Sadie T.M. Alexander (1898-1989)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The first Black woman to be admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, she lived here in her later years. Active in the Urban League, she was appointed, 1946, to the President's Committee on Civil Rights.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander broke barrier after barrier in early-to-mid-20th-century America, becoming the first Black woman admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. A tireless force in the Urban League and other civil rights causes, she was appointed in 1946 to President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights, whose landmark report helped set the stage for later desegregation. She spent her later years in this Philadelphia home.
Why it matters
Alexander's career opened the legal profession to Black women in Pennsylvania and placed her at the center of the postwar federal push that laid groundwork for the modern civil rights movement.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- African American Museum in Philadelphia6.7 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Constitution Center6.7 mi away · 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center6.9 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Betsy Ross House6.9 mi away · 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center7.0 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Museum of Illusions Philadelphia7.0 mi away · 401 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Discovery Center at East Park Reservoir4.3 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge4.7 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo5.0 mi away
- Harbison's Dairy Milk Bottle5.5 mi away
- Rocky Steps5.6 mi away
- American Bandstand6.0 mi away
Food & drink
- Burger King6.9 mi away
- Independence Mall Cafe6.9 mi away · 50 North Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
- Dunkin'6.9 mi away · 634 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters6.9 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory6.9 mi away
- Time & Peace6.9 mi away · 36 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Days Inn Philadelphia Convention Center - Philadelphia6.4 mi away · 1227 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center6.4 mi away · 1201 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Clarion Suites Philadelphia6.5 mi away · 1010 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Sleep Inn Center City6.6 mi away · 1020 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Home2 Suites by Hilton Philadelphia - Convention Center, PA6.6 mi away · 1200 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel6.6 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
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Related people
- · Sadie T.M. Alexander
Related events
- · President's Committee on Civil Rights (1946)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
C. DeLores Tucker (1927-2005)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2006
For 47 years C. DeLores Tucker made her home here while becoming one of Pennsylvania's most forceful advocates for civil rights and women's equality. As the nation's first African American woman to serve as a state Secretary of State, she championed the state Equal Rights Amendment, affirmative action, mail-in voter registration, and lowering the voting age to 18. Late in life she led a high-profile campaign against music lyrics she considered demeaning to women and Black Americans.
Lucretia C. Mott
Cheltenham Township, PA · est. 1974
Near here stood "Roadside," the home of Lucretia Mott (1793–1880), a Quaker minister whose moral force helped drive some of the century's great reform movements. A tireless abolitionist, she helped organize the 1848 Seneca Falls convention and championed women's rights, temperance, and peace. Her faith and eloquence made her a leader when few women spoke publicly at all.
Church of the Advocate
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1999
Built between 1887 and 1897 as a soaring Gothic Revival church, the Church of the Advocate became a spiritual and political anchor for North Philadelphia's growing African American community after 1930. It hosted major Black Power gatherings in the 1960s and '70s, and in 1974 it made history as the site where the first eleven women were ordained Episcopal priests.
Crystal Bird Fauset
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
Crystal Bird Fauset lived here when, in 1938, she won a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and became the first Black woman elected to any state legislature in the United States. A gifted organizer and speaker, she later advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on race relations within the wartime Office of Civilian Defense. Her career opened doors in electoral politics that had long been barred to Black women.