The Elate Eight continues today as Sojourner Truth takes on Absalom Jones. Unfair? Of course! It's Lent Madness after all.
To make it to this point, Sojourner sojourned her way past Soren Kierkegaard and Frances Joseph-Gaudet while Absalom sailed past Matthias before sneaking by Joseph.
Yesterday, Constance became the first Lent Madness 2016 participant to reach the Faithful Four, defeating Vida Dutton Scudder 61% to 39%. It's safe to say that, in Constance, we truly do have a Cinderella of this year's bracket! She'll face the winner of Albert Schweitzer and Julian of Norwich in the Faithful Four.
And speaking of brackets and Cinderellas, don't miss our saintly analysis of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Lent Madness meets March Madness. The march to the Faithful Four continues!
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth is so awesome that her kitsch itself is precedent-setting. For example, Sojourner is the first Black American woman to have a bust in the US Capitol, which is pretty neat. (Despite the fact it took until 2006 to get this done. I’m going to ignore the fact you were really late to the party, US Capitol folks, and just celebrate you decided to show up at all.)
During her lifetime, Sojourner made her own kitsch. That’s right--that’s how awesome she was. In the late 1800s, it was customary for photographers to retain the rights to the photos they made. However, Sojourner had none of this. Like an early media maven, she demanded the rights to her own name and image, and sold photo cards of herself at all her speaking appearances, as an extra way to make money. For a former slave, this was an incredible way to assert autonomy over herself, and set a powerful precedent about her right to be reckoned with on her own terms. These photo cards are available on eBay, and the quote she includes on them “I sell the shadow in order to support the substance” is dead-on. The lady did not mess around. 
Of course, after her death, lots of other people messed around all over the place. Hence, the rise of some really curious memorabilia. Sojourner dictated her own autobiography (entitled The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, naturally) and her life was really sad and violent, but this did not stop a surprising number of children’s biographies about her from hitting the streets. Including this one with a truly frightening cover.
In keeping with the “teach the children” theme, there is also a finger puppet, for the non-literate set. (Head is normal size.)
And if you prefer to educate people indirectly, there are Sojourner Truth 
cufflinks
and a Sojourner Truth pocket mirror. (Because nothing screams “Prophet of God’s Radical Love!” like cufflinks.)
But maybe music is what you prefer? Lots of musical artists have found Sojourner’s life inspiring, including (not making this up) The Deedle Deedle Dees, who have a song about her on their album, which also features such feel-good dittys as “Phineas Gage Has Something To Tell These People” (yup) and the classic “Mayor LaGuardia’s Stomach” (of course.)
Less upsettingly, there is also Langston Hughes (yes! that Langston Hughes!) who has a recording in which he recounts events in Black history, including Sojourner’s life. His stories are interspersed with freedom songs and chants, by people like Leadbelly and others.
But I have saved the most spectacular for last. I ask you to cast your mind back, back to a 
simpler time in the late 1990s, and the first time we sent a robot to Mars. That’s right! Sojourner Truth has a space robot named after her!!!!
The Sojourner JPL Rover, as named by a 12-year old girl in an essay contest, landed on Mars, and then was promptly never heard from again. (Whoops). But, this did not prevent its extensive merchandising, including HotWheels!
And, in the movie The Martian, when Matt Damon needs some high-tech rescuing; when he is stranded alone, afraid, and in need of a friendly voice, who saves the day?
SOJOURNER, THE FORGOTTEN MARS ROVER.
Even in the imaginary world of near-future science fiction, Sojourner Truth manages to bring hope and love to the furthest reaches of the human experience.
ON MARS.
Absalom Jones
On January 1, 1808, the Rev. Absalom Jones stood on the lectern of Philadelphia’s African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas (then located at the corner of Fifth and Adelphi streets) and gave a rousing sermon. He wasn’t there to talk about slavery and bondage. He was there to speak about deliverance!
