Sadie Chandler Cole facts for kids
Sadie Chandler Cole (1865 – 1941) was an American singer, a music teacher, and a civil rights activist. She lived and worked in southern California.
Sadie's Early Life
Sadie Chandler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents were Abraham Washington Chandler and Sarah Hatfield Chandler. Sadie's parents were brave people who helped others escape slavery through the Underground Railroad. They also helped start a Baptist church in Cincinnati.
Sadie's Amazing Career
Sadie Chandler was a talented singer from a young age. She was part of the famous Fisk Jubilee Singers group. In 1903, she sang at a special event in Los Angeles. This event raised money for Vada Watson to go to the University of Southern California. Later in her life, Sadie led choirs that sang in the jubilee style.
Fighting for Fairness
Sadie Chandler Cole was also very active in fighting for equal rights for Black people in California. As early as 1908, she spoke at a meeting in Los Angeles. She talked about "The Part Women Have Played in the Settlement of the World's Great Problems."
She was a key member of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP when it started in 1913. She was the chapter's first vice-president and went to national meetings to represent them.
Sadie was not afraid to stand up for what was right. In the 1920s, she went into a restaurant on Broadway in Los Angeles. She was refused service because she was Black, and the restaurant had a "Negroes Not Wanted" sign. Sadie bravely took down the sign and even broke some dishes to protest. When the police arrived, they actually supported Sadie!
She also helped make beaches in Los Angeles County open to everyone. After a beach resort for Black swimmers called Bruce's Beach was closed, Sadie took part in a "swim-in" in 1927. This happened at a beach in Manhattan Beach, California that was only for white people at the time.
In 1926, Sadie sang at a special event for the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. In 1928, Mary McLeod Bethune chose Sadie and three other women to represent the national association at a big conference in Hawaii.
Sadie's Family Life
Sadie Chandler married Thomas A. Cole, who became a deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. They lived in Detroit, Michigan before moving to Los Angeles, California. They had two daughters, Florence and Eunice. Their daughter Florence Cole Talbert grew up to be a professional opera singer and a voice teacher.
Sadie Chandler Cole passed away in 1941 when she was 76 years old. She is buried in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. People sometimes visit her gravesite as part of "living history" tours, where actors tell stories about people from the past.
