2022, the centennial year of Sigma Gamma Rho

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. is celebrating its 100th year. | COURTESY OF NEVAEH MILLER

By Mariah Muhammad

100 years ago, the emergence of the last sorority of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., was established.

Organized at Butler University in Indianapolis, the sorority was founded by seven women, both graduate students and professors, who saw a need for sisterhood, scholarship and service, according to the sorority’s website.

At the time of Sigma Gamma Rho’s inception, not only were there issues with racial segregation and the rise of the new Ku Klux Klan, but in 1927, the university put in place a quota system that allowed admission of only 10 African Americans annually, according to an article from the Butler Collegiate.

Despite many barriers, including being the only Black, Greek-lettered sorority founded at a predominately white institution, the sorority, led by Mary Lou Allison Gardner, kept gaining momentum, and on Dec. 4, 1971, nine women chartered the Delta Phi chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho at Ohio State, according to the chapter’s website.

Nevaeh Miller, a third-year in community leadership who joined the sorority in April 2021, is just one of nine members comprising the Delta Phi chapter, and she said she continues to be amazed at the sorority’s progress in communities across the nation.

“Knowing that we were the last created and best designed while pushing out quality over quantity is what makes this sorority the best,” Miller said.

With the sorority’s mission to enhance the quality of life for women and their families, Miller said the sorority emphasizes initiating women capable of succeeding in leadership roles.

“We want to make sure that we have women that can be put in leadership positions to be able to impact our community and family,” Miller said.

The national organization partners with various businesses, foundations and corporations, such as March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization, USA Swimming, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which sponsor and support the members and community learning about women’s health, according to its website. 

“What makes us different from the other three Black sororities is that we promote quality over quantity in making sure we have women who are willing to be in this organization to uplift other women and create opportunities for women and their families to reach their full potential in all aspects of their life,” Miller said. “One person can change a room just as much as 10.”

With its national programs, including Operation BigBookBag, Project Cradle Care and Swim 1922, the sorority has focused its efforts on impacting women, women of color, children and mothers. Kayella Henderson, Ohio State alumna and adviser of the Delta Phi chapter, said she believes the sorority’s slogan, “Greater Service, Greater Progress,” has ignited its advancement through the years.

“It allows for us women to be agents of change in our community and to positively impact those around us to provide leadership development and see the growth of women,” Henderson said.

The Delta Phi chapter, specifically, hosts Poodle Week each semester, where the members and Ohio State students come together to discuss topics ranging from mental health and exercise to human trafficking awareness and campus safety, according to Delta Phi’s Instagram. 

While the sorority does not turn 100 years old until Nov. 12, the celebration is all year long, Henderson said.

“Sigma Gamma Rho has events planned in five different locations throughout the year, calling it the ‘Central Service Tour.’ They are traveling to give back to the community and do programming in these areas,” Henderson said. “We have grown so much throughout the years and expanded SGRho with now having over 100,000 members and 500 chapters nationally.”

The sorority members are planning on traveling to Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and Indianapolis, according to a Nov. 11, 2021 press release. 

Miller said she would advise those thinking of joining a sorority to conduct research on the organization and find their reason for joining that specific group.

For Miller, it was Sigma Gamma Rho’s national Women’s Wellness Initiative, which focuses on women’s health issues, specifically women of color. Seeing domestic violence in her family and being a member of the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, Miller said focusing on women’s health was exactly her mission.

“We want to move forward and progress, so the more service we do, the better the community is going to be,” Miller said.