Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

Short Biography

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989), was the second African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States, and the first woman to receive a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first African-American woman to practice law in Pennsylvania. She was the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, serving from 1919 to 1923. She served on the President's Committee on Civil Rights that was established by Harry Truman in 1946. She was the first African-American woman appointed as Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia. She and her husband were both active in civil rights, and in 1952 she was appointed to the city's Commission on Human Relations, serving through 1968.