Soror Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson
Founder:
b. Indianapolis, Indiana
Johnson was a product of the Indianapolis Public School System and received both B.S. and M.S. degrees from Butler University. In 1923, she received her first teaching assignment and over the years she was promoted to principal of one of the largest elementary schools in Indianapolis. She was also very involved with many clubs and organizations dedicated to community service and retired in 1966.
Soror Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little
Primary founder, Grand Basileus 1925 - 1926
b. Indianapolis, Indiana
Little was raised by her family friend because both of her parents were killed when she was three. She graduated from Shortridge High School in 1915 and received a diploma from the Indianapolis Normal school in 1918 when she began teaching. In 1928, Little moved to Los Angeles with her husband and finished her undergraduate training in UCLA. She taught in the Los Angeles school system until her retirement in 1967. The Mary Lou Allison Loving Cup Award is presented at each Boule to the chapter reporting the most successful program.
Soror Vivian White Marbury
Founder
b. Oxford, Ohio
Marbury attended Shortridge High School and the Indianapolis Normal School. She received a B.S. from Butler University and a Master's from Columbia University in New York City. Her professional career included teaching at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Director of Practice Training of teachers from Butler University, Indianapolis University and Indianapolis State University. She taught in the Indianapolis school system for nine years. Marbury organized system for nine years. Marbury organized Public School 87 which grew from a 4 room portable school to 18 rooms and 24 teachers, where she was principal for 39 years until her retirement in 1967. She married in 1929 and is the mother of two children.
Soror Bessie Downey Rhoades Martin
Founder
b. Indianapolis, Indiana
Martin was the youngest of he six children and attended grade school in Indianapolis. She graduated from the Manual training High School and the City Teachers Normal. Martin taught school for over 25 years. She married twice and was a devoted wife and hard worker in school and the Sorority.
Soror Cubena McClure
Founder
McClure graduated from Shortridge High School, the Indianapolis City Normal School and attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She won the Gregg Scholarship which she planned to use to attend Columbia University, but due to illness she could not accept the scholarship. McClure was talented in art and she helped to design the Sorority pin. She died very young on August 24, 1924.
Soror Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford
Founder
b. Greenville, Kentucky
Redford graduated from South Bend Central High School cum laude, from Indiana State Teachers College with a B.S., and studied at Western Reserve in Cleveland and Indiana University Extension. She taught one year in Terra Haute, and thirty-seven years in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was Grand Epistoleus, Grand Tamiochus, Financial Consultant and received various awards and honors for the sorority. Plaques are awarded in Redford's name at each Boule for exhibits for chapter achievements.
Soror Dorothy Hanley Whiteside
Founder
b. Indianapolis, Indiana
Whiteside graduated from Shortridge High School and entered the Indianapolis Normal School. In 1922, when in training as a cadet teacher she met the teachers who became her best friends and Founders of the Sorority. She taught school until 1951 when she retired and later helped her husband to develop a business. She also started her own millinery business and worked with her church and various organizations. After the death of her husband, she ran their business from 1955-1957 and returned to teaching in 1959 where she remained until her retirement in 1970.
The Motto "Greater Service, Greater Progress," is the foundation of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,Incorporated.
Our founders Mary Lou Allison Little, Vivian White Marbury,
Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Dulin
Redford, Bessie M. Dawney Martin, and Cubena McClure. Believed that
Knowledge, disipline and hard work is gained through education.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is the ONLY African-American Sorority
founded on a majority White campus. Our seven founders struggled to make
sure that SIGMA was a unique Sorority that was sisterly based. All
around the country you will find SIGMA SORORS friendly and kind.
From these seven young teachers, Sigma Gamma Rho has become an
international service organization comprised of women from every
profession. The divine Unity of sisterhood is a legacy that bonds over
100,000 members found in over 460 chapters in the United States, Africa,
and the Caribbean. Sigma Gamma Rho offers its members opportunities to
develop their unique leadership abilities and talents through leadership training
and involvement in sorority activities. Sorority activities provide an
atmosphere where friendship and professional contacts are developed which
often lead to bonds that last a lifetime. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority was
founded on November 12, 1922 on the campus of Butler University in
Indianapolis Indiana.
In a time when education for African Americans was difficult to attain,
the founders of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. became educators. They
believed that the self-respect, knowledge and discipline gained through
study would help individuals and recognize their duty and responsibility
for their society. Thus, Sigma Gamma Rho was founded on the precept of
education and continues to promote and encourage high scholastic attainment.
In addition to annual scholarships awarded by local alumnae chapters, in 1984 the National Education Fund was created. The fund was designed to insure perpetual support for its commitment to education and for research in education, health and related fields.