Born a slave, Absalom worked during the night for many years in order to buy his wife’s freedom, and
later his own. He was industrious. With his master’s permission, he went to school to learn how to read and write. Perhaps this is why you can now see his wax likeness at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore. The statue's unveiling took place at a meeting of the Union of Black Episcopalians at the Diocese of Maryland's Cathedral of the Incarnation
Absalom Jones loved the church. He became a lay minister at the interracial congregation of St. George's Methodist Church. He was one of the first African Americans licensed to preach in a Methodist church. Perhaps this is why William Faulkner wrote a book titled Absalom, Absalom!
Absalom Jones knew that being a Christian entails having a higher standard! When he and other African-Americans were asked to move to the balcony of the church, he and all the others decided to walk out—an action that resulted in the formation of the Free African Society and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. Perhaps this is why he apparently loved football.
Absalom Jones was charitable. When Philadelphia was struck with yellow fever ("Absalom Would Go?"), Absalom 
Jones assisted Dr. Benjamin Rush in helping people afflicted by the plague. Jones' corps of black Philadelphians helped nurse the sick, as well as bury the dead. Jones sometimes worked through the night taking care of the sick. During those days, almost twenty times more black people helped the plague-struck than did whites. Perhaps this is why he was once portrayed in a "Testimony Dance Drama" at a church in North Carolina.
Although Absalom Jones died in 1818, the issue of his time, slavery, points directly toward our day. How much would he have enjoyed seeing the Thirteen Amendment being ratified, hearing Martin Luther King speak at the Lincoln Memorial, watching Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration! Perhaps this is why his ashes are are kept on display in a bronze, Bible-shaped box in a chapel dedicated to him at the church he founded in Philadelphia.
Jones finished his 1808 sermon with this heartfelt prayer: “Give peace in our day, we beseech thee, O thou God of peace! And grant, that this highly favored country may continue to afford a safe and peaceful retreat from the calamities of war and slavery, for ages yet to come.”
-- Hugo Olaiz
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158 comments on “Sojourner Truth vs. Absalom Jones”
Too close a competition but would have to vote one or the other if they met at the Golden Halo. Today, however, Sojourner gets my vote because of the best kitsch.
The bio on Sojourner Truth was written so bizarrerly, I voted for Absalom Jones. The Sojourner on Mars has nothing to do with Sojourner Truth.
Faulkner's book actually had nothing to do with Absalom Jones either ... but I think pretty much anything goes in this round.
BTW Kudos to Ms. Castellan and Mr. Oliaz on their awesome Kitsch reporting.
Kwite a Klassy Kraft.
Sojourner Truth sold her own kitsch, for a worthy purpose. I think Lent Madness also serves a worthy purpose; I learn so much from the comments as well as the blogs. And I must admit, I look forward to the kitsch round!
God has a slightly kitschy sense of humor — leviathan, platypus, giraffe, kangaroo, the way we reproduce —
How DO we reproduce, Donna?
Let's think about birds. We find birds in a garden. AN in a garden we find cabbage. When the cabbage gets big enough, if you look under the bottom leaves, you'll maybe find a baby. Unless a big stork has just visited the cabbage plant and taken the baby that was under it. If that is the case, we need to talk about the bees.
The Mars rover in question was named after an essay contest, which was won by a 12 year old girl. Her essay suggested that the rover be named after Sojourner Truth.
Sometimes, kitsch is stranger than fiction.
I love it. I would have replied, but the SEC doesn't allow infinite loops inside a post.
Lighten up. Absalom, Absalom is not about Absalom either.
yeh, what she said
I need Constance to minister to me in my hour of need--it is too hard to vote and pains me deeply to select only one.
This is by far the most difficult voting experience in all my years in Lent Madness. I get the madness part now.
Toughest decision yet. Choice hinges on the smallest almost inconsequential thing. [There's probably a theological reflection in there ;)] I thought I was gonna vote for Sojourner but the photo of our own Bishop Arthur standing with the wax replica of Absalom Jones clinched my vote for him. I'm pretty sure I'll be voting for Sojourner for the Halo.
I had to vote for Sojourner after reading that she demanded the rights to her photo & sold the cards to make money for her speaking engagements. I saw her statue in the Capitol Building when I went to D.C. in February 2013.
Very tough decision. I finally went with Truth again. I have to give her credit for being so business minded. Good for her.
