First look: Philadelphia's Sadie Alexander statue designs
Why it matters: It would be the second statue of a historic African American woman figure in the city's public art collection.
Context: Alexander, born in 1898, was a Philadelphian who broke barriers in academia and law.
She was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in economics in the U.S., and the first Black woman to graduate from Penn's Law School.
Plus: She was a founding member of Philly's Commission on Human Relations and the first Black woman to serve as the city's assistant solicitor.
Flashback: The city launched its plans for a statue of Alexander late last year.
Zoom in: An online survey, where you can rank your favorite designs and provide feedback, is open through July 9.
A selection committee will use the survey results and other criteria to select a winner at the end of July.
Installation of the statue is expected to start this fall or late 2026.
The design options:
Vinnie Bagwell's "The First Lady of the Law: Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander"
Rayvenn Shaleigha D'Clark's "Democracy's Battle Cry"
Tanda Francis' design
Alvin Pettit's "The Face of Resilience"
Team Wilson, Honzo and Hayes' proposal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Trump upset Smithsonian shows 'how bad slavery was'
Aug. 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump stepped up his criticisms of the Smithsonian on Tuesday, deriding the museums for its negative portrayal of slavery in American history. Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that he would direct his attorneys to "review" the Smithsonian in the same way his administration has sought to reshape colleges and universities. The post comes a week after the White House announced it was subjecting the influential museum consortium to an unprecedented examination of its materials, signaling it had become a focal point in Trump's efforts to transform cultural institutions. In his post, Trump wrote that museums all over the country are the "last remaining segment of 'woke.'" "The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been -- Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future," Trump wrote. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., reacted with a post on X, writing that if "Trump thinks slavery wasn't bad, he clearly needs to spend more time in a museum." Roughly 17 million people visited one of the Smithsonian's 21 museums and galleries last year. Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, who is the first African American to lead the institution and has held the position since 2019, has previously commented on the importance of acknowledging slavery's impact on American history. "I believe strongly that you cannot understand America without understanding slavery, that our notions of freedom, our notions of liberty are juxtaposed with our notions of enslavement," he said in an interview on Face the Nation in 2021. "And so I think that it's not about pointing blame, it's not about remembering difficult moments just to hurt." Last week, three White House aides wrote to Bunch in a letter notifying him the museum would be subject to a review to "ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions." The reshaping of the Smithsonian and its galleries and museums has been part the Trump administration's goal to remove left-leaning ideology from the federal government and cultural institutions. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing the Smithsonian to eliminate "divisive" and "anti-American ideology" from its museums, pointing to exhibits that "promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive." He also named himself chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, seemingly in opposition to its having hosted performances he disagreed with for promoting so-called woke ideology. The move prompted many performances and performers to cancel shows.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Trump says Smithsonian focuses too much on ‘how bad slavery was'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'It's the epitome of dumbness to criticize the Smithsonian for dealing with the reality of slavery in America,' said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian. 'It's what led to our Civil War and is a defining aspect of our national history. And the Smithsonian deals in a robust way with what slavery was, but it also deals with human rights and civil rights in equal abundance.' Advertisement Since taking office, Trump has led an effort to purge diversity, equity and inclusion policies from the federal government and threatened to investigate companies and schools that adopt such policies. He has tried to reframe the country's past involving racism and discrimination by de-emphasizing that history, preferring to instead spotlight a sanitized, rosy depiction of America. Advertisement The administration has worked to scrub or minimize government references to the contributions of Black heroes, from the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought in World War II, to Harriet Tubman, who guided enslaved people along the Underground Railroad. Trump commemorated Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of slavery in the United States that became a federal holiday in 2021, by complaining that there were too many non-working holidays in America. He has called for the return of Confederate insignia and statues honoring those who fought to preserve slavery. And he has previously attacked the exhibits on race at the Smithsonian, which has traditionally operated as an independent institution that regards itself as outside the purview of the executive branch, as 'divisive, race-centered ideology.' Trump's comments also ignore the breadth of the displays in Smithsonian museums. While the National Museum of African American History and Culture, for example, does include exhibits on the Middle Passage and slavery, it also showcases civil rights and cultural icons in Black history. The director of that museum, Kevin Young, stepped down this spring as Trump increasingly targeted the Smithsonian and its museum intended to tell the African American story for all Americans. Trump has often stoked divisions in the United States by tapping into white grievance and framing himself as a protector of white people both in the United States and overseas. Quentin James, a co-founder of the Collective, which aims to elect Black officials in America, said Trump's comments about the museums were an attempt to protect 'white fragility.' Advertisement 'For all of us, it's an assault on our history and an assault on what we know to be true,' James said, while for Trump it is about 'white grievance and him exerting his authority.' The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Trump added in the social media post that he had instructed his lawyers 'to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities.' His administration has pursued an effort to investigate universities that have adopted diversity, equity and inclusion programs, leading to court fights, funding battles and, in many cases, the removal of diversity initiatives. This article originally appeared in .
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court electoral map, after finding the map dilutes the power of Black voters. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the map, which was enacted in 1987, violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in future elections. The Mississippi branch of the American Civil Liberties Union helped litigate the lawsuit, arguing the map cut Mississippi's Delta region — a historically Black area — in half. 'This win corrects a historic injustice," said Ari Savitzky, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. "All Mississippians will benefit from fair district lines that give Black voters an equal voice — and new generations of Black leaders an equal chance to help shape the state's future by serving on the state's highest court.' The lawsuit, which was filed on April 25, 2022, argued the map diminished the Black vote in the Central District. Aycock's ruling notes that only four Black people have served on the Mississippi Supreme Court. All of them held the same seat in the Central District and were first appointed to the position by a sitting governor. Aycock wrote that she will impose a deadline for the Mississippi Legislature to create a new map. Solve the daily Crossword
