Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little
A young Black woman, hair parted center and dressed to nape, wearing a sailor-style collar
Mary Lou Allison, from the 1915 yearbook of Shortridge High School
BornNovember 2, 1896
Kentucky
DiedMarch 8, 1992
Los Angeles, California
OccupationEducator
Known forPrimary founder of Sigma Gamma Rho
Biennial Mary Lou Allison Loving Cup

Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, previously Mary Lou Allison Little, previously Mary Lou Allison,[1] (November 2, 1896 – March 8, 1992) was an American educator and the primary founder of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, as well as its first national president from 1925 to 1926.[2] She taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 35 years through her retirement in 1967.[3]

Originally founded as a professional organization raising standards among teachers,[2] the historically African American sorority broadened its focus and had 70,000 members in 400 chapters across the United States and the Caribbean by the time of her death.[3] At each international biennial international meeting, Sigma Gamma Rho awards the Mary Lou Allison Loving Cup to its most outstanding chapter.[4][5]

Biography

Allison was born November 2, 1896, in Kentucky, and moved with her parents to Indianapolis, Indiana.[4] After both their parents were killed in late 1899 or 1900, she was separated from her brother and raised by a family friend, Katie Johnson, in Indianapolis.[4][6] During high school, she had a scholarship to the John Herron Art Institute,[6] and graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in 1915.[7]

In 1918, Allison earned her teaching certificate in 1918 from Indianapolis Normal School.[8] She taught in Indianapolis from 1918 to 1925.[6]

In 1919, Allison began attending Butler University as a part-time student.[2] In 1922, she gathered a group of her friends at her home to discuss forming a sorority that would raise the standard for teachers, by encouraging them to go beyond their normal school training and pursue undergraduate degrees.[6]

On November 12, 1922, Allison and six of her best friends created Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,[9] an organization for African American educated women to come together and form a sisterhood. The other founders were Vivian White Marbury,[10] Hattie Mae Dulin Redford, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Nannie Mae Ghan Johnson, Bessie Rhodes Martin and Cubena McClure.[11]

Soon after founding the organization, Allison realized she wanted to appeal to more women worldwide. She became the organization's first national president (Grand Basileus) from 1925 until 1926, wrote its pledge, and helped evolve into a national community service sorority. In 1929, the sorority became incorporated into the national collegiate sorority, establishing the Alpha Chapter on Butler campus.[12][2]

In 1928, she moved to Los Angeles, California with her first husband Wilford Gardner,[4] where she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles.[4][6] After becoming a widow, she married Roy Little in 1949. They later divorced.[3] Little taught in the Los Angeles school system for 35 years and retired in 1967.[2]

Little died in March 1992, aged 95, at her home in Los Angeles.[4][3]

References

  1. ↑ Sorority Holds Its Initiation, Indianapolis Recorder, 21 Nov 1931
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little". Butler University Digital Collections. April 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mary Little; Sorority Founder". Los Angeles Times. 1992-03-12. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parks, Gregory S. (2008). Black Greek-letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813172958. p. 127.
  5. ↑ "Mary Lou Allison". The Centennial Anniversary of Sigma Gamma Rho: A Historical Look at the Sorority and Butler University. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Ross, L. C. (2019). The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities. United States: Kensington Books. ISBN 9781575664910. p. 308.
  7. ↑ Shortridge High School, Annual (1915 yearbook): 91. via Digital Indy.
  8. ↑ McClure, Stephanie M. (2011-02-18), ". College Student Satisfaction and Greek Organization Membership", Black Greek-Letter Organizations 2.0, University Press of Mississippi, pp. 294–306, doi:10.14325/mississippi/9781604739213.003.0015, ISBN 9781604739213, retrieved 2023-04-18
  9. ↑ Hughey, M. W., Parks, G. S. (n.d.). A Pledge with Purpose: Black Sororities and Fraternities and the Fight for Equality. United Kingdom: NYU Press.
  10. ↑ "Vivian Irene White Marbury". Women's Activism NYC. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  11. ↑ Sigma Women Stress Rededication In Observance of Founders' Week, Indianapolis Recorder, 9 Nov 1957,
  12. ↑ "Becoming a College Sorority". The Centennial Anniversary of Sigma Gamma Rho: A Historical Look at the Sorority and Butler University. 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
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