INSIGHT

The story of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. began in the 1920s, at a time when the Klu Klux Klan dominated the daily life and politics of the state of Indiana.  Seven schoolteachers from Butler University saw the need to create an opportunity for African American women to aid in the advancement of their community through their most powerful resource--education.  Seven schoolteachers:  Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, Cubena McClure, Bessie Downey Rhoades Martin, Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, and Dorothy Hanley Whiteside founded Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. on November 12, 1922.  The organization was incorporated on December 30, 1929.

Since those early days, Sigma has continued to grow as a sisterhood and as a nonprofit organization.  To date Sigma celebrates her members in more than 450 undergraduate and alumnae chapters in the United States, Bermuda, Virgin Islands and Europe.  As we celebrate our 86th anniversary this fall, we are excited about opportunities for further sisterhood into Asia and Africa.