Sara Pelham Speaks (November 7, 1902 – August 23, 1984) was an American lawyer and activist. She was the first Black woman to be a major party's nominee for a Congressional seat, when she was the Republican candidate who opposed

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...

in 1944.

Early life and education

Sara Pelham was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Robert A. Pelham and Gabrielle Lewis Pelham. Her father was a lawyer and newspaper editor; her mother was a pianist, organist, music educator, and founder of the Detroit Study Club. Her uncle was a noted civil engineer, Frederick Blackburn Pelham. Her sister was Dorothy Pelham Beckley, the second national president of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

. Pelham graduated from Dunbar High School and from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1924, where she majored in chemistry, and protested unequal treatment at a lunch counter near campus. She completed a law degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1936.

Career

Speaks helped her father organize the Capital News Service and worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C. after college. She ran for a seat in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

in 1937, and won her primary, but lost the general election by a small margin. In 1944, she ran as the Republican candidate against Adam Clayton Powell Jr. for a new Congressional seat in New York City; she lost decisively, partly based on a campaign of rumors about her racial identity, but she won the endorsement of the ''

New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

'', and was the first Black woman to be a major party's candidate for a Congressional seat. The ''New York Amsterdam News'' framed her loss as holding the promise of future success: "The old precedent has been broken and the way opened for a Congresswoman from the ranks of Negro women. The future holds that." She was disbarred in 1948, following accusations of misconduct. Speaks was active in the

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

, Delta Sigma Theta, the New York State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. She worked on Republican presidential campaigns in 1932, 1936, and 1940.

Personal life

Sara Pelham married physician F. Douglas Speaks in 1926; they had one son. She died in 1984, aged 81 years, in New York.

References

External links

Sara Pelham Speaks, with Francis E. Rivers and James R. White, in New York City
(1940), a photograph in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Speaks, Sara Pelham 1902 births 1984 deaths American women lawyers Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni University of Michigan alumni New York University alumni People from Washington, D.C.