On June 3, 1973 Des Moines misplaced a real first girl: Audra Alexander. Whereas some knew her solely because the spouse of Archie Alexander many extra acknowledged her as an actress, socialite, philanthropist and connoisseur of the humanities. Initially, my analysis, discovered it difficult to uncover her contributions, as she appeared was overshadowed by the accomplishments of her husband, who was a famend engineer and politician. Nonetheless, as I scrolled via extra newspapers and footage I turned higher acquainted with the Alexanders. Right here’s what I discovered:
Audra Linzy was born in Wheeler County, Nebraska, in 1889 and later relocated together with her household to Denver, Colorado. In 1913, Archie Alexander swept her off of her ft, and the pair had been married. They determined to begin their new life in Archie’s dwelling city of Des Moines, Iowa. Audra turned very concerned within the social scene significantly with performing. She participated in a number of performs of all types starting from drama to comedy. In 1916, she performed the position of Miss Johnnie Bell Randolph within the play Southern Cinderella carried out with the Kimona Dramatic Membership. She continued her profession in 1918 with Robert M. Baker’s comedy For One Night time Solely and in 1919 was awarded with the main position, Mrs. Western, within the drama The Bracelet by Alfred Sutton. She additionally preformed in church profit performs akin to Maud Crane in 1915. These performances had been usually organized and sponsored by neighborhood organizations, primarily, the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP or the Mary Church Terrell Membership.
As I found extra concerning the Alexanders I discovered that they had been VERY concerned with the NAACP. As a matter of truth, across the time of Southern Cinderella, Archie Alexander was elected to the vice presidential place of the DM NAACP. Two years later, the proper pair shared fairly the parallel when in 1918 Audra was chosen for a similar place within the Nationwide Affiliation of Coloured Girls. She inducted over 253 new members into this system. This similar 12 months she turned secretary of the Mary Church Terrell Membership No. 1 , a nationwide social membership for Black ladies devoted to civil rights and the uplifting of Black People. The Des Moines chapter of The Hyperlinks Inc., an elite volunteer service group for African American ladies, so elite that it was invite solely, was chartered in her dwelling. Due to her love for the humanities she was additionally concerned within the Dilettante Membership, which supported Black artwork and music locally. Throughout this time, the facility couple’s standing grew immensely as that they had solidified their place within the social scene.
I struggled to seek out details about the Alexander’s lives from the Twenties-1940 however the paper path picked again up in 1944 with the home on Chautauqua Parkway.
By the Forties, the Alexanders had been fairly financially snug and determined to purchase a home in North Des Moines. The home at 2200 Chautauqua Parkway caught their eye and in January of 1944 they tried to buy it. Nonetheless, the opposite residents of this all-white North Des Moines neighborhood, weren’t in favor of sharing their neighborhood with a Black couple, irrespective of how profitable. The opposite property house owners tried to implement a restrictive covenant which said that “any individual of African descent” was restricted from shopping for the property till 1948. This led to an 11-month lawsuit in opposition to the Alexanders which was finally dropped, permitting the Alexanders to proceed with the acquisition.
With their collected wealth and standing the Alexanders attracted the attention of the President Dwight Eisenhower, due to Archie’s longstanding help. The President granted Mr. Alexander the place of governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1954 which he graciously accepted after visiting the territory along with his spouse and experiencing its magnificence. Sadly, the couple was compelled to maneuver again dwelling after Archie was plagued with coronary heart points. A couple of years after their departure Archie handed away of their Chautauqua dwelling from a coronary heart assault in 1958 leaving Audra a widow. He was preceded in loss of life by their son Archie Alexander Jr. who tragically handed in 1939 on the age of 14.
Audra lived one other 15 years, and continued contributing to the progress and wellbeing of Black ladies and ladies in Iowa and throughout the nation. As part of the Nationwide Affiliation of Coloured Girls she funded and assisted with the Memorial House Fund, which raised cash for the memorialization of the house of Frederick Douglass. Madame CJ Walker additionally participated and carried out the mortgage burn for the property, making certain its monetary security.
On the finish of her life in 1973 Audra’s property was estimated to have a worth of $164, 643, the equal for this right this moment is over $1 million {dollars}. The vast majority of this was from shares and bonds and the remaining was a mix of the worth of the house, her husband’s belief fund, and miscellaneous property. Her dwelling went to a different Iowa energy couple, outstanding attorneys Luther and Willie Glanton. Luther would go on to grow to be the primary African-American decide in Iowa 1958. Willie was the primary African-American member of the Des Moines Metropolis Council and one of many first African People elected to the Iowa Legislature in 1964. After her loss of life, Audra’s appreciable wealth was distributed to her household, in addition to to hospitals, St. Paul AME, which she attended recurrently, in addition to different church buildings and social organizations. A scholarship fund was created in her title to assist pay for the school training of African-American Iowa college students.
Though her husband’s profession usually overshadowed her achievements, Audra Alexander’s vital contributions to the humanities and civil rights stand as a strong testomony to her personal enduring affect and legacy.
Sources
- Afro-American Notes The Des Moines Register Oct 31, 1915 pg 60
- Government Board of Native Department Meets The Des Moines Register January 7, 1916 p 10
- Give Play at East Excessive The Des Moines Register January 23, 1916 p 18
- Mrs. McCree Elected President The Des Moines Register January 20, 1918 p 5
- To Give Comedy The Des Moines Register April 8, 1918 p 10
- Play Main Roles in Drama The Des Moines Register June 06, 1919 p 4
- Negro group Drive Closes Des Moines Tribune Might, 23, 1929 pg 27
- Home Deal Is Blocked For Negro The Des Moines Register September 5, 1954 p 11
- Audra Alexander Obituary Iowa Digital Library June 3, 1973 Girls’s Suffrage in Iowa Assortment (Photograph credit score)
- Alexander Property of $164,643 Des Moines Tribune December 19, 1973 p 39
- Membership Occasion Honors Black Achievements Des Moines Tribune October 25, 1975 p 5
- Black male position fashions honored The Des Moines Register, Patricia Rojas February 3, 1993 p 45
- Home was heart of dispute The Des Moines Register February 16, 2000 p 85
- The Hyperlinks Inc. of DM Celebrates 50 years The Des Moines Register November 6, 2007 p 14
- Historic dwelling proprietor in battle with Des Moines over deep yard gap WHO Des Moines 13, Justin Surrency, March 22, 2022
- Black Historical past Month: Housing Inequality in Des Moines We Are Iowa, Larissa Miles February 20, 2024