Sojourner Truth (American Lives)

In 1865, an African American woman waited for a streetcar in Washington, D.C. Horses pulled the streetcar closer. The old woman waved for it to stop. But it did not slow down. She called out, "I want to ride! I want to ride!" When the streetcar finally stopped, the driver told the woman she had to sit near the horses with the other African Americans. The woman refused. "I know my rights," she said, as she took her seat among the white passengers.