Approximately 25 years ago this pass July 4 2023. The Sojourner. Rover landed on the red planet known as Mars. The name was chosen for the Mars Pathfinder rover after a year-long, worldwide competition in which students up to 18 years old were invited to select a heroine and submit an essay about her historical accomplishments. The students were asked to address in their essays how a planetary rover named for their heroine would translate these accomplishments to the Martian environment.

Initiated in March 1994 by The Planetary Society of Pasadena, CA, in cooperation with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the contest got under way with an announcement in the January 1995 issue of the National Science Teachers Association's magazine "Science and Children," which is circulated to 20,000 teachers and schools across the nation.

Valerie Ambroise, 12, of Bridgeport, CT, submitted the winning essay about Sojourner Truth, an African-American reformist who lived during the Civil War era. An abolitionist and champion of women's rights, Sojourner Truth, whose legal name was Isabella Van Wagener, made it her mission to "travel up and down the land," advocating the rights of all people to be free and the rights of women to participate fully in society. The name Sojourner was selected because it means "traveler." JPL scientists and engineers working on the Mars Pathfinder project and Planetary Society staff members reviewed the 3,500 total entries received from all over the world, including essays from students living in Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland and Russia. Nearly 1,700 of the essays were submitted by students aged 5 to 18 years old. So to commemorate this monumental legacy of my great ancestor I have designed the 1st ever Sojourner  Truth Space Coat influenced by a bloodline descendant. 

Login to www.tru-reign.com and order your custom rover tee today. Created by Cory McLiechey ( a 5th generation grandson.)  The Rover Space Coat will be available to the public in the colors of black/silver/army green Dec 2023 ! Thank you in advance for your anticipated support. 

There's another exclusive coat being manufactured , the Sojouner Truth letterman jacket , color combinations will reflect that of the " Divine Nine " color schemes . Paying homage to these  extraordinary fraternities that were extremely instrumental in the women's suffrage movement  as well as many other issues plaguing African American communities from past to present day. Subscribe now @ 

www.Tru-Reign.com to stay up date on all things Sojourner Truth. 

• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Founded 1906,
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Founded 1908, Howard University
• Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Founded 1911, Indiana University
• Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Founded 1911, Howard University
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Founded 1913, Howard University
• Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Founded 1914, Howard University
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Founded 1920, Howard University
• Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Founded 1922, Butler University
• Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Founded 1963, Morgan State University

Contributions to American History

Members of these sororities and fraternities were also heavily involved in several social justice movements such as the Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. These organizations have made significant strides to help unite Black communities across the US and continue to collectively organize to serve various social causes.