Syreeta, in a review of the movie Lincoln on Feministing discusses this brilliantly. Looking at the contemporary photos of Truth on the web there is a clear self presentation. “I think we can see Truth becoming strong enough to refuse to define herself as a slave,” (Quotes are from a The Chronicle of Higher Education review of the book) But Sojourner Truth - who sold the cartes-de-visite to support herself - chose to represent herself as a respectable middle- class matron, sometimes wearing glasses, knitting, or holding a book. … Many former slaves depicted themselves in these photos with whip-scarred backs and clad in the rags of slavery. One of the ways Truth supported herself was by selling portraits. Nell Painter says: No other woman who had gone through the ordeal of slavery managed to survive with sufficient strength, poise and self-confidence to become a public presence over the long term. For over forty years she traveled the country as a forceful and passionate advocate for the dispossessed, using her quick wit and fearless tongue to fight for human rights. Sojourner Truth w as perhaps the most famous African-American woman in 19th century America. Of course, that immediately registered with me and I had to find out more. She mentioned on the video that Sojourner Truth, the abolitionist and suffragist, (whose biography she’s written) had used photography. I just finished the book, and it’s fascinating.
I was listening to a Nell Painter video that Ta-Nehisi Coates linked to, talking about, among other things, her book The History of White People.
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