This is a special production from SoundCraft Audiobooks and is Volume 9 in the “History’s Greatest Speeches” series.
The struggle for human rights, emancipation, civil rights, social justice, voting rights and freedom from discrimination and tyranny is captured here in this volume of speeches by some of the most influential and brilliant black orators in history.
From Sojourner Truth (Rochelle Young) questioning society’s role in subjugating black women to Nelson Mandela (Amir Abdullah) facing a life sentence in prison with dignity and unequaled poise, this collection of speeches highlights the contributions of these unique speakers, who stood up to prejudice, violence, prison and even death itself to assert their rights as human beings.
This volume also features Booker T. Washington’s (Will Chris) “Atlanta Compromise” speech, Mary E. Church Terrell (Casaundra Freeman) opining on what it means to be a black woman in the nation’s capitol, Ida B. Wells’ (Devereau Chumrau) condemnation of the scourge of lynching in America, W.E.B. Du Bois (Rosney Mauger) famous “A Negro Nation Within a Nation” speech to the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall’s (AK Murtada) historic argument for fairness in education before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.
The importance of the contributions of these great speakers to the fight for basic human rights cannot be overstated. We are proud to be able to present these breathtaking and stirring orations highlighting the voices of black speakers throughout history.

One of the most important slave narratives of all time, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth tells the story of an African American woman who struggled against the bondages of slavery in the mid-1800s. With the strength of her spirituality, she overcame obstacles to become a leading abolitionist and champion of women’s rights. Published originally in 1850 and later updated, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth was dictated by Sojourner Truth to her neighbor, Olive Gilbert.