The Birth Of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated


HERSTORY



Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc was founded on November 12, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana by Mary Lou Allison Little and six teachers: Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Dulin Redford, Bessie M. Downey Martin and Cubena McClure. The charter members are the Founders of Sigma Gamma Rho. These sisters became an incorporated national collegiate sorority shortly after the sorority's founding, when a charter was granted to Alpha chapter at Butler University.

Growth

The first three years were devoted to organizing. The first call for a national boule (convention) was held in Indianapolis, December 27-29, 1925. The second was held in Louisville, Kentucky at which time Fannie O'Bannon became the grand basileus. The first grand basileus, Mary Lou Little, wrote the sorority pledge. The pin was designed by Cubena McClure. The slogan, "Greater Service, Greater Progress," was written by Bertha Black Rhoda, a past grand basileus. Members of the Delta chapter in Louisville, Kentucky wrote the words of the sorority hymn which has since been set to music by Zenobia Laws Bailey of Chicago. Fannie O'Bannon, the second grand basileus, designed the sorority coat of arms.



In keeping with the ideals of Sigma Gamma Rho, the sorority has supported the following organizations: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Council of Negro Women, National Pan Hellenic Council, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Urban League, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, National Mental Health Association, United Negro College Fund, Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, Black Women's Agenda and American Association of University Women.





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