As a leading international, nonprofit community service organization, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. meets the challenges of the day and continues to grow through service, scholarship and sisterhood.
On Thursday, the sorority, founded by seven educators at Butler University in Indianapolis, will celebrate 93 years of service and history.
The young women started the organization during turbulent times nationally and on campus, as they endured both sexism and racism in the Midwest. In the 1920s, Indianapolis was a hotbed for Ku Klux Klan activity and the head of the Ku Klux Klan lived across the street from the original Butler campus.
But that didn’t stop the seven founders -- Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian Marbury, Nannie M. Johnson, Hattie Redford, Bessie Martin and Cubena McClure.
On Nov. 12, 1922, they started a teachers group that eventually became an international collegiate sorority with more than 90,000 women.
At its founding, Sigma Gamma Rho became the only black Greek letter organization founded by university graduates instead of undergraduates. It is also the only black Greek-letter sorority founded outside of Howard University. The sorority was incorporated in 1929.
“We are so proud of the seven amazing women at Butler University who led the way. We continue their dream of providing leadership, mentorship and opportunities for women to do more and be more,” said Bonita M. Herring, the current international president of Sigma Gamma Rho. “As we celebrate 93 years, I am proud of Sigma Gamma Rho’s role in our communities and our service to others.”
Sigma Gamma Rho provides opportunities for members to develop unique leadership abilities and talents through training and involvement in activities and programs.
The sorority has more than 500 chapters in the United States, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Korea and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It aims to enhance the quality of life within the community through public service, leadership development and education of youth.
Sigma Gamma Rho addresses concerns that impact society educationally, civically and economically. The sorority has a proud legacy of providing positive and proactive community leadership and support as indicated by the sorority's international slogan, "Greater Service, Greater Progress."
