We’re finally going to have the Sojourner Truth event!  “A Woman, Ain’t I?”

A re-enactment of Sojourner Truth’s story in her own words, speeches, and songs, this event, originally scheduled as a live performance at the Bennington Performing Arts Center last March, has been re-scheduled as a Zoom event.

Kathyrn Woods, the actor who portrays Sojourner Truth, lives in Boston. She had actually purchased her bus ticket to Williamstown last March and was looking forward to staying in Bennington and spending some time with us. Instead, Kathyrn has kindly agreed to use her living room as a stage and visit us on Zoom.  After the presentation, she’ll be happy to take questions from the audience.

We are arranging for CAT-TV to broadcast the event after the performance. We’ll let you know the viewing dates when they are available. The public is invited to attend the live Zoom event,  but we ask non-members to register for the event.

Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 2:00 pm: “A Woman, Ain’t I” — Sojourner Truth Re-enactment via Zoom (Link: bit.ly/AAUWBenn-S-Truth)

Sojourner Truth: maid, laundress, evangelist, abolitionist, and suffragist.

This program, presented by Kathryn Woods, tells Sojourner Truth’s story in her own words, speeches, and songs. The program joins Sojourner Truth at the end of her life. She recalls her early days as a slave, details her relationship with God, and shares poignant stories of her days walking through this land. Ms. Woods uses Sojourner’s own words and the spiritual music she may have sung to recreate this inspiring woman

Ms. Woods has acted in Boston for many years. Her credits include performances with Theatreworks, People’s Theatre, The Wheelock Family Theatre and the Underground Railway Theatre. Woods has also performed in Moscow and at the Edinburgh Arts Festival.

Note: An article in this newsletter by Gudrun Hutchins, provides fascinating background information about Sojourner Truth, whose famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman,” was given in Akron Ohio at a Woman Suffrage Conference in 1851.