In time for International Women’s Day, a powerful new collaboration is bringing together voices from across the UK folk scene. The I AM PROUD Collective—a group of acclaimed singer-songwriters—has released their new single “I AM PROUD—In Tribute to Sojourner Truth,” a song inspired by the legacy of the 19th-century abolitionist and activist Sojourner Truth.
The project is led by Bristol-based folk songwriter Lizi Morse, who spent 18 months assembling the collective with a simple but ambitious goal: to create a song that could be sung around the world. The group brings together an impressive lineup of artists, including Angeline Morrison, Leonie Evans, Rhiannon Takel, and Priscilla Andersohn, each with a distinctive voice in the contemporary folk scene.
The single is a response to the enduring relevance of Truth’s activism. After escaping slavery in 1826, Truth became one of the most powerful voices in the fight against racism and sexism in the United States. Her famous provocation “Ain’t I a Woman?” challenged the divisions between movements for racial justice and women’s suffrage, arguing that equality must extend across both gender and race.
Drawing inspiration from this legacy, the collective’s song transforms Truth’s words into a modern protest anthem. Reimagined as a trans-inclusive folk protest song, I AM PROUD calls for equality, solidarity, and collective action. At its heart is the belief that music can be a powerful vehicle for connection, something Morse describes as essential in confronting the ongoing realities of racism and discrimination.
For fans of contemporary folk artists such as Eliza Carthy, Nancy Kerr, and Jackie Oates, the I AM PROUD Collective offers something both familiar and urgent: traditional folk sensibilities combined with a message rooted firmly in the present. More than just a single release, “I AM PROUD—In Tribute to Sojourner Truth” is an invitation to sing, to connect, and to continue the struggle for equality that Truth championed nearly two centuries ago.
