpout the man hate,ignorant usless women like you dont know anything else or to blame only men for your inadequate lives,one thing I do like about feminisim is we men dont have to protect and provide useless toxic man hating sewer women like you.Get over it man hater, men built the world.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra LOLOLOLOL.

Let me just remind you that every man on this earth came from a woman.

You tire me, mr.Troll. It's clear you just want some attention, didn't your mummy love you? Is that why you hate women so much? Did mommy never tell you that you were special? Or did she realise you were worthless from the start?

Awwahh, poor little you.

Good luck growing up little boy, honestly, I hope you get beaten to death with a woman's pair of stilleto shoes .

[gaelgeseomra]

@MissSuicidalCupcake And let me remind you every woman came from a man ,ohh so were geting violent now always the response from man haters when there questioned on there feminist man hating idiology oh and by the way man hater you will never be the lady my mother is with your abortions and smashing of families or the patriarchy,you can't stick to subject with out been foul mouthed and violent,whats wrong does the truth hurt you so much.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra How exactly did that happen? I'm a woman, I came from my mother. My mother came out of HER mother, my father came out of HIS mother. My mothers mother came out of her mother, my mothers father came out of his mother.

At no point has a man ever given birth to a baby. Everyone came from women.

I just love how you assume that one, I'm a feminist, two, I've had abortions, and three, I want to be anything like your mother. If she reared a child like you she should feel very ashamed.

[gaelgeseomra]

Oh women playing the victim again and again,,what about the opressed women on the titanic who all got on the lifeboats1st  wether they were rich or poor they got on the boats first and the rich and poor men died,gender came firstwomen 1st,I want pure equality children 1st for the lifeboats men and women second,men have less rights than women today.

[bluehippofish]

@gaelgeseomra i call bullshit. for one, class did play a role in getting passengers off of the titanic: there was a higher percentage of 1st class survivors than any other class, including, of course, men. look it up. you know why women were given preference in getting off the titanic? because men relegated them to being caretakers. they generally had to take care of the children who also got off. and men have fewer rights than women nowadays? don't blame the victim, blame the oppressor.

[gaelgeseomra]

@bluehippofish women were never relegated to caretaker and if they were they wouldent of put up with it and all the ruling queens through the ages wouldent of either,men never had the option of being house husbands,,stop playing the victim,men sacrificed their lives for women ,women have NEVER sacrificed their lives for men,rich woman poor woman they got first place on the boats men dident have the choice,in memory of the men who died for women stop with the marxist feminist man hating bullshit.

[MissSuicidalCupcake]

@gaelgeseomra So the fact that throughout history, women were regarded as property, women were savagely beaten, women were regarded as second class citizens, women got raped within marriage (that was only made illegal in 1991), women were not allowed to work, women couldn't vote, women were sexually harassed at work when they WERE allowed jobs, women didn't earn as much.

All of these things, and yes I understand things have changed, and you STILL claim oppression never happened? Wow. Dumbass.

[m1shaya]

alfre woodard did this better !

[superwhuffo1]

very nicely done...search kerry walker story

[ItsTrixie91]

Sojouner Truth and Alice walker smh Two of my favorite people in the history of mankind!

[Androo53095]

2 people are racist

[m015094]

I think that the whole black woman being oppressed thing has been shattered by Oprah making $300 million per year.

[bookofthedead]

@m015094 Probably not. If it's anything like Ellen and the LGBT community, then Oprah is just one of the lucky ones. Sure she's a sign of progress but not of complete acceptance. I know people who love Ellen and still treat gay people like they're abominations and second-class citizens.

[m015094]

@bookofthedead There will always be different classes of people - the"haves" and the"have-nots." Some people will just always want what they don't have - so they'll never be happy.

[bapyou]

@m015094 "the whole black woman being oppressed thing has been shattered by Oprah making $300 million per year."

And last year 5 more billionaires were created in India. What does that have to do with the hundreds of millions of India's poor? Nothing. The good fortunes of the few have little to do with the conditions of the many.

John D. Rockefeller was a multi-millionaire in 1914 when he sent his private police to shot & kill the children & women of striking miners in Ludlow, Colorado.

[Pharaohman8]

Excellent reading

[ananate]

This version of the speech is a fabricated version by Frances Gage. The original did not once contain the phrase 'Ain't I a Woman?' as this was rhetorical flair added by Gage when she published this version 12 years after the fact. Sojourner Truth did not have a Southern drawl, as she was born in New York state and raised Dutch. Truth is recorded to only have had 5 children, not 13, which was copied by Gage from a version that portrayed Truth as a giant, African-born joke. KNOW YOUR FACTS.

[tycoon216]

beautifully read

[colibri1]

Actually, I think her delivery is great. She emphasizes the pain of having her children taken from her in a way that other readers of the piece in this series don't. Her inflections also indicate that she understands that the famous phrase, "ain't I a woman," isn't a stand-alone slogan separate from the context of its text. In its context, the phrase is intended to alert listeners to the suffering of blacks, not to the power of women, yet many seem to take it as a woman-power rallying cry.

[mykole84]

as a young black man, this woman has did much to make black men look bad. why are black men getting bashed as if we oppress black women. black men are the most oppressed person in america. black women are indirectly the 2nd so if u oppressed one u oppressed the other. soujuner truth was a strong woman alice walker is not. she is a feminist trying to divide black people as in do the white's man bid. thanks for making it easier for us to be even more oppressed. and make women work even harder.

