OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
LORI E. LIGHTFOOT MAYOR
November 16, 2022
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit along with City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and together with Aldermen Brookins, Mitts, Martin, Villegas, Osterman, Hadden, Scott, Sigcho-Lopez, Rodriguez, King, Vasquez, Tunney, Cappleman, Nugent, Ervin, Moore, Gardiner, Sadlowski-Garza, Waguespack, Dowell and Lopez, a resolution commemorating the 100lh Anniversary of Sigma Gamma Rho.
Your favorable consideration ofthis resolution will be appreciated.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In recognition of its service and appreciation of its positive community outreach, the Members of this Chamber are pleased to congratulate the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary this November, 2022; and
WHEREAS, Sigma Gamma Rho was established on November 12, 1922 by seven young Black women educators at Butler University in Indiana; and
WHEREAS, The sorority was founded in a culture adverse to its goals, just two years after the Bill of Rights was amended to give women the right to vote and in the same year that a Klan Klonvocation was also held in Indiana; and
WHEREAS, Sigma Gamma Rho is the only National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority founded at a predominantly white institution; and
WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority has focused on uplifting the community through sisterhood, leadership, and service, including through programs designed to address maternal and infant outcomes for Black women and helping young women grow into well-rounded students and productive citizens; and
WHEREAS, Sigma Gamma Rho currently has over 500 chapters in the U.S., Bahamas, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Germany, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates; and
WHEREAS, Notable Chicago alumnae of the sorority include Congresswoman Robin Kelly, State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin, Treasurer Melissa Conyers-Ervin, Chicago Deputy Chief of Police Senora Ben, Chicago Police Department Commander Davina Ward, and Coach Tonya Edwards of the Chicago Sky, among others; and
WHEREAS, Other Sigma Gamma Rho alumnae include Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar, Mary T. Washington Wylie, the first Black woman CPA, and Haley Taylor Schlitz, the youngest Black American to earn a law degree, among many others; and
WHEREAS, With "Greater Service, Greater Progress" as its motto, the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority has been a beacon of light for all women for the past 100 years; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this sixteenth day of November 2022, do hereby congratulate the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority on the occasion of its Centennial Celebration; express to it our heartfelt gratitude for its exemplary service to women across the world; and extend to it our best wishes for continued growth and success; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority as a sign of our appreciation and esteem.