In 1922, seven Black women educators met to form the professional organization Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, dedicating themselves to raising the standards of teachers. It was incorporated as a national collegiate sorority in 1929 when a charter was granted to the Alpha Chapter at Butler University. The early members of the Sorority experienced segregated educational opportunities as Black women as well as limited professional opportunities as teachers. For the past 100 years, Sigma Gamma Rho has worked to advance both.

Today, Sigma Gamma Rho has more than 500 chapters in the United States and abroad, and more than 100,000 women, both collegiate and professional, have been members. The Sorority is nationally and internationally known as a Black Greek letter organization and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which is commonly referred to as The Divine Nine. Sigma Gamma Rho is the only Greek organization founded at Butler and the only sorority in The Divine Nine to be founded at a predominantly white institution.

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Mary Lou Allison invited six Black women educators to a meeting on November 12, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Allison, a 1919 graduate of the Indianapolis Normal School, was working in the Indianapolis Public Schools system. She had begun taking classes at Butler University in 1919 and continued to attend part time until 1924. The educators had been meeting since the early 1920s, when Allison brought them together to discuss her vision of a social organization that would promote professional growth for teachers and serve the greater community, especially students. United by a belief in the power of education to effect racial uplift, the women founded Sigma Gamma Rho.

With Allison at the founding were Nannie Mae Gahn, Vivian White, Bessie May Downey, Cubena McClure, Hattie Mae Dulin, and Dorothy Hanley. Most were graduates of two-year teaching schools or would soon graduate, and five would go on to earn bachelor’s or master's degrees from Butler or other universities.

Robert Lee Brokenburr, noted Indianapolis Black attorney, legislator, and civil rights leader, worked with the group as a legal adviser. In December 1922 he filed the Sigma Gamma Rho incorporation papers for the professional sorority as the Grand Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho. Its object was to urge members to further their education and to encourage them to inspire others to do so as well. Membership was restricted to “persons who are school teachers in recognized schools.” The corporation could organize and establish subordinate chapters of Sigma Gamma Rho. There were to be five directors. The first were Allison, Downey, Dulin, Gahn, and McClure. Writing about the history of Sigma Gamma Rho in a letter, Allison recalled that Brokenburr’s “words at that time were prophetic. ‘You young ladies have started something Great and Wonderful for the Women of our Country.’”

The founders of Sigma Gamma Rho confronted many sources of racial prejudice in Indianapolis during the 1920s. In response to the growth of the Black community, white neighborhood “protective” associations formed to restrict movement of Blacks into their neighborhoods. In addition to residential restrictions for Blacks, efforts were made to segregate the city’s public schools. In 1922 the Board of School Commissioners adopted an Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce report calling for the creation of a separate high school for Blacks, and by 1923 elementary schools were predominantly segregated.

It was during this time of increasing segregation that the Ku Klux Klan arrived in Indianapolis. The Klan of the 1920s, known as the Second Klan, supported Prohibition and primarily targeted Catholics as the major threat to its definition of “100 percent American.” Intimidation and threats of violence were also directed toward Blacks, Jews, and ethnic groups. While the Klan supported the segregation campaign in Indianapolis, it was not responsible for its success. Legally sanctioned discrimination existed for decades before the Klan came to power and continued after its collapse.

During the professional sorority’s first three formative years, the Alpha Chapter—comprising the seven founders and other teachers—focused on identity. By 1925 the sorority was ready to convene a convention for all members, and the First National Boule was held in Indianapolis from December 27 to 29. The sorority’s present slogan, “Greater Service, Greater Progress,” was adopted. In 1927 Sigma Gamma Rho launched The Aurora, its official magazine for members. Gertrude Murchison of Gamma Sigma Chapter, Houston, Texas, was the first editor in chief. The first issue was published in July 1928. Throughout its history, the magazine has celebrated the accomplishments of members and called them to action. During the Fifth Boule, held in Cleveland, Ohio, in December 1929, members approved significant changes to the Articles of Incorporation of the Grand Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho. The changes aligned with the sorority’s focus on growth. The name of the corporation and sorority was changed to “Sigma Gamma Rho,” and it became a “college Sorority,” with membership open to “college women who have attended or are attending some recognized college.” Brokenburr filed the amended articles with the state on March 6, 1930. A Charter Committee worked to ensure that “Sigma Gamma Rho was officially granted a charter at Butler University.” Its efforts were successful, with the charter granted to Alpha Chapter at Butler.