I was thinking about Absalom and Constance being paired. We would have to decide which one did more for the yellow fever victims.
It's "Absalom, Absalom" for me, although I deeply admire Ms. Truth's bonnet, her first name, her intelligence, her bravery, just everything about her. However, Absalom occupies a special place in the heart of our church, St Philip's Episcopal in Laurel, MD. We have no less than TWO windows to commemorate Absalom Jones. One is in Wyatt Hall and the other is in the attic, awaiting a church home. It was the first window that was ordered, but the installers found out too late that it didn't fit.
Unfair but deeply thought-provoking. Luckily for whichever principals or agents of the SEC have to monitor this post, I will be brief: Mars, woman, striking off chains vs. Earth, men, ministry. Sojourner for me!
This one was the toughest of all. If there's another one like it, I'm going to view the comments before voting and go with Oliver, 8 years old.
I voted for Sojourner Truth because when a politician said that women were too weak and delicate to work, and therefore dependent on men, she gave a powerful rebuttal. She had worked in the fields from dawn till dusk, lifting and carrying, stooping and bending, but asked, "And ain't I a woman?"
This is a very, very tough choice. In the end I went with Absalom Jones, because he again worked with Dr. Benjamin Rush, the namesake of my medical school alma mater, and he risked his own life to care for those sick with yellow fever, in the finest traditions of medical care!
Best Saintly Kitsch ever! Which puts me in the camp of wanting to vote for both. But as a librarian I'm swayed by Sojourner Truth's insistence on her rights to her media presence.
Hard choice! I went with Sojourner Truth partly because, being a Canadian, Absalom's prayer did not touch me, patriotically. Sojourner had to deal with being a woman as well as being black and she did it really, really well!
Had to go with Sojourner just because of the trading cards.
UNFAIR! Looks as if Sojourner will win, but Absalom Jones' prayer won my vote - especially in light of today's political environment.
Very agonizing choice. I had to vote for Absalom because of visiting the sick. We all should be doing more of that.
Two saints that follows our God will always be in my book of saints. God bless and have mercy on us All.
This gets harder and harder - but Absolom was my pick. Yes, Sojourner truth had better marketing both in life and in death - but nonetheless, Absolom tended yellow fever patients - Constance and Absolom will go and did. Maybe it was the gross head on that children's book that steered me away from Sojourner.
Aaaargh! I love both of them. But since this is the kitsch round and Sojourner Truth made her own kitsch, I voted for her.
I wish it was going to be this hard to decide in our Presidential election.
For my own Diocese of New Jersey, who celebrates his life, and for the City of Philadelphia, which he loved and where he worked for a better life for all, I choose Absalom Jones. His legacy still inspires here in the Mid-Atlantic. (And speaking of saintly kitsch gone wrong, check out the Richard Allen Housing Project in Philly, named for Absalom Jones's friend, the first AME bishop.)
Why does it have to be so hard? I just love learning about these amazing people, but cringe when I have to vote. Why, SEC, why?
On Super Bowl Sunday, National Cathedral was filled (really!) for a jazz service honoring Absalom. I am still singing and dancing to the music! Not too kitschy, but awesome all the same!
Absolom Jones because we're voting on saints, not that Sojourner wasnt a great person; but it's Absolom whose first commitment was to God. Sojourner was an activist, Absolom is clearly a saint.
Girl power! Vote for Truth! Plus - Not a Faulkner fan.
I'm so glad i read all the way through all of the comments, because now I know how fast my head really can spin! What to do? what to do? I have great fondness and admiration for both of these saints, so I shall pray for a bit longer!
Wow, so hard to choose. Absolom Jones is our hometown (Philly) saint, but I picked Sojourner Truth for the Golden Halo!
I voted for Absalom, mainly because he's not as well-known as Sojourner. At least to folks who've worked in school libraries 🙂
But I'll be happy with either of them.
Agony, what a terrible choice. Voting on my mobile so may have failed to cast a vote anyway which is strangely reassuring - how can two such remarkable figures be separated.
On pure volume of kitsch, I vote Sojourner Truth.