Tau Omega 95th Book

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ®

Tau Omega Chapter History Committee

Doris R. Conner- Chairman

Satrina Boyce Christine Dudley

Adina Johnson Nicole Jordan Jones

Marissa Mack La’Shawn Capri Parker

Anjanette Ferris Senatus Kamilah Smith

Barbara Young

Celebrating 95 Years

Table of Contents

``` Page

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Greetings from President, Michelle B. Hardy…………………………………………………… 3

Dedication of Booklet……………………………………………………………………………………… 4

A Prose Dedication by Virginia Lee………………………………………………………………….. 5

The Pacesetters of the Harlem Renaissance

Gertrude Elise McDougal Ayer………………………………………………………………………. 8

Thelma Berlack Boozer …………………………………………………………………………………. 10

Ruth M. Handy………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

Elizabeth Ross Haynes…………………………………………………………………………………… 13
Anna Arnold Hedgeman……………………………………………………………………………….. 15

Addie D. Waites Hunton………………………………………………………………………………. 17

Caterina Jarboro………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19

Mabel Bickford Jenkins………………………….……………………………………………………… 21
Geraldyn Hodges Desmond Major………………………………………………………………. 22

Vivian Carter Mason………….…………………………………………………………………………. 24

Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne……………………………………………………………………. 26

Ruth Logan Roberts…………………………………………………………………………………….. 28
Sonoma Talley…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30

Helen E. Hagen Williams……………………………………………………………………………… 31

Poem by Carline Hill…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

INTRODUCTION

In celebration of our 95th Anniversary, Tau Omega Chapter while continuously strengthened by our on-
going work within our community, is humbled by our quest to gain knowledge of our past. As we salute
our Chapter’s history and our African American culture, we pay tribute to our Chapter’s legacy during the
Harlem Renaissance experience.

Tau Omega Chapter emerged in 1925 during the Harlem Renaissance, a time when Black Americans were
inspired to create works rooted in their own culture. The Harlem Renaissance coincided with the Jazz
Age, a time of innovative ideas and modernism with rapid cultural and social changes. Harlem became a
cultural center buzzing with new ideas and attracting African American scholars, poets, artists, actors,
musicians and singers along with political thinkers who articulated the dissatisfaction of people of color.
Understanding their responsibility as Alpha Kappa Alpha women, the ladies of Tau Omega Chapter
emerged focused on the concerns dealing with racism, human rights, education, health and community
assistance. Tau Omega Chapter would become known both locally and nationally. In 1926, at Alpha Kappa
Alpha’s National Convention, Tau Omega charter member Portia Wiley Nickens was appointed North
Eastern Regional Director and in 1928, three years after its birth, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s National Convention
presented Tau Omega Chapter with an award for providing four local scholarships to high school girls
totaling $600.00. At that same convention, Thelma Berlack Boozer was elected Editor in Chief of the Ivy
Leaf and Viola Lewis was elected North Atlantic Regional Organizer. The national convention also decided
a Vocational Guidance project developed by Lambda Chapter would run from October to May. Tau Omega
ladies wasted no time holding meetings and conferences within the sorority and with New York City
teachers and students. They became creative giving awards and developing ways to enhance students’
writing skills for short stories, poems and posters. They recruited judges which included W.E.B. Dubois,
Editor of the Crisis, Charles Johnson, Editor of Opportunity, Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. The
young chapter emerged from the decade of the 1920’s strong, vibrant and noteworthy. It is not accidental
that many Tau Omega ladies who engaged in the creative activities of this era, would go on to become
“firsts” in their respective professional fields of work as well as becoming the vanguards of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority.

The 1930’s brought on the Great Depression, a time of hardship for many Americans. People migrated to
New York from places that had denied them education and access to skills making Harlem a magnet for
Black settlement and an impoverished ghetto before the 1930’s. The pacesetters of Tau Omega Chapter
found themselves involved in social action programs to deal with the problems of the Harlem community.
The election of Thelma Berlack Boozer as North Atlantic Regional Director was a motivating factor of how
the chapter would address the problems of their community. Thelma Berlack Boozer along with the
Sorors of Tau Omega Chapter and Lambda Chapter led the way by initiating social programs combating
