Sadie tanner mossell alexander biography of donald

Alexander believed that women were capable of being professionals and good mothers simultaneously, and fought for women's rights on that issue. SinceAlexander had been a driving force in the National Urban League, a community-based movement seeking to empower African Americans to enter the economic, social, and cultural mainstream, and she served as its secretary for 25 years.

The Alexanders' law firm continued to do well, even moving in to an upscale commercial district formerly closed to blacks. Much of the firm's work involved cases related to the desegregation of public spaces in Philadelphia, such as movie theaters, hotels, and restaurants. In Alexander took office as the first female secretary of the NBA, holding this office for four years.

She also began serving in as one of the driving members of the Philadelphia Fellowship Committee, the purpose of which was to find ways to increase the equality of blacks in the city. She remained in that position until Her strong participation in the national committee of the American Civil Liberties Union lasted from to InAlexander received a phone call from the White House informing her that U.

She accepted, and began spending a fair amount of time on that work. Her job was to help prepare a report on the state of civil rights for blacks and suggest ways to improve the volatile situation. In an interview soon after the report's release, Alexander told an interviewer for the New York Times, "We must act now because the gap between what we believe as American ideals and what we practice is creating a moral dry rot within us.

We are threatening the emotional and rational bases of our democracy. The Alexanders closed their private practice in when Raymond was appointed a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Alexander then opened her own law offices and continued to focus her skills on family law cases, especially those involving divorce, adoption, and childcare.

About one-quarter of her work was civil and probate work, and she never turned away anyone with a valid case just because they could not pay her. Throughout the s, despite her busy schedule of law cases, Alexander remained powerfully committed to numerous civil causes, serving as chairperson for the Commission for Human Relations in Philadelphia for five years and working tirelessly for the Philadelphia Bar Association.

However, when Raymond died inshe retreated somewhat from her hectic schedule. Alexander closed her law offices after Raymond's death and joined the law firm of Atkinson, Myers, and Archie in She served as counsel there untilwhen, beginning to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, she retired from the law and from public life in general. President Jimmy Carter had appointed her as chairperson of his White House Conference on Aging inand she continued to serve in that capacity until President Ronald Reagan removed her from office injust before the conference occurred.

Alexander died of pneumonia on November 1, at her home in Philadelphia. Los Angeles Times, November 7, New York Times, November 8, Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Alexander was the first African American to hold both a Ph.

From to and again from toshe was Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia and formed a legal aid bureau to assist African Americans who could not afford lawyers. She also served as secretary for the National Urban League from to and was appointed by U. She practiced law until her retirement in Do you find this information helpful?

A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Though no federal legislation followed, the report laid the groundwork for future action. She was a member of the commission from to After Martin Luther King Jr.

Though Alexander did not work as economist, she continued to harness her knowledge of this area. She felt a government-supported program of full employment was "the only solution to the economic subjugation of the Negro and of the great masses of white labor. In addition to her work in civil rights, Alexander specialized in estate and family law.

She served two terms as the assistant city solicitor of Philadelphia, one soon after she graduated law school and the other in the s.

Sadie tanner mossell alexander biography of donald

When her husband became a judge inshe launched own practice. Inshe became counsel for Atkinson, Myers and Archie. She retired in Alexander was the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority for Black women. From to '47, she served as secretary of the National Bar Association. She was the first woman to hold this role in the organization.

Alexander passed away in a Philadelphia retirement community on November 1, She had pneumonia as well as Alzheimer's disease. The Sadie Collective was named in honor of Alexander. The organization, formed by two Black women inencourages other Black women to enter economics and other data-driven fields. She was reappointed from to From toshe was the first woman to serve as secretary of the National Bar Association.

Inwhen her husband was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphiashe opened her own law office. She continued to practice law independently until her husband's death in Mossell Alexander died on November 1,at Cathedral Village in Andorra, Philadelphiafrom pneumonia as a complication from Alzheimer's disease. Inwhen his daughter Sadie was a one year old, he abandoned his family and moved to Wales.

At the time of their marriage, he had established a law practice in Philadelphia. Sadie and Raymond had four premature children, with only the last two surviving. Epps III. According to Nina Banks[ 23 ] Alexander's opposition to racial oppression was within a tradition of 19th century scholars Frederick Douglass and T. Thomas Fortuneand with later scholars W.

DuBois and A. Philip Randolph. Alexander's focus was frequently on racial and economic justice for the working class, especially for working men and women. However, unlike Dubois or Randolph, Alexander never embraced socialism. Franklin Frazierand fellow black economist Abram Harris. For example, Harris wrote that the fundamental problems facing blacks could be overcome through multi-racial labor organizing and did not support direct action for civil rights until blacks had achieved economic power.

Alexander, on the other hand, was outspoken against white dominance in political, social, and economic spheres. Alexander's work and views are recorded in speeches kept in the University of Pennsylvania archives. Among her earliest works are from the s and discuss black workers in the US economy. InAlexander published an article, "Negro Women in Our Economic Life", which was published in Urban League's Opportunity magazine advocating black women's employment, particularly in industrial jobs.

Alexander generally supported the Republican Partysuspicious of the control of conservative southern whites over the Democratic Partyalthough she also criticized Republican political appointments, as well as what she saw as uneven benefits of the New Deal which did not do enough to help blacks who were most hurt by the great depression.

Her perspective on the New Deal is focused on advocating for reforms that ensure African American workers receive equitable benefits from government legislation. She highlights the necessity for fair administration of all forms of federal aid, including farm relief, public works programs, and subsidized relief, specifically to guarantee that African American laborers receive their rightful share.

This view criticizes the limitations of the New Deal in adequately supporting Black workers and calls for legislative changes to protect them against racially motivated dismissals, especially significant in a time characterized by progressive labor protections. She emphasized an urgent need for the government to enforce policies that ensure racial equity in the distribution of economic benefits and protections provided by the New Deal.

Near the end of the war, she supported integrating labor unions to increase their bargaining sadie tanner mossell alexander biography of donald once the war economy slowed and industrial employment moved toward pre-war levels. Her interest in labor economic issues extended to advocating for government regulation to smooth fluctuations in the business cyclemodification of tariffsregulation of public utilitiesand regulation of securities and securities markets.

After the war she was appointed to Truman's Presidential Committee on Human Rights and shifted her focus to civil and human rights. Evidence in the archives suggests that her focus was in this direction for over a decade. InAlexander and six other Philadelphians formed the Citizens' Council on Democratic Rights to "protect and extend the enjoyment of human rights.

Sawyerthe Council became the Greater Philadelphia Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union ; Alexander continued to serve on that organization's board of directors for many years. In a interview she did with the Geriatric Nursing journal about her position as chair of the WHCoA, Alexander expressed her disapproval of anti-abortion legislation.

She advocated for better benefits for nurses and stressed their vitality to the healthcare system. She also expressed that everyone, no matter their age or educational level, can add value to the economy with the proper support. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.