"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : SADIE M ALEXANDER

Even though, I don't know the full significance of these two forgotten Black Communities that are a part of the history of the City of Monroe, Louisiana, I feel compelled to mention them in this week's article! One of the Black Communities was known as "Bright Oak." It was located near North 18th Street and the main branch of the Ouachita Public Library on Stubb's Street.The Bright Oak Community had a school for the Black Children of the community, a church, and a beautiful pond, where Black People would hold Baptisms and fish.The other Black Community was known as "Jones Quarters," which may have been near Burg Jones Lane in Monroe. By the way, the Jones Quarters included a set of rental properties owned by one Henry T. Benoit, a wealthy White Businessman of Monroe, Louisiana.The City of Monroe later had a recreational center on the Southside of Monroe named for his son, Harvey H. Benoit. Also, a report said that the properties were rented out to several Negro families back around 1923 - 1935 or so, and that a Mr. Russell P. Moore, of Russell Moore Lumber Company, who was the authorized rent collector, had set up a railroad fence which closed one means of entry to the Negro housing properties. Furthermore, being that it is "National Black History Month," I felt that this was an appropriate time and opportunity for me to bring these two forgotten Black Communities to the attention of the residents of the City of Monroe, Louisiana.With that being said, on to this week's Black Pioneer. Sadie M Alexander was born on January 2, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When it was time for Sadie to attend elementary school, her parents chose to send her to live with her uncle. By moving to Washington D.C. and staying with her uncle, Dr. Lewis B Moore and his wife at their home on the campus of Howard University, Sadie was able to attend the famous M Street School. Once Sadie graduated in 1915, she returned to Philadelphia and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania. Sadie earned her B.A. Degree in 1918, and then earned her Master's Degree the following year. In 1921, Sadie became the first Colored Woman to ever earn a College PHD from an American University! Well, you would think that after earning a B.A. Degree, a Master's Degree, and a Doctorate Degree that she would easily be able to find a job doing Professorship work. However, in her case, it was so difficult for her to find that type of work in Philadelphia, she ended up taking a regular job at a Black-Owned Insurance Company in Durham ,North Carolina. After working there for two years, Sadie got married to a lawyer by the name of Raymond P Alexander, and the couple ended up returning to Philadelphia. Sometime between 1923 - 1925, Sadie decided to return to school. Since she wanted to work along side her husband, she filled out an application to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The school accepted her application and Sadie became the first Colored female to ever be admitted to the school. Additionally, when Sadie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1927, she became the school's first Colored female to ever graduate from the school, and the first to ever be admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar. Furthermore, Sadie, was the first Colored female to ever practice law in the entire State of Pennsylvania! Upon her admission to the State Bar, Sadie joined her husband's law practice as partner just as she had planned. A few of her accomplishments included : her being elected the first Honorary National President of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated in 1919, where she served as legal advisor for the Sorority for 35 years ; she served on the board of the National Urban League for 25 years ; and she was one of the founding members of The National Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in 1963. On November 1, 1989, Sadie M Alexander went home to glory. An elementary school in West Philadelphia, the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School, frequently referred to as "Penn-Alexander" is named after Sadie.