Upsilon Sigma Alumnae Chapter
SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.
Nashville, Tennessee
"Where Leaders Are Made"
Sisterhood.
Scholarship.
Service.
BE GREATER WITH SIGMA
It is the mission of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. to enhance the quality of life for women and their families in the U.S. and globally through community service, civil, and social action. Our goal is to achieve greater progress in the areas of education, health awareness, and leadership development. Our members, affiliates, staff, and community partners work to create and support initiatives that align with our vision.
How it Started...
SEVEN YOUNG WOMEN, ONE UNITED VISION
Sigma Gamma Rho was founded on November 12, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana at Butler University by seven educators.
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Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian Irene White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford, Bessie Mae Downey Rhoades Martin, and Cubena McClure came together to create an organization that would change the world.
From the very beginning, Sigma Gamma Rho was focused on two things: service and education. This is exemplified both in the sorority’s original motto, “Not for ourselves, but for others,” as well as its current guiding principle, “Greater Service, Greater Progress.”
As a leading national service organization, Sigma Gamma Rho has always met the challenges of the day and continues to grow through Sisterhood, Scholarship and Service.
The History of Upsilon Sigma Alumnae
SEVEN YOUNG WOMEN, CARRYING THE VISION
The Upsilon Sigma Chapter was chartered in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 12, 1939. The charter members were:
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Johnie Baker
Martha Brown
Katie Hobbs
Millie Cartmell
Alice Reynolds
Bessie Walton
Frankie P. Smith
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The chartering occurred seven years after the chartering of the Alpha Beta Undergraduate Chapter at Tennessee A & I College. Soror Martha Brown was instrumental in chartering both the Alpha Beta Undergraduate Chapter and the Upsilon Sigma Alumnae Chapter. Rubye G. Peake served as the Grand Organizer and Ernestine Steele as the Southern Organizer during the Chapter’s inception.
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In its early years, Upsilon Sigma focused on supporting children and the elderly. In1944, the Chapter opened a Day Home and provided assistance to the Grace M. Eaton Home for Children. The Chapter also supported nursing homes and area hospitals, including Homes for Unwed Mothers. To fund these initiatives, the Chapter organized baby contests, garage sales, rummage sales, raffles, and benefit teas, among other activities. Over the years, the Chapter has also hosted fashion shows, teen revivals, scholarship recognition banquets, Teen Pageant, and more. ​
A notable member, Soror Pearl Allen Bryant, became the first Black female Senio Probation Officer in the Juvenile Domestic Relations Court in Nashville and Davidson County in the mid-1940s.​ In 1985, the Chapter mourned the loss of its last two charter members, Johnie Baker Driver and Katie Hobbs Elder. Soror Elder transitioned on December 29, 1985. Soror Driver transitioned on January 2, 1986.
Upsilon Sigma has had several members who served in significant leadership levels at the regional and national level. Myrtle Russell and Dr. Katie K. White served as Southeastern Regional Director (Syntaktes). Other notable leaders include Hattie J. Bond, Sophia Beamon, Darlene Huddleston Anderson, Valerie Bracey, Anna Broome, Dr. Patricia Brock, Karya Beamon Evans, and Davina Powell. Dr. Katie K. White served as the 17th International Grand Basileus and First Grand Anti- Basileus of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She also received the Blanche Edwards Award in 1990.
The Chapter advises three undergraduate chapters: Alpha Beta (Tennessee State University), Alpha Upsilon (Fisk University), and Sigma Delta (Vanderbilt University). In 1992, some of the Upsilon Sigma chapter members helped charter the Nu Zeta Chapter at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Upsilon Sigma engaged in numerous community activities. They collaborated with the Nashville Chapter of March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Meharry-Hubbard Hospital, Metro-Bordeaux Hospital, Nashville Union Rescue Mission, NAACP, Nu-Visions Support Group of the Middle Tennessee Association of the Blind, Bethlehem Center (Tutorial Program), Nashville Shelter for Abused Women and Children, World Baptist Center Summer Program in Support of African American Males, Nashville Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers, and Tennessee State University. The Chapter also distributed care packages and organized sweater drives for unhoused individuals and families of Nashville and Davidson County.
Several Upsilon Sigma members have distinguished themselves with long service records, including Pearl A. Bryant, Effie Driver, Myrtle Russell, Darlene Hutson Anderson, Annie Delk, Essie T. Battle, Rebecca Roberts, Sammie Steele Mitchell, Beulah Gray, and Lucinda Rucker, collectively contributing over 500 years of Sigma service in the Nashville community.
Delois Wilkinson stands out as a tenacious advocate in legislative and governmental affairs, participating in the National Rainbow Coalition, the Davidson County Democratic Women's Club, and serving as a delegate to several Democratic National Conventions.
Past chapter Basilei include Hattie J. Bond, Eva J. Morris, Marian S. Tharpe, Gladys Gragg Walters, Anna K. Broome, Renae J. Collins, Ann Otey, Yvonne Jackson, Valerie Bracey, Dr. Katie K. White, Peggy Martin, Edna Elam and Sandra Hunt.
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Over the years, Sigma Gamma Rho has served as a home for thousands of collegiate and professional women looking for a place to share inspiring life experiences, learn new things, conquer life challenges, thrive in society, and uplift the community through sisterhood, scholarship, and service. The dynamic women of Sigma Gamma Rho have built and sustained a well-known and highly respected reputation for leading positive change. We currently have more than 500 chapters in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
How it's Going...
fun facts
From seven young educators to an international service organization, here are some quick facts about Sigma Gamma Rho.
established:
NOVEMBER 12, 1922 AT BUTLER UNIVERSITY
sorority flower:
YELLOW TEA ROSE
sorority mascot:
THE POODLE
sorority colors:
ROYAL BLUE AND GOLD
sorority slogan:
GREATER SERVICE, GREATER PROGRESS
sorority magazine:
sorority vision:
THE AURORA
We visualize a world in
which all women and their
families reach their full
potential in all aspects of life
and are able to create unlimited
opportunities for future generations.
