Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Ph.D. graduation, University of Pennsylvania. (Photo/Wikimedia)
Creative Philadelphia (formerly the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy) has announced an open-call public art competition to commission a statue honoring the life and legacy of Sadie T.M. Alexander, a pioneering African American civil rights activist and native Philadelphian who broke barriers in academia and law and fought to protect the civil rights of underserved communities.
The statue will be installed in Thomas Paine Plaza at the Municipal Services Building and will become the City’s second installed public art statue of a historic African American female figure, after Harriet Tubman.
Public input survey
On November 7, Creative Philadelphia hosted a public meeting for Philadelphians to learn more and to provide input on how this statue honoring Sadie T.M. Alexander can best represent Philadelphia’s history and values.
Slides presented at the November 7 meeting can be viewed here: https://www.creativephl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Sadie-Public-Engagement-Presentation-For-Website-11.7.24.pdf.
Call for artists
The Call for Artists will be released on November 18. This public art competition will consist of two parts. “Part 1” is the Artist Call for Qualifications, where artists submit past artwork, qualifications, and answers to questions. Priority will be given to artists who reflect Philadelphia’s diversity, with strong encouragement for artists who represent racial and ethnic minority groups and women to apply. Local artists who live or work in the Greater Philadelphia area will also be prioritized, but all interested artists are welcome to apply.
The public will also have an opportunity to attend a future meeting where they will meet the finalist artists, see presentations of their proposed statue designs and provide feedback.
Public feedback will be one of the factors that will inform the Committee’s selection of the winning artist and design. More information about the commissioning process for Philadelphia’s permanent Sadie T.M. Alexander statue is available on Creative Philadelphia’s website.
Sadie T.M. Alexander Statue Selection Committee
Creative Philadelphia has assembled a Sadie T.M. Alexander Statue Selection Committee to inform the process, the members of which connect to Sadie T.M. Alexander’s legacy. The Committee includes Sadie Alexander’s daughter, Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, representatives from NAACP Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law; Penn Black Law Students Association; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority- Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter; 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.
Bola Olaniyan, executive director, The Sadie Collective
Catherine Hicks, president, NAACP, Philadelphia Chapter
Damon Hewitt, president, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Dayona Evans, community engagement coordinator, Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House
Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, daughter of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
Erin Kindt, Capital Program Office, City of Philadelphia
Iliana Odette Harris, assistant director for community and engagement, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Karen Skafte, principal, Ground Reconsidered (Paine Plaza Design team)
Karen Warrington, former communications director, Congressman Bob Brady
Kimberly A. Lloyd, president, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority- Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter
Kymelle Clark, director of public engagement, Office of Councilman Jeffery Young, Jr.
Miguel Horn, artist, sculptor
Mike Lee, executive director, ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Pennsylvania
Nigel Davis, co-chair, University of Pennsylvania Black Law Students Association
Niki Ingram, president, Philadelphia Bar Foundation
Pamela Gwaltney, deputy director, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations
Vashti Dubois, founder and executive director,The Colored Girls Museum
Project background
This project is a priority of Mayor Cherelle 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 intent to erect a statue honoring Alexander was originally initiated through a resolution in 2018 by then-Councilwomen Parker, Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Jannie Blackwell. This commission will also fulfill the Percent for Art requirement for public art at the proposed site due to renovations at Thomas Paine Plaza.
About Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, born on January 2, 1898, in Philadelphia, was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Economics in the United States (1921) and the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1927). A trailblazer in civil rights, she was a founding member of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and was also the First Black woman to serve as Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia. Alexander also was the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, served on President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights and was a founding member of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Resources to learn more: *
Sadie T. M. Alexander | Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_T._M._Alexander
Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander | The Sadie Collective: www.sadiecollective.org/stma
Sadie T. M. Alexander (dec.) Distinguished Fellow 2022 | American Economic Association: www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/honors-awards/distinguished-fellows/sadie-alexander
Sadie Alexander – Career, Facts & Economist | Biography.com: www.biography.com/activists/sadie-alexander
The Future Is Now: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander | Mathematica: www.mathematica.org/blogs/the-future-is-now-honoring-the-legacy-of-dr-sadie-tanner-mossell-alexander
- Please note: Some resources incorrectly state that Sadie T.M. Alexander is the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in economics in the United States; however, in fact, she is the first African American of any gender to earn this degree in the United States.
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