Abstract

Biographies are an influential, though understudied, aspect of Western educational culture and American public memory. This essay examines how juvenile biographies about Sojourner Truth portray her as a model of human agency for young readers. Specifically, the essay argues that biographies published in the United States between 1967 and 2009 rhetorically construct versions of Truth's life guided by the agential tropes of consciousness, self-determination, and resistance. These tropes reflect values espoused by African American feminist traditions while also rendering Truth's story accessible to a wide variety of young American readers.

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