On May 25, 2025, a crowd gathered at the Sojourner Truth statue in Florence for a moving ceremony to honor six high school graduating seniors with the Sojourner Truth Social Justice Award for their leadership roles in their schools in Hampshire and Hampden counties. The Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee has tended the statue and garnered scholarships funds for 20 years.

During that joyful celebration, I was reminded of the many years this community spent building the statue. My mind went back in time remembering those years and this extraordinary accomplishment.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” is an African proverb we have all heard countless times. And it takes a city to build a statue — and Northampton, Florence, and Leeds did just that.

In 1993, we began a process that involved every aspect of our city. Over a 10-year period, people brought their individual gifts, talents, and strengths to the shared dream to build a life-size statue of Sojourner Truth. Slowly by slowly, we amassed the expertise, funding, and energy to erect the statue.

The idea for the statue grew out of the Committee for Northampton ‘93 — a group formed in response to the beating of Rodney King. In 52 weeks during 1993, the Committee saturated the city with 56 anti-racism events including workshops, teach-ins, concerts, panels and more.

When the committee came up with the idea to build a statue to Sojourner Truth, we needed new members with a willingness to work hard over many years. And people stepped forward!

When the committee recognized we needed speakers and organizers to attend meetings in all the wards across the city, spreading the word about this vision, we reached out to family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues for help. And people stepped forward!

Then we needed to raise lots of money. We threw up our hands and thought: how are we going to raise $200,000? The answer: we needed a development team. Once that team was organized, we held concerts and cultural events as fundraisers. We need musicians, actors, and producers to donate their services at fundraising events. And people stepped forward!

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Then we thought: we need a site. We wanted to place this life-size statue on city property near where Sojourner lived in Florence. We talked with employees at the Department of Public Works, and we looked for a landscape architect. We said: we need help! And people stepped forward!

Then we thought: We have to involve schoolchildren. We have to teach them about Sojourner Truth and her historic message. We needed a curriculum, and teachers to lead the way. And people stepped forward!

As the years passed, we realized: of course, we need to find a sculptor. But what did we know about outdoor public art and how to choose a sculptor? We spread the word that we needed people to help us figure out how to advertise and choose a sculptor. We needed artists! And people stepped forward!

When sculptors from across the country applied to build the statue, we asked for maquettes (small models of the sculptures) to be displayed in the city. We needed to find a business that was accessible, open all day, and had room to display the maquettes. We needed a bank to agree to turn their lobby into a mini-museum with the maquettes on exhibit. And people stepped forward!

When the site was established, a sculptor chosen, the grounds landscaped, and the statue built, we planned the installation and unveiling. By then we were a grateful, exhausted, and weepy bunch. We needed groups of volunteers to install the statue, plan the unveiling, build a stage, and advertise the event. And people stepped forward!

Then on Oct. 6, 2002, with over 600 people in attendance, we held the unveiling ceremony. We cut the ropes holding the tarp in place, and yanked the tarp down. There was Sojourner, in all her glory. Huge, dignified, beautiful, strong, and here forever.

How did we do this? How did a grassroots group of ordinary people who knew nothing about installing outdoor public art take all the necessary steps so that this statue was actually commissioned and installed?

There are two reasons that explain why we were successful. First, we involved every aspect of our city. This project was a model of coalition-building and collaborative work. This project was the perfect example of dividing the work, empowering others to take responsibility, delegating tasks, and valuing shared leadership.

The second reason we succeeded is because throughout the process we were channeling Sojourner Truth. We talked about Sojourner all the time. We drew strength from her work, words, and witness. We referred to her as a prophet, teacher, visionary, change agent, and nonviolent warrior. We studied her life, and we were propelled forward by her life force.

This enormous project that some said would never come to fruition, this project that faced conflicts, setbacks, and controversy, was successful because we channeled Sojourner herself. We kept hearing her words in our ears, and we kept our eyes on the prize.

Sojourner Truth: your vision and wisdom live on. We wanted to honor you in a profound way that would last for generations. We had a dream and people stepped forward to make that dream come true.

It takes an entire city to build a statue to Sojourner Truth! And this city did just that.

The Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, Ministerial Team, Alden Baptist Church, Springfield, is also founder and director of the Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership.