Sadie L. Adams

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Sadie L. Adams, born Sarah C. Lewis in 1872 in Staunton, Virginia, was an African-American teacher, suffragist, and club leader. She was one of the first Black women to serve on Chicago’s election board and helped found the Douglas League of Women Voters. In 1916, she represented Chicago’s Alpha Suffrage Club at a national conference, and she later led the Chicago and Northern District Association of Colored Women’s Clubs from 1921 to 1934.

In Chicago, Adams worked to improve resources for Black youth and women. She led her church’s Dorcas Society, helped run the Baby’s Relief Club, and supported the Amanda Smith Industrial School for Girls as a trustee. She was active with groups like the Women’s City Club and the YWCA and contributed to war work during World War I as part of the State Council of Defense.

Adams was a key suffrage organizer. She joined the Alpha Suffrage Club, served as its secretary, and helped build a Black voting bloc in Chicago. She attended national and state conferences to push for women’s rights and worked with both Black and white women on suffrage and related issues. She helped organize events, chaired committees, and played a role in the broader leadership of the National Association of Colored Women.

She remained a prominent advocate after the war, helping to shape the League of Women Voters and representing Black women in national discussions about policy and rights. Adams also helped bring attention to peace and international relations within women’s clubs and supported events that promoted racial and gender equality.

Sadie L. Adams died on July 30, 1945, in Chicago. She is remembered as a dedicated leader who used her position to improve life for Black women and children and as an important figure in the early American suffrage movement.