Prompt Cast
Sadie Alexander's Impact on Economics and Civil Rights
TLDR Despite facing challenges in finding a professorship in economics, Sadie Alexander, the first black economist, continued to contribute to the field through civil rights law and activism. Her work included conducting audit studies to test for racial discrimination, advocating for full employment policies, and grappling with economic advancement for black people in the United States.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Sadie Alexander, the first black woman to receive a PhD in economics in the U.S., was a civil rights attorney who may have continued to contribute to economics despite being shut out of the field.
03:22
Nina Banks uncovers evidence that Sadie Alexander, the first black economist, did not completely abandon economics despite being pushed out of the profession.
06:58
Sadie Alexander faced challenges in finding a professorship in economics, leading her to pursue a law degree and become a prominent figure in civil rights law and activism.
10:11
Sadie Alexander and her husband conducted audit studies to test for racial discrimination in Philadelphia, pioneering a method now commonly used to isolate the variable of race and test for discrimination.
13:32
Nicole Lewis, the great-granddaughter of Sadie Alexander, initially knew little about her great-grandmother's economic thoughts until discovering Nina Banks' scholarship, which revealed a more comprehensive understanding of Sadie Alexander's work in grappling with the economic advancement of black people in the United States.
16:52
Sadie Alexander's speeches, spanning six decades, covered topics such as black achievement in response to eugenics beliefs prevalent in the United States, and she was an early advocate for full employment policies, even promoting a federal jobs guarantee in 1945.
20:11
Nina Banks spent decades restoring the economic thinking of Sadie T.M. Alexander, publishing a book that highlights the academic rigor of Alexander's speeches and writings that could have significantly impacted the field of economics if recognized earlier.
