![]() ![]() Sigma Gamma Rho was fully involved in the Mid-Century Conference on Children, and its leaders were summoned to White House conferences that dealt with many pertinent issues. Sigma "Teen Towns", which centred around art, music, literature, games, and other forms of wholesome recreation, became a thrust of the organisation, and they carried over into the 1950s. Sigma Gamma Rho was visible in the military, the Red Cross, the USO, and similar organisations.Īgainst the backdrop of the war, and with an upswing of juvenile delinquency, the sorority was stirred to develop programs to address this problem. ![]() The African Book Shower Project, designed to send books to Wilberforce Institute in South Africa, was the sorority's first international involvement, and it later expanded into the Linens for Africa Drive and other international projectsĭuring World War II, the sorority suspended its national conventions so that members could support the war effort at home and on foreign soil. For example, circulating libraries on wheels, national literary contest, book exhibits, and book showers for Black colleges were adopted as national programs. In further pursuing its agenda, additional programs to assist in community education and uplift also were established. In response to the dire economic conditions of the times, the sorority established Sigma Gamma Rho's Employment Aid Bureau. The first West Coast chapter was established in Los Angeles and a charter member of that chapter, Soror Hattie McDaniel, became the first Black Academy Award winner in 1939, when she received an Oscar for her performance in Gone with the Wind. The Roaring Twenties ended with the sorority poising itself and moving aggressively to charter more chapters on Black college campuses, particularly the land grant colleges that were experiencing considerable growth in enrolment. The torch of leadership passed through several hands during the 1920s, and the goal of involving women from various regions of the country was reflected in the selection of leaders from coast to coast. This led to the establishment of the Sigma Gamma Rho National Education Fund, which focus on education, research, health, and the awarding of scholarships and grants to students regardless of race, gender, or nationality. After the first national meeting (Boulé) in 1925, it was evident that an education-focused legacy was evolving, but it was during the fifth Boulé, in 1929, that the sorority mandated an aggressive scholarship program that required alumnae chapters to maintain a scholarship fund. Under the leadership of Soror Little, who was to become the first Grand Basileus (National President), members became immersed in developing unity and broad-based goals. National conventions were not called in the early years, because too many other issues needed to be addressed first. Thus, Sigma Gamma Rho's membership had to be expanded it could not be restricted to teachers. Education was to be the mainstay of the sorority, but the organisation also wanted to develop broad horizons with diverse dimensions in order to reach into communities and serve all people. ![]() Soon, however, the members recognised that teaching went far beyond the walls of the classroom and that community service and interaction were needed in order to educate the whole child. Originally the new sorority was to be composed of teachers, and it was to provide support and opportunities for networking to young people, with a focus on professional development. Six other Butler students who had chosen teaching as their profession joined Soror Little in laying the foundation for a new sorority and further advancing the Black fraternal movement. Because Black students could not join the all-white Greek sororities at Butler, a tough and determined Black female, Mary Lou Allison Little, envisioned the need to pull Black women together into the bonds of sisterhood. Three other sororities of Black women, all founded at Howard University, had already been established in the early 1900s. "Greater Service, Greater Progress" was to become the slogan and call of the organisation that made November 12, 1922, a significant date in the history of the Black Greek system, for this date would mark the establishment of the first sorority of Black women on a predominantly white campus, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The group became an incorporated national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to the Alpha chapter at Butler University. These founding members are the "Seven Pearls" of Sigma Gamma Rho. was organized on Novemin Indianapolis, Indiana by Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little and six teachers: Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford, Bessie Mae Downey Rhodes Martin and Cubena McClure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |