ANGOLA â Angola will start June with a celebration of abolitionist and suffragette Sojourner Truth.
Truth spent about a month in Steuben County surrounding the time she gave a speech on June 2, 1861, at the Steuben County Courthouse. Speaking out against slavery and in favor of the Civil War, Truth stood 6-feet tall in the face of local Republicans and anti-abolitionist Democrats alike who sought to arrest her for even stepping foot in the state, let alone protesting.
In recognition of her deeds, the Downtown Angola Coalition commissioned a statue of Truth from Indiana native James Haire. It will be unveiled in the northwest corner of the Steuben County courtyard on Sunday, June 6.