Works of 

Monument was inspired by the removal of Confederate statues from Memphis city parks. Intended to whitewash history and glorify a racist past, these statues evoked strong images from my childhood. As I grew older, their dark, twisted meaning became clearer to me, and I came to see them as malevolent symbols of oppression and hate. The music is structured as a Theme and Variations and organized around these scenes: 

Scene 1: THE STATUE IN THE SQUARE The bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, just before dawn. Shrouded in shadows, an equestrian statue of a military figure stands atop a pedestal in a deserted town square. 

Scene 2: ASSEMBLY As daylight breaks, the townsfolk assemble. They move casually around the monument, barely noticing it. But a solo dancer approaches the monument apprehensively. 

Scene 3: PAX DE DUX The dancer tries to comprehend the meaning and purpose of the monument. The statue haughtily descends and joins the soloist in a mutually wary dance. 

Scene 4: PARADE Their duet is interrupted by a parade of war re-enactors in antique military garb. The townsfolk gather around the statue in frenetic celebration. The soloist wonders exactly what they are celebrating. The parade marches offstage. 

Scene 5: SPIRITUAL The soloist performs a melancholy dance and is joined by a church group, worshipping in the park on a lovely morning. 

Scene 6: PICNIC Their reverie is broken by the arrival of rowdy picnickers. The statue joins in the frivolity, mocking the worshippers. 

Scene 7: OPPRESSION (Canon) The cruel meaning of the monument becomes clear and weighs heavily upon the soloist, whose anguish mounts as the statue struts and jeers. One by one, the townsfolk begin to understand as well, confronting their own guilt and insensitivity. 

Scene 8: RECONCILIATION (Chaconne) The townsfolk seek to comfort the soloist. Uncertainly, they reach forward, offering themselves, their hands, their hearts. The statue’s demands for their allegiance are unheeded. 

Scene 9: PULLING TOGETHER Together, the soloist and the townsfolk pull down the statue, which is placed upon the ground and covered with a cloth. All join hands as the sun sets over the Mississippi. 

1. I TOLD THE LORD I WANTED TWO NAMES

I told the Lord I wanted two names.

When I was born they called me Isabella.

But when I left the House of Bondage I wanted nothing of Egypt upon me.

And so I went to the Lord, and He gave me “Sojourner,”

Because I was to travel up and down the land,

Showing the people their sins and being a sign unto them.

I told the Lord I wanted two names,

And the Lord gave me “Truth,”

Because I was to declare the truth to the people!

2. BOUND FOR FREEDOM

See, there above the battle, where the flag is waving bright!

We are marching out of slavery and bound for freedom’s light.

We mean to show the rebels, black soldiers can fight!

As we march into the lion’s den and the shadows of the night,

We are marching out of slavery and bound for freedom’s light.

3. AIN’T I A WOMAN

Ain’t I a woman!

Look at me! Look at my arm!

I have plowed, I have planted, and no man could best me!

And ain’t I a woman!

I could work as much, I could eat as much as any man,

When I could get it!

And I could bear the lash as well as any man.

And ain’t I a woman!

I have born five children and seen them all sold off to slavery.

And when I cried no one but Jesus heard me.

And ain’t I a woman!

4. FORTY YEARS A SLAVE

The spirit calls me; I must go.

I have been forty years a slave, forty years free,

And I’ll be here forty years more,

To see equal rights for all!

I’m not going to die;

I’m going home like a shooting star!

5. ROCK THIS NATION

Where will you be when Eternity begins,

With all your guilt and all your sins?

God will take care of the slave,

But for the master there’s only the grave.

I am the seed of the free, and I know it!

And I will bear great fruit,

And I know it, Lord, I know it!

And I will shake every place I go.

I’m going to make this nation rock like a cradle!

Born into slavery in Ulster County, New York circa 1797, Isabella Baumfree gained her freedom when the state emancipated all slaves in 1827. In 1843 she began calling herself Sojourner Truth and dedicated the remainder of her long life to speaking out publicly for abolition, women’s rights and prison reform and against capital punishment. She traveled widely and was a featured at the first National Women’s Rights convention in Massachusetts. During the Civil War she helped recruit African American soldiers for the Union Army and met with President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. 

The Cantata’s lyrics are drawn from Sojourner’s speeches. The rich, metaphoric imagery in Sojourner’s language is particularly impressive, given that Dutch, not English, was her first language. Because she never learned to read and write, her words were written down by others, most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Francis Gage, the president of the Ohio Women’s Rights convention, and Olive Gilbert, editor of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth. In composing this cantata I have taken small liberties with the statements attributed to Sojourner, substituting a few words to enhance sing-ability, clarify meaning and convey additional emotional power through rhyming. 

That one from such humble origins became a powerful, eloquent orator for justice is a truly inspirational and thoroughly American story. 

Each movement of the cantata is based on a particular speech, statement or phrase.

1. I TOLD THE LORD I WANTED TWO NAMES: Sojourner tells how she came by her name and life’s mission. 

2. BOUND FOR FREEDOM: Sojourner rallies black soldiers to fight for their freedom. 

3. AIN’T I A WOMAN: Responding to questioning about the propriety of a woman’s speaking in public, Sojourner asserts her moral authority and conveys the unique emotional baggage she carries as a former slave and a mother whose children were torn from her. 

4. FORTY YEARS A SLAVE: Now in her eighties, Sojourner welcomes the approaching end of her earthly existence without fear or regret. 

5. ROCK THIS NATION LIKE A CRADLE: Sojourner reaffirms her commitment to opposing the national sin of slavery, and in so doing, helping uplift the nation.