the negative impact on their Harlem community. The New York Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha demanded
Negro nurses for all City hospitals. A resolution was sent to “Governor Lehman, Mayor LaGuardia, and to
the Commissioners of Health and Hospitals as well as Board of Alderman and Superintendent of Nurses in
each of the 29 City hospitals. Ruth A. Handy was President of Tau Omega and J. Marjorie Jackson was
President of Lambda Chapter. This project supported city hospitals where African American nurses could

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train which marked the beginning of racial integration of nurses in city hospitals. They moved on, initiating
programs to improve the schools in Harlem, unemployment and juvenile delinquency, and yes, they
worked through organized lobbyists in Albany to fight discrimination. In support of arguments made
before the U.S. Supreme Court by Attorney Samuel S. Leibowitz on behalf of the Scottsboror boys, Tau
Omega Chapter and Lambda Chapter sent a gift of encouragement to the American Scottsboro
Committee, Inc. They went on, establishing a committee to work with the Joint Committee for National
Recovery. The purpose of this non-governmental, non-political agency was to secure elimination of
discrimination by the National Recovery Act (NRA) affiliates against Black industrial workers.

The pacesetters of Tau Omega Chapter kept on striving excelling as pink and green hostesses and guest
speakers across the land. Wherever past or present discrimination presented itself, the ladies of Tau
Omega Chapter were there providing necessary services. In addition to their social action programs, this
stellar group of ladies searched for the best and the brightest to become recipients of Tau Omega
scholarships. Their scholarship recipients would go on to become the first, second and third Blacks elected
to Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society, graduating with honors and going on to receive higher
degrees. It was under the leadership of Thelma Berlack Boozer and Chapter Presidents Ruth Handy and
J. Marjory Jackson that a public relations program was conceived through the courtesy of the National
Broadcasting Company. The program was heard over 53 stations from coast to coast, presented in drama
outlining the ideals and purpose of the sorority. Featured guests were Tau Omega’s talented and renown
pianist and vocal artists, Anne Wiggins Brown, Sonoma Talley and Etta Moten. Narrator, Melva L. Price
was remembered as the “Voice of Chimes” on the radio broadcast

They were passionate members of this elite sorority, always willing to share their talents. While
continuing to demonstrate their leadership abilities at the helm of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, there was
always an opportunity to mix pleasure with business. The pacesetters of Tau Omega Chapter hosted piano
recitals, scholarship dances and tea parties. They enjoyed hosting and entertaining visiting members.
There were garden parties, beach parties, games and picnic lunches. Yes, they were the ladies of merit,
they were the “Who’s Who” achieving distinction in their various fields. They were the pacesetters of Tau
Omega Chapter, quite capable during the Harlem Renaissance of carrying out the goals of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority in New York City and beyond.

Gertrude McDougal Ayers – Educator, Community Activists, Leader, Writer
Thelma Berlack Boozer - Journalist, Professional, Patron
Ruth M. Handy, Feminist, Teacher
Elizabeth Ross Haynes- Community Leader, Activist, Sociologist, Writer
Anna Arnold Hedgeman, Educator, Civil Rights Activist, Political Leader, Author
Addie D. Waites Hunton, Educator, Suffragist, Civil Rights Leader, Author
Caterina Jarboro- Opera Singer, Vocalists
Mabel Bickford Jenkins, Activist, Social Worker
Geraldyn Hodges Dismond Majors ( Gerri Majors), Writer, Radio Announcer, NY Society Leader
Vivian Carter Mason, Activist, Social Worker
Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne, Nurse Activist
Ruth Logan Roberts, Suffragist
Sonoma Talley, Concert Pianist, Music Teacher
Helen E. Hagen Williams, Pianist, Composer

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®

TAU OMEGA CHAPTER

Message from the President

I bring greetings on behalf of the members of Tau Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as we
celebrate our 95th anniversary.

Tau Omega chapter was chartered in May 1925 and is the oldest graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Incorporated in the New York metropolitan area of the Notable North Atlantic Region.

Since 1925 Tau Omega has served the Harlem community. Over the course of 95 years we continue our
commitment to service and addressing the needs of our community. Our service programs are aligned
with our international initiatives by providing, “ Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Service,”
