Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years facts for kids
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| Author | A. Elizabeth Delany Sarah L. Delany Amy Hill Hearth |
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| Language | English |
| Subject | Biography/Oral History |
| Publisher | Kodansha America |
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Publication date
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September 19, 1993 |
| Media type | Book/Audio |
| Pages | 210 |
| ISBN | 978-1-56836-010-2 |
| OCLC | 28221947 |
| 921–928 | |
| Followed by | The Delany Sisters Book of Everyday Wisdom |
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years is a super popular book from 1993. It shares the amazing life stories of two sisters, Sarah "Sadie" Delany and A. Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany. They were pioneers for civil rights, born a long time ago to a dad who was once a slave. A reporter named Amy Hill Hearth first wrote about them in The New York Times in 1991. People loved their story so much, it became this book!
This book came out in September 1993. It was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years! More than five million copies have been sold. The book was so inspiring that it later became a Broadway play in 1995 and a CBS TV movie in 1999. It has also been translated into six different languages.
In 1995, the American Library Association called it one of the "Best Books of 1994." It also won the Christopher Award for Literature and an American Booksellers Book of the Year (ABBY) Honor Award.
Contents
How the Book Was Made
The Original New York Times Story
On September 22, 1991, an article by Amy Hill Hearth appeared in The New York Times. It was titled "Two 'Maiden Ladies' With Century-Old Stories to Tell." This article introduced the Delany sisters to many people for the first time.
Sarah "Sadie" Delany and A. Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany were two amazing women. They were born to a father who had been a slave. They had so many incredible stories about their long lives and experiences.
Turning the Story into a Book
A book publisher in New York read Amy Hearth's article. They asked her to write a full book about the sisters. Amy and the sisters agreed to work together. They spent two years collaborating to create the book.
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years was published in September 1993. It quickly became a huge hit.
What the Book is About
Having Our Say tells the true story of the Delany sisters' lives. It shares the challenges and triumphs they faced over 100 years. The book gives a positive look at African-American life in the 1890s. The sisters preferred to be called "colored."
The book shares their lives with humor and wisdom. It starts with their happy childhood in North Carolina. The sisters grew up in a special way. They lived on the campus of St. Augustine's School (now St. Augustine's University) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Their father, Rev. Henry B. Delany, was the school's Vice-Principal. He was born into slavery but later became the first African-American Episcopal Bishop in the United States. Their mother, Nanny Logan, was a teacher and administrator.
Later, laws called Jim Crow laws made life harder for Black people. These laws caused the Delany sisters to move to Harlem, New York. Sadie moved there in 1916, and Bessie followed two years later.
Sisters' Careers and Achievements
The sisters were successful in their careers. They were also civil rights pioneers. They faced racism and sexism but supported each other. Both sisters aimed high and earned advanced college degrees. This was very rare for women, especially women of color, at that time. They were successful in their jobs from the 1920s until they retired.
Sadie went to Pratt Institute. Then she transferred to Columbia University. She earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1920. She got her master's in education in 1925. Sadie was the first African-American allowed to teach Domestic Science in New York City high schools. She retired in 1960.
Bessie graduated from Columbia University's School of Dental and Oral Surgery in 1923. She was only the second Black woman licensed to practice dentistry in New York state. Bessie retired in 1956.
The Delany sisters lived together in Harlem, New York for many years. They later moved to the Bronx when it was still rural. Finally, they moved to Mt. Vernon, New York. There, they bought a house with a garden. Neither sister ever married, and they lived together their whole lives.
The reason we've lived this long is because we never married. We never had husbands to worry us to death!
—Bessie Delany in Having Our Say
Lasting Impact of the Book
The book has sold over five million copies. It inspired a Broadway play in 1995 and a CBS television film in 1999. It has also been translated into six languages. In 1995, it was named one of the "Best Books of 1994" by the American Library Association. It also won the Christopher Award and an ABBY Honor Award.
More Books from the Delany Sisters
After Having Our Say came out, the sisters got many letters. People asked them for advice and encouragement. The sisters, being polite, felt they should answer every letter. So, they worked with Amy Hearth again. They wrote The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom, published in 1994. This book included recipes and photos of the sisters doing yoga.
After Bessie passed away in 1995, Sadie and Amy Hearth wrote a third book. It was called On My Own At 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie. This book follows Sadie during her first year without Bessie. It includes beautiful watercolor pictures of Bessie's favorite garden flowers. This book also became a national bestseller.
In 2003, Amy Hearth wrote The Delany Sisters Reach High. This is a children's biography about the sisters' childhood. It is illustrated by the award-winning artist, Tim Ladwig. This book is used in reading classes for younger students.
Having Our Say on Stage and Screen
Broadway Play
In 1995, Emily Mann adapted the book for the stage. The play, also called Having Our Say, opened on April 6, 1995. It was shown at the Booth Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The play later toured around the United States.
CBS TV Film
In 1999, Emily Mann wrote a screenplay for a CBS television movie. The film was called Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. It starred Ruby Dee as Bessie Delany and Diahann Carroll as Sadie Delany. Amy Madigan played Amy Hill Hearth. The movie first aired on CBS on April 18, 1999. This was just three months after Sadie passed away. In 2000, the film won a Peabody Award and a Christopher Award.
