The audience reaction to "Ain't I a Woman?" was inarguably different than yours as you read it on a laptop in a coffee shop or on your couch at home.

Then, it was bold, blatant, and challenged the status quo. Now, we look back and can't quite believe that the 1800s held so much slavery, rampant racism and sexism, and discrimination.

Actually, scratch that. Even though we've done away with slavery (good job on abandoning an evil practice, y'all), rampant racism, sexism, and discrimination are still alive.

No wonder zombie literature is so popular. When things that should have been dead hundreds of years ago (racism, sexism, and discrimination) are still staggering around and infecting the population, is it any wonder we're still culturally obsessed with the undead?

But things have gotten better…thanks to strong, eloquent, and fearless people like Sojourner Truth.

There are, however, a few things about "Ain't I a Woman?" that make us aware that this is a speech given more than a few decades ago.

For example, the Biblical allusions may seem outdated and kind of painfully quaint to modern eyes, but were actually super-daring at the time. The God-fearing audience most certainly reacted strongly to the invocation of women as critical to both God's plan and the state of the world.

The truth of Sojourner's words, however, still resonate. Despite the accepted copy not recording her actual diction and syntax, hearing "Ain't I a Woman?" aloud brings back all of Sojourner Truth's power to command her audience.

Go check out Kerry Washington's performance if you want to get some serious dang-that's-inspiring (and oh-dang-history-was-full-of-serious-crimes-against-humanity) chills.