Dame Albertha Magdelina Isaacs DBE ( Hanna; 18 April 1900 – 1 August 1997) was a Bahamian teacher, tennis player, women's rights activist and politician. After a career as an elementary school teacher, she played on the international tennis circuit, winning both singles and doubles titles in the 1930s. Returning to the Bahamas, she became involved in the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement in the country, helping gain the vote in 1962. She was the second woman to be appointed as a Senator in the Bahamas and the first woman to be awarded the honorary title of Dame Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. An annual trophy awarded at the Commonwealth Caribbean Lawn Tennis Championship bears her name.

Early life

Albertha Magdelina Hanna was born on 18 April 1900 in Saint Matthews Parish on

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

to Lilla Celeste (née Minns) and Robert Samuel Hanna. She attended Girls Cosmopolitan School and later the Victoria Schools of Nassau.

Career

After completing her education, Hanna began working as a grammar school teacher. On 20 February 1922, in Nassau, Hanna married Edward Adolphus Isaacs Jr., who was known as Ned. After around a decade, she left education and pursued a career as a professional tennis player. She was a co-founder of the Gym Tennis Club of Nassau. Throughout the 1930s, Isaacs competed in international tennis events. By 1934, she was ranked #13 on the U.S. tennis tour and was the title holder in Florida, Georgia and Nassau. She played both singles and doubles, winning the singles match in 1934 and doubles in 1937 along with E. Lilyan Spencer, at the Southern Open Championship held at

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

. When the

Progressive Liberal Party The Progressive Liberal Party (abbreviated PLP) is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party. History The PLP was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Cyril Stevenson, and Henry Milton ...

(PLP) was founded in 1953, Isaacs was one of the founding members of the Women's Branch of the PLP. Because women's roles were limited to fundraising, she turned her attention to the suffrage movement and focused on gaining the right to vote. Socio-economic barriers to women created disadvantages in education, employment, family support, inheritance and political activism. Isaacs and other feminists worked within women's organizations both locally and internationally to lobby for the right to vote. In the late 1950s the PLP platform included women's suffrage, as they were in favor of majority rule government. In 1958, Isaacs was one of the women who founded and served on the executive committee of the National Council of Women. By 1960, the suffrage movement had gained ground with the

United Bahamian Party The United Bahamian Party (UBP) was a major political party in the Bahamas in the 1950s and 1960s. Representing the interests of the white oligarchy known as the Bay Street Boys, including Stafford Sands, it was the ruling party between 1958 and ...

as well and in 1962, Bahamian women won the right to vote. In 1969, Isaacs was appointed as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the PLP, second woman Senator of the Bahamas, after

Doris Sands Johnson Dame Doris Sands Johnson (19 June 192121 June 1983) was a Bahamian teacher, suffragette, and politician. She was the first Bahamian woman to contest an election in the Bahamas, the first female Senate appointee, and the first woman granted a ...

who had been appointed in 1967. In the 1970s, Isaacs served on the board of the Licensing Authority.

Awards and honours

In 1974, Isaacs was granted the honorary title of Dame Commander of the

. The award marked the first time the honour had been given to a Bahamian woman. The following year, Isaacs was honoured by the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association when they created an annual award bearing her name. The Dame Bertha Isaacs trophy is awarded at the Commonwealth Caribbean Lawn Tennis Championship to the female player who has demonstrated the highest standard of court behavior, quality of play and sportsmanship.

Death and legacy

Isaacs died in August 1997 in Nassau, Bahamas. In 2012, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of women gaining the vote in the Bahamas, a series of stamps was issued featuring prominent women's rights activists. Isaacs's likeness appears on the 70 cent stamp. Her great-grandson is former Bahamian Major League Baseball player and current

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

First Base Coach

Antoan Richardson Antoan Edward Richardson (born October 8, 1983) is a Bahamian-American professional baseball coach currently serving as the first base coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves and New Yor ...

. In his previous coaching stop with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

he wore the number 00, representing her birth year to honor her legacy. She was also the sister-in-law of Bahamian lawyer and politician Sir Kendal Isaacs. Her grandson is Justice Jon Isaacs, the curren
President of the Supreme Court of The Bahamas

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, Bertha 1900 births 1997 deaths People from New Providence 20th-century women educators Bahamian female tennis players Members of the Senate of the Bahamas Progressive Liberal Party politicians Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Bahamian suffragists 20th-century Bahamian women politicians 20th-century Bahamian politicians