This event is named in honor of Sojourner Truth, an American abolitionist, women’s rights and economic justice activist, who escaped slavery and then fought to end it. She, along with many others, has served as an inspiration and role model for generations to come. We are walking in their footsteps! This year we are also lifting up Food Justice and the people who feed us, as an important political movement in Philadelphia and beyond (see below.)

 

The Sojourner Truth Walk will include both an in-person and online option for participation this year. Please see event details page for more info.

 

All participants are encouraged to participate this year in honor of someone who feeds or has fed them… you can interpret that phrase however it is most meaningful to you. If you attend the event in person, blank signs will be available for you to write their name and/or attach a photograph. If you attend virtually, you will be encouraged to hold up a sign at home during the event, celebrating the person you have chosen to honor.

 

Why Food Justice? Food Justice is the right of communities to grow, sell, and eat healthy food--meaning fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally-appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers, and animals. Access to healthy food has long been a justice issue, globally and locally, impacted by race, class, geography, public policy, and many other factors. In Philadelphia, disparities in the availability of fresh, healthy food in various neighborhoods track closely with race and class statistics, and has led to greater negative health outcomes for people who don't have access. The pandemic has exacerbated food access issues. Camp Sojourner has partnered with Sankofa Farm for the past twelve years, an intergenerational, African-Diasporic, spiritually-rooted farm, to help build their community garden beds and grow affordable organic produce with Southwest Philadelphia residents; several Camp Sojourner teens have served as leaders in their program. This year, we are honoring Sankofa Farm and their local Food Sovereignty work, as well as Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist who started the Freedom Farm Cooperative. We will have groups at the event tabling to give information about ways people can get involved in local food justice and sovereignty efforts, and we will have resources available for people interested in growing their own food at home.

 

 

This is a family-friendly event--all are welcome!

 

Camp Sojourner, Girls' Leadership Camp All proceeds from the Sojourner Truth Walk benefit Camp Sojourner, a nonprofit leadership program for Philadelphia girls/youth. Our program focuses on team-building, leadership development, creative arts, and appreciation of nature. We offer Sojourners the chance to get out of the city for a one-week sleepaway camp* experience, and then to get involved in our year-round mentoring, service projects, creative arts, and leadership activities.

 

The mission of Camp Sojourner is to help girls/youth become leaders who take charge of their own lives and also act as agents of positive change in their communities. Youth, families, and alumnae are key members of our Advisory Board. We fundraise year-round so that our programs can be affordable for all families, and we offer our programs on a sliding scale based on family size and income, with significant scholarships.

 

For more information and pictures of our year-round work, please visit our website: www.girlsleadershipcamp.org.

 

Movement Alliance Project
Camp Sojourner is a fiscally sponsored project of the Movement Alliance Project (MAP), meaning that Camp Sojourner does all of its own fundraising but MAP provides fiscal oversight and infrastructure. MAP's mission is to build power with community organizations working at the intersection of race, technology and inequality, running strategic campaigns, lifting up untold stories, and building infrastructure for poor and working people to win lasting power and a just society.