Hidden No More: Philly Honors Sadie T. M. Alexander With Her Own Statue

Philadelphia will be honoring one of its greats with a statue created by local artists. Creative Philadelphia, formerly known as the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, announced the statue honoring Philly’s own Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, civil rights activist, and underserved communities advocate who shattered glass ceilings in both law and academia.

But who was Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander? Sadie was born on January 2, 1898, in Philadelphia. Born to two prestigious Black families, the Tanners and Mossells, Sadie worked hard to make her own mark in the world.

That mark is still prevalent today. Sadie’s life is a life of being the first. In 1921, she became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Economics in the United States. In 1927, she became the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is one of the founding members of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. She was also the First Black woman to serve as Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia.

None of these were easy feats, especially in the openly racist and misogynistic halls of academics and law, yes, even in Philadelphia. Sadie faced it all, from professors who openly questioned her brilliant mind due to her race and gender, to the lack of opportunities she faced, even after receiving her Ph. D from such a prestigious institution. It was, in fact, that lack of opportunities that led her back to UPenn to receive her law degree. Sadie would not be deterred.

Mrs. Alexander also was the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, an illustrious organization of predominantly Black College-educated women, being one of the few Black Women’s organizations allowed to participate in the Woman’s Suffrage March of 1913. Sadie received this honor to helm the history-making organization as its very first national president when she was only 30 years old.

Sadie also served on the Civil Rights Committee of ​​then-President Truman. She was also a founding member of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She held many positions in various committees and organizations and worked tirelessly until she retired from public life in 1982. She passed in 1989.

Refusing to let Sadie Alexander’s legacy remain hidden, the city of Philadelphia plans to put the proposed statue at the Municipal Services Building at ​​Thomas Paine Plaza. Her statue will be Philly’s second installed public art statue of a historic African American woman, only second to Harriet Tubman. The statue selection committee includes Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, Sadie T. M. Alexander’s own daughter as well as members of Sadie’s beloved Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and other organizations such as NAACP, ACLU, and other community organizations. As Creative Philadelphia recently closed its call of artists we now await the finalists and the proposed designs.