Indiana City To Erect Statue To Honor Sojourner Truth Speech

ANGOLA, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana city plans to erect a statue of women’s rights pioneer Sojourner Truth to commemorate a speech she delivered in the community in 1861.

The Downtown Angola Coalition was awarded a $40,000 grant from Indiana Humanities and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The bronze statue is scheduled to be unveiled in June 2021 at the Steuben County courtyard.

Truth, a Black woman who escaped slavery and campaigned for abolition as well as women’s rights, spoke in 1861 in Angola, the Steuben County seat.

The full cost of the project will be about $95,000, said Colleen McNabb-Everage, president of the Downtown Angola Coalition.

First Federal Savings Bank of Angola gave the project a boost when its board of directors pledged $15,000. The city's Historic Preservation Commission approved the statue’s placement, The Herald Republican reported.

Truth's speech made Angola, about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne, part of her history, said Sandy Sanborn, the bank’s vice president.

“We are proud to be a little part of her history and we want to celebrate that and have it as a permanent fixture in our community," she said.