Delany, Sarah Louise, 1889-1999

Variant names

Hide Profile

Sarah Louise Delany (b. Sept. 19, 1889, Lynch's Station, VA-d. Jan. 25, 1999, Mount Vernon, NY) was the daughter of Rev. Henry Beard Delany (1858–1928), born a slave and later the first Black person elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US, and Nanny Logan Delany (1861–1956), an educator. Sarah was also known as Sadie and spent her career teaching high school for the New York City Public Schools; she was the first black person permitted to teach domestic science on the high school level in New York City. She earned degrees from St. Augustine's School (1910), Pratt Institute (1916), Columbia University (BA, 1920; MA, 1926). Delany found she could not support herself on her teaching salary in her early days. She began baking to sell to colleagues and eventually rented a loft in the late 1920's to make her confections. "Delany's Delights" were sold all over New York; the business closed after the 1929 stock market crash

Sarah and her sister Bessie were interviewed in the New York Times by Amy Hearth. The sisters with Hearth wrote an an oral history called "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years" which was turned into a play and film.

Sarah lived in Harlem and socialized with many of the most prominent blacks of that era, including W. E. B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn M. Moran Weston Papers, 1824-1994 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn DiSanto, Grace. [North Carolina authors literary ephemera : D]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Weston, M. Moran, 1910-. Papers, 1824-1994. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn McCarter Theatre production materials, 1994-2007 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Columbia University corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Columbia University. Teachers College. corporateBody
sibling of Delany, Annie Elizabeth, 1891-1995 person
sibling of Delany, Hubert T. person
associatedWith Hearth, Amy Hill person
associatedWith McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, N.J.) corporateBody
employeeOf New York City Department of Education corporateBody
associatedWith New York Times Company. corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Pratt Institute corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf St. Augustine's School (Raleigh, N.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Weston, M. Moran, 1910- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Mount Vernon NY US
Lynch's Station VA US
Subject
Occupation
Teachers
Authors
Activity

Person

Birth 1889-09-19

Death 1999-01-25

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b282w4

Ark ID: w6b282w4

SNAC ID: 56473936