[datgurl10]

@mykole84

I`d actually argue black woman are the most opressed group in America, because not only are they black but they are a woman . Both are equal parts of a greater truths and both have not been and continue to not be seen as "equal" . You make feminsits have a negative connation although the overall feminist movement has alot of flaws particularily with addressing the needs of w.o.c, their goal was never to divide black people but to address the inequality of all women, and they did.

[cosmictyger]

"bettah let 'em...", I hope you hear me, let you? I'll carry you over the mud puddle to do it.

[parvathy4u]

gr8 ...

[sennaweasley]

My favorite speech of all times. Really wish I could see the original.

[kennboy1]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[revbores]

This is feminism at it's best!

[TheCateDiva6]

That was awesome.

[sdrawkcaBdaeRnaCI]

I wish she put more emotion and emphasis on many of these lines...

I wish I could have seen the original..

[Sapni1]

Simply incredible! That was beautiful!!!

[68mills2006]

Sojourner Truth illustrate the male society (at the time) restraining women from developing by: developing social norms (women are fragile and need help with mundane tasks) to not allowing them to obtain knowledge (intellect). In addition, it also portrayed similarities between African Americans and women struggle by showing the un-equal treatment of African American women to Caucasian women as well as, inferring it to the whole population.

[clevawoman]

some of ya'll are spending too much time on deliver and not much on content. who cares who delivered the speech best. It was powerful nonetheless

[guudcadee]

You're right no mattter who delivers it, it is still a very powerful speech and moving story. God! how powerful are african women who gave birth to half dozens or even dozens of kids and do the shores with getting appropriate medical care and suffer from lack of respect from their men. Soujourner speeches and sprit should be spread in Africa.

[neuwyp]

I love Alica Walker and I'm glad i found this video because i needed some kind of reference in how to read Ain't I a Woman for Drama class. This monologue is one of a kind. You can't get this kind of emotion anymore and I love it!

[jsawyer25857]

i love this speech its so empowering to both women and african americans , especially during those times

[hibiscouspop]

i thouroghly enjoyed the special effects... as it displayed the transformation from man to woman

thats right honey!

[chesterlover4eva]

You are clearly uneducated or misinformed because Israel is not engaged in apartheid, come to Israel and see for yourself, the thing is once people repeat lies so many times it becomes the truth, I assure you that Israel is the most tolerant and free country in the middle east!

[ranchosdancingbull]

need I say more than ashurah, ashurah?

[chesterlover4eva]

And Alice Walker was not boycotting particular films. She boycotted the whole inclusion of Israeli films, I read the news on the film festival, there were no particular films being boycotted, just Israeli films in general. On the contrary a lot of these films were possibly not supporting the government.... and yet Alice felt she had to boycott them because they were made by Israelis.

[thegaythespian]

"Where did your Christ come from?  Where did your Christ come from?!!! From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him!" Such a great line

[ranchosdancingbull]

My Christ came from Constantine. Yours?

[LoveTaruTaru]

@ranchosdancingbull Arabia=)

[LoveTaruTaru]

@ranchosdancingbull wait no...that wasn't mine, uhm... oh, Sesame Street :)

[chesterlover4eva]

Boycott Alice Walker!

I boycott all your work and books!

Its a shame because I buy a lot of books but I will never buy or read anything written by Alice Walker!

[pimanH]

why?

[chesterlover4eva]

Alice Walker decided that she wanted to boycott films made by Israeli film makers, as a Jew from Israel I thought Alice was very intolerant. It's strange considering that Alice always talks about freedom and yet she tries to bring the curtains down on artistic work just because it was made by Israelis, she discriminates against the Jews, because her boycott hurts Jews. So I'm boycotting Alice Walker.

[tabanka11]

You are clearly uneducated because Alice Walker permitted and entrusted Steven Speilberg to produce the Colour Purple despite criticism that he should not be permitted to do so. I Walker is boycotting particular films it in all likelyhood has to do with the fact that Isreal is engaged in apartheid.

[ranchosdancingbull]

Uhm,....... All I can say is FFFFAAAAAAAAAaaaaaarrrrrrrrRRR­RRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtttttttttt­ttttttttttttt!

[lovely267]

but...why did she do that? what was her reasoning?

[ranchosdancingbull]

whynot?

[lovely267]

why?

[toughtobetender]

yes, absolutely- this is *1 against all the others. Alice Walker is brilliant.

[firesatire]

I agree, I like the underlying power. there's a strength about the words that i know doesn't need theatrics. All around words that should be said by as many, and watched performed by as many

[transmittransmit]

I like Alice Walker's the best because I imaging Sojourner Truth having a very calm and understated voice with an underlying power. Alfre Woodard's is my no. 2 choice.

[RationalEmotive]

Berkeley!

[Davidstrongdavid]

Where does your Crist come from?From God and woman,man has nothing to do with it Hehehehe~

[R3K3R209]

are you a feminist? i hope you are maybe we can lick each others vaginas

[OJulienLA]

Pity the fool.

[marysez]

eXcellent

[stalepie47]

not much of one

[YoungGiftedandBlack]

Alfre was the best in my opinion.

[mileyrocks198]

i think kerry washington puts more sperit into it not to be rude but i like hers way better

[thegoldenhero]

Kerry did it better.

[o0sunsi0o]

What life Alice Walker brings to Sojourner's word.

[kemetic01]

BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ukeallstars]

Thank you for enriching my class.

[empressamani]

Sends chills through my body to hear the Elder's TRUTH!!!!!!!!

[mwparenteau]

Beautiful and beautifully read!