Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898 - 1989) was one of the first African American women to earn a PhD (in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, 1921), and the first to enroll in Penn Law School, as well as the first to graduate (1927) and to be admitted to the state bar. Her father, Aaron Albert Mossell II, was the first African American male Penn Law graduate, and her uncle, Nathan Francis Mossell, was the first to graduate from Penn Medical School. Another uncle was the noted painter, Henry Ossawa Tanner. Her grandfather, Rev. Benjamin Tucker Tanner, was an A.M.E. bishop and the founding editor of the A.M.E.'s Christian Recorder.
Dr, Alexander and Raymond Pace Alexander formed one of the first husband-and-wife law firms in the country, specializing in civil right cases, including cases that led to integration of public schools in and near Philadelphia. She also served as Assistant City Solicitor, was named to President Truman's Commission on Civil Rights, and was the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
I found many articles out there in cyberspace about what she and her extended family accomplished, but not any single one seemed to cover it all. So, I'm sharing the one I enjoyed the most. https://chiefcrystal.wordpress.com/…/sweet-sadie-sadie-tan…/
