ABSTRACT
Alexander was born in 1888 in Ottumwa, Iowa, where there were approximately 500 Blacks out of a total population of 14,000 people. His parents were Price and Mary Alexander. Price earned a living as a coachman and janitor. One of young Archie’s play activities was building dams with his eight brothers and sisters in a creek behind his home. In 1899 the family moved to a small farm outside Des Moines when his father became head custodian at the Des Moines National Bank, a prestigious job for a Black man. In Iowa’s capital city, Alexander attended Oak Park Grammar School, Oak Park High School, and the now-defunct Highland Park College for one year.
