Helen Eisemann Alexander

(1922 - 2014)

Helen Eisemann Alexander was an actress, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian. Native to New York, Alexandar moved to Atlanta in the late 1940s and became deeply concerned that no public school services existed for the speech-impaired daughter of an African American employee. She brought together a group of women from The Temple to start a speech school that not only trained learning-disabled minority children, but also teachers. That institution evolved into what is the Atlanta Speech School.

Alexander married Atlanta architect Cecil Alexander and was active in the Black Jewish Coalition among other projects. Alexander’s accomplishments include a vibrant career in the entertainment industry. Her father, Alexander Eisemann, pioneered the manufacture of one of the first commercial radios.

As a young woman, she made it to Broadway in Winged Victory, and acted in plays with Katharine Hepburn, Cicely Tyson, and Celeste Holm. Among other shows, films, and commercials, Alexander was cast in the film version of Driving Miss Daisy, set in Atlanta. She was active in Democratic politics and raised funds for Spelman College, the American Red Cross, and numerous other causes.