 Born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 , Sojourner Truth settled in the Battle Creek area in the 1840s . She travelled through the Midwest and New England speaking against slavery and for women 's rights . She lived in the area until her death in 1883 . Her connection to the state of Michigan was honored by the state American Revolution Bicentennial Commission in 1976 which urged the Michigan Legislature to name a highway in her honor . Public Act 93 of 1976 named all of M @-@ 66 in Calhoun County as the Sojourner Truth Memorial Highway . The highway was dedicated to her on May 21 , 1976 . 
