Many years ago, Trina Greene created a statue of Sojourner Truth as an 11-year-old slave. She wanted to sculpt her again, but this time as a young woman.
Truth escaped slavery in 1826 with her daughter Sophia in the middle of the night and had to leave her other four children behind. Later, she won back her son in court and became one of the first Black women to win a court case against a white man.
What You Need To Know
- Sojourner Truth was a Hudson Valley abolitionist icon
- Trina Greene is creating a 6-foot-tall sculpture of Truth for the SUNY New Paltz campus
- It will sit in front of the Sojourner Truth library and is set to debut in September
“Somehow we came up with the idea of Sojourner Truth taking her first step to freedom, and you can see her foot down here is just coming over the threshold. She’s taking her first step,” said Greene.
She took the idea to the president of SUNY New Paltz, and the statue will sit at the entrance to the Sojourner Truth Library on the school’s campus. Greene has been working on the piece for more than a year, saying each aspect of the 6-foot-tall statue is a work of art.
“There’s no part of this sculpture that has been put together casually,” Greene said.
She hopes the statue inspires those who pass it.
“If she could find her way, I think young people today can use her as an example,” Greene said.
The statue is planned to make its debut at SUNY New Paltz in September.