With a commissioned statue of Harriet Tubman expected outside City Hall next summer, Philadelphia announced plans on Thursday for another contest to create a sculpture to honor a civil rights leader.
Creative Philadelphia, the city's art office, is holding an open competition to make a statue of Sadie T.M. Alexander, the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's law school. The installation will be placed at Thomas Paine Plaza, outside the Municipal Services Building at 15th Street and John F Kennedy Boulevard.
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Alexander, who was born in Philadelphia in 1898, was also the first African American woman in the country to earn a Ph.D. in economics when she graduated from Penn in 1921. In 1927, she earned her law degree. Her father, Aaron Mossell, was the first Black person to graduate from Penn's law school 40 years earlier.
She then joined her husband's law practice and specialized in estate and family law, according to the school's archives. Later, Alexander became the assistant city solicitor for Philadelphia, the first Black woman to hold the role, served on the Committee on Civil Rights for former President Harry Truman, was the secretary for the National Bar Association and was a founding member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The first call for artists will be released Monday, Nov. 18. They will be asked to submit past work and answer questions about the project. Priority will go to locals, women and people of color, however anyone who's interested can apply.
The contest winner will be determined by a selection committee that includes Alexander's daughter, representatives from NAACP Philadelphia, Penn's law school and its Black Law Students Association, the Philadelphia Bar Foundation and the Sadie Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to Alexander. Representatives from Creative Philadelphia and Councilmember Jeffery Young will also help pick the top design.
On Nov. 7, the city will also host a public engagement session on Zoom for residents to learn about Alexander and contribute any ideas.
In 2022, the city held a public art contest to build a statue of Harriet Tubman on the North Apron outside City Hall. That sculpture is scheduled to be installed in the summer.