Ga. Theatre Presents More Than 100 Years Of Delany Sisters

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February 20th, 2017

Bessie and Sadie Delany became household names in the early 1990s. And at that time, they were both over 100 years old.  

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The sisters alongside reporter Amy Hill Hearth wrote “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years.” It chronicled the sisters’ lives from Jim Crow and the Harlem Renaissance through Civil Rights and beyond. Their story was also adapted for the stage, and the Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s production is on stage through March 5 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

The sisters were born in North Carolina. Their parents had been slaves, and despite many hardships, their parents and eight other siblings all had accomplished lives. After moving to Harlem, Bessie Delany became the second black woman in New York to become a dentist. Sadie Delany became a fervent and celebrated educator.

“Their story is not unlike the tale of a lot of oppressed people and families, who see themselves as not just one who achieves for the sake of achieving, but who must make a difference in the world,” Andrea Frye, who is directing the play at Georgia Ensemble Theatre, said in an interview with Lois Reitzes.

Even in their old age, the Delanys kept up their home and were very sharp, able to remember the smallest of details about the past.

“Do you know what their longevity and acuteness of mind to? Never having been married,” Frye said, laughing.

Bessie Delany passed away at 104 in 1995, and Sadie Delany died at 109 in 1999. 

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