Sojourner Truth was a remarkable human being by any measure. Born into slavery in the late 1700s, her early years were characterized by traumatic loss and physical and sexual brutality, the nature of which could easily have broken her. Instead, she found the courage and passion to fight back. She fought and won the retraction of the sale of her son through a lawsuit, and motivated others to support abolition of slavery through her autobiography and through the fiery speeches she gave around the country. She became a Methodist, reporting life changing experiences through her faith. Her stamina and heroic voice created an army of people intent on ending slavery.

I read several biographic articles this evening, and found the one on Wikipedia to be the most thorough and interesting and the best referenced:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth

Sojourner Truth had been known as Belle (Isabella Baumfree), and, growing up in New York state, spoke only Dutch until approximately age 9. She chose her own name as an adult in her mid-forties.

It's very hard to look at the terrible things that were done to a young child, and that happened in her life as a young adult. Perhaps that's why I am drawn by her decision to name herself, an act of freedom to define herself as something more than the piece of property used by vicious owners. A beautiful action, and a most beautiful name.