By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com
Sadie T.M. Alexander, the Philadelphia trailblazer in academia, law and the civil rights arena, is now the focus of a public art competition hosted by Creative Philadelphia, formerly known as the City’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. The organization is currently in search of an artist to complete the commissioned work of art, which will be a statue in honor of Alexander.
In 1921, Alexander made history as the first African American in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Her journey continued with another groundbreaking achievement, becoming the first African-American woman to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1927.
Alexander collected a variety of titles related to civil rights and law throughout her life. She was a founding member of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, the first Black woman to hold the position of assistant city solicitor for the City of Philadelphia, the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the first Black woman to practice law in the state of Pennsylvania. She also served on President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights and was a founding member of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
According to information released by Creative Philadelphia, the project “is a priority of Mayor Parker’s Administration, to commission a statue honoring this trailblazing Philadelphian and African American woman who shattered glass ceilings, advocated for underserved communities, and contributed greatly to the city and the nation by expanding economic opportunities for people of color.”
The statue will have a permanent home in Thomas Paine Plaza at the Municipal Services Building. It will also be the second woman civil rights leader statue to be installed by the organization, with the first being Harriett Tubman.
Creative Philadelphia has launched the Sadie T.M. Alexander Statue Selection Committee, which includes Sadie Alexander’s daughter, Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter and representatives from NAACP Philadelphia; the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law; the Penn Black Law Students Association; the Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Philadelphia Bar Foundation; Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House; The Sadie Collective; Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations; PA Advisory Council ACLU; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; artists and design professionals, representatives from the City’s Capital Program Office, Councilman Jeffrey Young, Jr’s office, and Creative Philadelphia.”
The call for artists will end on Dec. 30 at 11:29 p.m. eastern time. For more information about the process and the organization visit, www.creativephl.org.
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