31-07-2025
Artist selected to create statue honoring pioneer Sadie T.M. Alexander to stand near Philadelphia City Hall
The design for the statue that will honor Sadie T.M. Alexander, the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's law school, was unveiled Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Alexander was also one of the first Black women to earn a doctorate in the United States.
"For her to be the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in economics in the United States of America itself, that alone was enough as far as I was concerned," Mayor Cherelle Parker said.
Alexander broke barriers in law, economics and academia and fought to protect the rights of Black Americans throughout her life.
CBS News Philadelphia first introduced you to Alexander's trailblazing legacy during Black History Month last year.
Her daughter, Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, helped select the artist and sculptor who created the statue, which will sit in the shadow of City Hall.
"If you know your history, you can be Sadie, you can be Raymond, you can be Mayor Parker. You can be that, but you've got to know your history," Alexander-Minter said during the ceremony.
Sculptor Vinnie Bagwell created the winning design and will make the statue, which is titled "Philadelphia's First Lady of the Law, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander."
"Sadie Alexander's story is not just Black history or women's history, it's American history, and it belongs in the public square," Bagwell said.
The permanent statue will be installed at Thomas Paine Plaza near the municipal services building to serve as a constant reminder of Alexander's inspiring legacy.
"With this sculpture, I intend to honor not only her professional accomplishments but her spirit, the quiet strength, the strategic mind, the grace under pressure," Bagwell said. "I want young girls, especially Black girls, to stand before her likeness and see a mirror."
