4 The Compass
Thursday, March 18, 1999
North Carolina-Born
Actress, Sadie Delany
Dies In Raleigh At 109
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By Staff
Sarah L. "Sadie" Delany, affection
ately known as Miss "Sadie" who,
along with her sister Bessie, co
authored two best-selling books on
their triumphs over Jim Crow and se
crets of long life, died Monday Jan.
25th in Raleigh.
"We've lost a legend in the commu
nity," said historian Linda Simmons-
Henry, who has documented the ac
complishments of African-Americans
in North Carolina for several years.
"Sadie gained a lot of her education
here, spent her early years here and
made quite an impact."
With her younger sister. Dr. Annie
Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany, a dentist,
Sadie Delany became a national celeb
rity in 1993 when they published their
first book, an oral history called "Hav
ing Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First
100 Years."
"She was a very fine lady, very sweet
and very industrious," said Nan
Delany, one of her nieces who lives in
Raleigh. "She considered Raleigh as a
home, although she had not lived here
for a long time."
Sadie Delany was bom in Raleigh in
1889. She grew up with her nine broth
ers and sisters on the campus of St.
Augustine's College, where their fa
ther, Henry Bernard Delany, was also
active at the college.
Delany Drive, a street near St.
Augustine's cormecting Glascock Street
and Milbumie Road, is named for the
family.
After graduating from St.
Augustine's, the sisters moved to New
York. In 1926, Sadie earned a master's
degree in education from Columbia
University and became the first black
high school home economics teacher
in New York City. Bessie went on to
become the second black woman in
New York City to practice dentistry.
The sisters hung out with well-
known figures of the Harlem Renais
sance including poet Langston Hughes
and writer Countee Cullen.
Neither of the sisters married, and
they often said that it was one of the
reasons for their long lives. Bessie, the
more outspoken of the two, often put
it this way: " We never had husbands
to worry us to death."
The sisters first book came about as a
result of a New York Times article that
detailed their spunk and wisdom. It
was published in 1991.
The award-winning memoir "Hav
ing Our Say" was on the New York Times
best-seller list for 19 months, sold more
than 900,000 copies and has been trans
lated into four languages. It became a
Broadway play in 1995.
The sisters appeared on a number of
television shows and shared their tales
about how they endured a segregated
south at the beginning of the century
and went on to become black profes
sionals. Bessie Delany died in 1995 at
the age of 104.
Sadie Delany continued living at
their Mount Vernon, N.Y home with
assistance from relatives, and penned
a third book, "On My Own at 107: Re
flections on Life Without Bessie."
Tazewell Thompson, who directed
"Having our Say" at Playmakers The
atre in Chapel Hill, said the Delanys'
story will have added significance be
cause of Miss Sadie's passing.
"Sadie was more the momma's child,
very calm and agreeable," he said.
"When I think about her today, it's not
a sad day. It's a cause for celebration
because she can be reimited with her
sister.
Ms. Delany is survived by 16 nieces
and nephews.
“Ovuomaroro”Latest ECSU Art Gallery Exhibit
“Ovuomaroro,” an art exhibit featuring the work of
Obomeyoma, Bruce Onobrakpea, and his four assistants,
was featured in the Elizabeth City State University Art
Gallery throughout February during Black History Month.
The show opened with a reception and gallery talk that
was attended by about 100 people on Friday, Jan. 20. The
gallery talk was given by Mr. Richard A. Singletary, a
Portsmouth, Va. based historian, who is completing his
Ph.D. dissertation on the work and Orhobo culture of Mr.
Onobrakpeya and his assistants.
The work “transcends culture and is a natural synthesizer
of life on the continent,” said Mr. Singletary.
Professor Alexis Joyner of the ECSU Art Department
spear-headed the effort to bring the exhibit to the campus.
The show, which featured more than 40 works by Mr.
Onobrakpeya, represents a kind of homecoming for the
artist.
“I think that it’s like coming home,” Mr. Joyner said.
“He did his Fullbright here in 1978. Since that time he’s
continued to be very active and has become world
renowned.” Mr. Onobrakpeya and his assistants work in
the Ovuomaroro Art Gallery and Studio located between
the industrial and residential areas of Mushin in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Mr. Joyner says that one of the major aims of the show,
which features more than 40 works from Mr. Singletary’s
personal collection and others on loan from the artist, is to
widen the audience and reception for Africa and African
art.
“I think one of the most important things that should
come out of the show is a broadening of the narrow vision
that we (Americans) have of African art, Mr. Joyner said.
“When we think of African art, all too often we think only
about tribal things - the mask and sculpture.”
“This brother and his assistants are showing us some
things that are alive and kicking in contemporary art,” he
added/
Fellow art professor Drusiano Scerbo said the exhibit is
one that all of the students at the University should see
because of its artistic merit and cultural importance.
“The work is important because it reflects African cul
ture in any aspect of life and because it comes from within
the person, the artist,” Scerbo said. “The whole feeling of
the work should be important for students.”