Sarah Louise "Sadie" Delany (September 19, 1889 – January 25, 1999) was an American educator and
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
pioneer. She was the subject, along with her younger sister
Bessie, of the oral history biography, ''
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years'', by journalist
Amy Hill Hearth. Sadie was the first
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
to teach
domestic science
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...
at the high-school level in the
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
public schools. With the publication of the book about the sisters, she became famous at the age of 103.
Biography
Sarah Louise Delany was born on September 19, 1889, in
Lynch's Station, Virginia. She was the second eldest of ten children born to the Rev.
Henry Beard Delany (1858–1928), the first black person elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, and Nanny Logan Delany (1861–1956), an educator. Rev. Delany was born into slavery in
St. Mary's, Georgia. Nanny Logan Delany was born in a community then known as Yak, Virginia, seven miles from
Danville.
Delany was born in Lynch Station at the home of her mother's sister, Eliza Logan. She was raised on the campus of St. Augustine's School (now University) in
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, where her father was the vice principal and her mother a teacher and administrator. Delany was a 1910 graduate of the school. In 1916, she moved to New York City, where she attended
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, then transferred to
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
where she earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1920 and a master's of education in 1925. She was a New York City schoolteacher until her retirement in 1960. She was the first black person permitted to teach domestic science on the high school level in New York City.
Delany died at the age of 109 in
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...
, where she resided in the final decades of her life. She is interred at
Mount Hope Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Delany Sisters
In 1991, Delany and her sister
Bessie were interviewed by journalist Amy Hearth, who wrote a feature story about them for ''The New York Times'' ("Two 'Maiden Ladies' With Century-Old Stories to Tell"
). A New York book publisher read Hearth's newspaper story and asked her to write a full-length book on the sisters. Hearth and the sisters worked closely for two years to create the book, an oral history called ''Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years'', which dealt with the trials and tribulations the sisters had faced during their century of life. The book was on ''The New York Times'' bestseller lists for 105 weeks. It spawned a Broadway play in 1995 and a television film in 1999. Both the play and film adaptations were produced by Judith R. James and Dr.
Camille O. Cosby.
In 1994, the sisters and Hearth published ''The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom,'' a follow-up to ''Having Our Say.'' After
Bessie's death in 1995 at age 104, Sadie Delany and Hearth created a third book, ''On My Own At 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie.''
Her siblings were:
* Lemuel Thackara Delany (1887–1956)
*
Annie Elizabeth ("Bessie") Delany (1891–1995)
* Julia Emery Delany (1893–1974)
* Henry Delany, Jr. (1895–1991)
* Lucius Delany (1897–1969)
* William Manross Delany (1899–1955)
*
Hubert Thomas Delany
Hubert Thomas Delany (; May 11, 1901 – December 28, 1990) was an American lawyer and civil rights pioneer, and politician. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney, the first African American appointed as Tax Commissioner of New York and one of t ...
(1901–1990)
* Laura Edith Delany (1903–1993)
* Samuel Ray Delany (1906–1965)
Delany was the aunt of science fiction writer
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ; born April 1, 1942) is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, and ...
Jr., the son of her youngest brother.
References
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Sarah Louise Delanyat
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
Authorities —with 7 catalog records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delany, Sadie
1889 births
1999 deaths
Activists for African-American civil rights
African-American writers
American writers
American women centenarians
American women's rights activists
Pratt Institute alumni
People from Campbell County, Virginia
Writers from Raleigh, North Carolina
Writers from Mount Vernon, New York
St. Augustine's University (North Carolina) alumni
African-American Episcopalians
American Episcopalians
Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
Delany family
Activists from New York (state)
Activists from North Carolina
African-American centenarians