Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany, and her sister Annie Elizabeth “Bessie” Delany, became internationally known after the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the sisters as the world’s oldest authors.

How old did the Delany sisters live to be?

In 1995, the theater version of Having Our Say opened on Broadway. Annie Elizabeth Delany died on September 25, 1995, at the age of 104. Sarah Louise Delany died on January 25, 1999, at the age of 109.

What did Bessie do when she and Sadie encountered a segregated drinking spring for the first time?

The spring where she always went for a drink is now divided into a black side and a white side. Bessie dips her cup into the white side, foreshadowing her later reactions to racism. Though Sadie finds Bessie’s overt defiance dangerous, Bessie stands up to racist behavior many times.

WHy did the Delany sisters move to New York City?

The Delany sisters first saw New York City in 1915, on a visit with their mother. Their father agreed to let them move to New York to attend college. Sadie Delany moved first, in 1916, and Bessie came along a year later. It was one of the rare times when the sisters were separated.