These changes were also part of the effort to meet membership requirements in the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NHPC), the umbrella organization for the nine historically Black Greek letter sororities and fraternities commonly referred to as The Divine Nine. In 1937 Sigma Gamma Rho joined the council. SGRho is the only NPHC member that was originally founded as a professional organization and the only NHPC sorority founded at a predominantly white institution. By 2021 Sigma Gamma Rho had more than 500 chapters in the United States and abroad. More than 100,000 women, both collegiate and professional, have been members. The commitment to its slogan, “Greater Service, Greater Progress,” can be seen in a variety of programs and partnerships designed to improve the quality of life for women and their families both nationally and internationally. To learn more about Sigma Gamma Rho and its activities, visit its website at: www.sgrho1922.org/.

The Founders

Mary Lou Allison (Gardner) (Little) is recognized by SGRho as its primary founder. A 1915 graduate of Shortridge High School, Allison earned her teaching certificate from the Indianapolis Normal School in 1918. Her career began in the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). She attended Butler University part time from 1919 to 1924. Her many contributions to SGRho include authoring the pledge in 1925 and serving as the first Grand Basileus (national president) from 1925 to 1926. She taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 35 years, retiring in 1967. Allison died in March 1992. At each Boulé the Mary Lou Allison Little Loving Cup Award is presented to the Sorority’s most outstanding chapter.

Bessie May Downey (Rhodes) (Martin) passed the normal training school examination in 1916. While studying for her teaching degree, Downey had also been caring for her ailing mother, who had worked hard to help pay for her daughter’s education. In 1918 Downey accepted a teaching position with IPS at William D. McCoy School (No. 24). Her mother lived to see her daughter’s career begin but she died shortly thereafter. Downey earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Butler in 1943 and died in May 1947, having been a teacher in the same school throughout her career.

Hattie Mae Dulin (Redford) grew up in South Bend, Indiana. In 1920 she earned a Bachelor of Science from Indiana State Normal School (today Indiana State University) and a Master of Science in Education from Butler in 1939. She wrote her thesis about student government in the elementary schools of Indianapolis. After teaching one year in Terre Haute, Dulin spent 37 years with IPS. She retired from School No. 37 in 1958. Dulin died in July 1990.

Nannie Mae Gahn (Foster) (Johnson) designed the Sorority’s official pin. She enrolled at Butler as a transfer student in 1925. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1932 and a Master of Science in Education in 1941. Gahn’s teaching career began in 1923 at IPS School No. 23. In 1948 she became assistant principal at School No. 26 and later served as principal at School No. 37 for ten years. Gahn retired in 1966; she died 20 years later.

Dorothy Hanley (Whiteside), a native of Tennessee, graduated from Shortridge High School in 1922. While attending high school Hanley worked as a newspaper carrier for the Indianapolis News. When she started her job in 1914, she was the first female carrier for the newspaper. Hanley was training to be a teacher when she met the other founders. During her career she taught in North Vernon, Indiana, and IPS Schools Nos. 4, 26, 37, and 87. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Butler in 1942. She retired from teaching in 1970. Hanley died in June 1985.

Cubena McClure began teaching in the IPS at Schools Nos. 24 and 26. She hosted the Sorority’s first initiation in her home following the December 1922 incorporation. She also assisted Nannie Mae Gahn in designing the Sorority’s pin. In 1923 she attended Butler College for one term. As her teaching career flourished, McClure received a Gregg Scholarship, dedicated to advancing professional training for recipients, from IPS. It was designated for use at Columbia University. She would not get the chance, however, as she died a few weeks after an operation for appendicitis in August 1924.

Vivian Irene White (Marbury) graduated from Shortridge High School in 1917 and then earned her degree from the Indianapolis Normal School. Her distinguished career with IPS included becoming one of its first female and black principals. For 39 years she was principal at School No. 87. While working full time she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Butler in 1931. White helped to establish the Butler Minority Alumni Council and was a charter member. The University awarded the Butler Medal, the highest honor given to alumni, to White in recognition of her service to the community and the world. She died in July 2000.