Two black sisters, one, 104, the other, 102, share secrets of long life

Jet, Oct 18, 1993 by Trudy S. Moore

Sarah Delany and her sister Elizabeth, who at 102 and 104 respectively, are the world's oldest living co-authors, have written a book that reveals their secrets for a long, happy life.

In their new book, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters, First 100 Years (Kodansha America, $20.00), the siblings, known as Sadie and Bessie, share poignant and humorous details about their lives during the post-Reconstruction 19th Century, Jim Crow, two World Wars, the exhilarating days of the Jazz Age of Harlem and how they managed to survive it all.

But among the most heart-warming aspects of this 210-page book is the sisters' tidbits on how they've managed to outlive many of their contemporaries. For them, the mystery to living a long fruitful life was a combination of fierce independence and not allowing racism to harden their hearts.

Still quick-witted and lively, the centenarians, are the daughters of a man born into slavery who became America's first elected Black Episcopal bishop and a mother who could have "passed" for White if she wanted to.

Raised with eight other siblings on the campus of St. Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C., where their parents taught, they worked to earn money to attend Columbia University and have lived together all their lives.

The years have been easy on these two graceful ladies, who are still vivacious and high spirited. Sadie says, "Life is short and it's up to you to make it sweet" and from the tales and anecdotes covering their first 100 years together that's exactly what they've done.

They jokingly attribute their longevity to their fierce independence and the fact that neither one has married. Graduates of Columbia University, they were pioneer career women. Sadie was the first Black home economics teacher in a New York City high school and her sister was the second Black female dentist in New York State.

"When people ask me how we've lived past 100, I say, |Honey, we were never married. We never had husbands to worry us to death!" quips Bessie.

She added, ". . .I set my sights on the career. I thought, what does any man really have to offer me?". . .And why would I want to give up my freedom and independence to take care of some man?" In her usual outspoken style, Bessie candidly said, "In those days, a man expected you to be in charge of a perfect household, to look after his every need. Honey, I wasn't interested. I wasn't going to be bossed around by some man!"

But on a more serious note, Sadie, the more reserved of the two, explained, "We keep each other going. We've lived together so long we are in some ways like one person. Yet we are completely different in personality."

Their self-prescribed recipe for a long life also includes regular yoga exercises, garlic, cod liver oil, a low-fat diet, vitamin supplements and up to seven vegetables a day. Before Sadie broke her hip this summer, the inseparable siblings rose at 6:30 a.m. for an early-morning yoga workout.

At 7 a.m., they have a breakfast that consists of oatmeal, half a banana, bran and eggs seasoned with pepper and topped with cheese--but no salt. After setting aside time for prayer, they spend the rest of the morning reading and relaxing around their home in Mount Vernon, N.Y., they purchased in 1957.

Lunch consists of about six varieties of vegetables. After lunch, they anxiously await the arrival of the mail carrier, an important, link with the outside world since they refuse to get a telephone. The afternoon is spent writing letters and paying bills. Their dinner is usually just a milkshake, but every now and then they enjoy gelatin or a glass of wine as a special treat.

Their pride and unfaltering spirit also helped them cope with racism and played a great role in their longevity they agree. "I don't let it get to me, "Sadie said, "I just laugh it off, child. I never let prejudice stop me from what I wanted to do in this life."

While racism was probably the greatest obstacle for the sisters to overcome, they agree that living a long life is the best revenge. "We've outlived those old rabby boys," declares Bessie, referring to the racists who gave her such a hard time as a young girl in the South. "That's one way to beat them. That's justice."