Philadelphia announces competition to commission statue of civil rights activist, Penn graduate

Philadelphia has announced a public art competition to commission a statue of civil rights activist and economist Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, who was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. 

The call for artists will open on Nov. 18, following a meeting to gather input from locals on how to best honor Alexander while representing the city’s history and values. The statue is expected to be installed in Thomas Paine Plaza outside the Municipal Services Building by the fall of 2026.

Alexander was the first Black American to earn a Ph.D. in economics in the United States, which she received from Penn in 1921. She then graduated from Penn Carey Law in 1927. 

Alexander and her husband, Judge Raymond Pace Alexander, fought segregation in Philadelphia’s theaters, hotels, and restaurants in the 1930s, as well as school segregation in Chester County. In 1946, President Harry Truman appointed Alexander to the President’s Committee on Civil Rights after violent attacks on Black veterans. Following the report the committee released one year later, Truman issued an executive order in 1948 to desegregate U.S. military forces.

Alexander “shattered glass ceilings, advocated for underserved communities, and contributed greatly to the city and the nation by expanding economic opportunities for people of color,” according to the Creative Philadelphia website.

The Philadelphia City Council first approved efforts to install a statue honoring Alexander in 2018, but the plans were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. When erected, it will be the city’s second public art statue of a historic Black woman, after Harriet Tubman. However, the statue is not the first effort to honor Alexander. In 2001, Penn and the Philadelphia School District founded the Penn Alexander School in 2001 inspired by her legacy.

The statue competition comes on the heels of the formation of The Sadie Collective, an organization created by young women economists to honor Alexander and her achievements by supporting Black women in economics, finance, policy, and data science. 

The Alexander statue open art competition comes in response to criticism regarding the previous city administration’s decision to award the Tubman statue commission without a public selection process.

“Priority will be given to artists who reflect Philadelphia’s diversity, with strong encouragement for artists who represent racial and ethnic minority groups and women to apply,” the Creative Philadelphia website states. “Local artists who live or work in the Greater Philadelphia area will also be prioritized, but all interested artists are welcome to apply.”