under the leadership of our International President Glenda Baskin Glover. We promote and deliver
service through five target programs, HBCU for Life: A Call to Action, Women’s Healthcare and Wellness,
Building Your Economic Legacy, The Arts, and Global Impact.

Tau Omega takes great pride in our diverse membership and our legacy continues with a membership of
great leaders making significant impact in Harlem, New York.

I extend a warm personal thank you to our chapter historian Soror Doris R. Conner and the committee
members for their dedication and commitment to preserving our chapter history. We are extremely
proud of our chapter history book, “ The Legacy of the Pacesetters of Tau Omega Chapter.

I hope you enjoy our 95th Anniversary brochure and we look forward to continued service globally and in
the Harlem community for another 95 years.

With sincere gratitude,

Michelle B. Hardy

P. O. Box 105, Lincolnton Station
New York, NY 10037

www.akatauomega.com

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95th ANNIVERSARY BOOKLET DEDICATION

to:

Joanna Berry Shields

Tau Omega Chapter’s History Committee dedicates our 95th Anniversary booklet to Joanna Berry Shields,
one of the Founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority who joined Tau Omega Chapter during the Harlem
Renaissance and remained an active member of Tau Omega until her death in 1965.

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TAU OMEGA: A CHAPTER OF “SHINING LIGHTS IN HARLEM”

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world”
Phillippians 2:15

It was right after World War I
When African Americans
in the deep south began
seeking the “Warmth of
Other Suns” migrating

Northeast, Midwest and West.

Centered in Harlem, N. Y.
was a mecca of Black writers,

artists and social activists
free to be, do and have;
to re-image Black people;
undo white stereotypes.

A blossoming of African
American culture
exploded into the

Harlem Renaissance
fathered by Alain Locke.

The Jazz of Louis Armstrong
songs of Bessie Smith

were the music of the day;
Black Bottom, Charleston and
Lindy Hop led the dance floors;

Prolific words of Langston Hughes,
written in the rhythmic meter

of “the weary blues” and the jazz of
”life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”

soothed and uplifted;
Claude McKay urged that

“We must not die”
Zora Neale Hurston in her
slanted hats kept folksy

southern folks alive as
“Their Eyes Were Watching God”

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During these “Roaring ‘20s”
the minimum wage was 16 cents

a pound of:
bread cost 10 cents
gallon of milk 35 cents
dozen eggs 59 cents and
a pound of chicken 39 cents.

In the midst of Prohibition,
flappers and fringes

Lambda Chapter, first of the
“Shining Lights in Harlem”
was established in 1922
to initiate undergraduates

in New York City into
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

By May, 1925, twenty-two
“Shining Lights in Harlem”

who had graduated
chartered Tau Omega
the oldest graduate chapter
in the NY Metro area
the fourth and oldest graduate chapter
in the North Atlantic Region.

For the past 94 years
Tau Omega has been home
to history makers and legends;
was honored with two founders:

Margaret Flagg Holmes
Joanna Berry Shields

and graced with the first elected
North Atlantic Regional Director

Thelma Berlack Boozer.

Tau Omega is a prize-winning
chapter of beautiful Black women
who are like an assorted bouquet of flowers
each with a special gift and unique beauty.

Bold, brave women of faith and purpose
mothers, daughters, sisters nieces;

attorneys, judges, CEOs, doctors, nurses,
teachers, college professors, principals,
writers, singers, actors, leading ladies,

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Feminine, friendly, foxy sisters:
shining lights in Harlem

kind, hospitable, zestful, zoetic
active sorors filled with zizz

and a commitment to be of service
to “The Harlem Community and Beyond”
as continuous as a line around a circle.

A chapter where legends are made!
To God be the glory!

By Soror Virginia K. Lee December 14, 2019
*Zoetic = living, vital Zizz = sparkle, vim

Reference:
“The Legacy of the Pacesetters of Tau Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
A History of Timeless Service to the Harlem Community and Beyond.”
Tau Omega Chapter, et.al 2013
Notes: the most Influential movement of literary history:
to re-image the “Negro” apart
from the white stereotypes that
had influenced black people’s lives
since Slavery days.,
embracing literary, musical,
theatrical and visual arts;
originally known as the
“New Negro Movement

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Gertrude Elise McDougal Ayer

aka Elise Johnson McDougald
Educator, Community Activist, Leader, Writer

Born Gertrude E. Johnson in New York City, October 13, 1885, she acquired her education at P.S.48,
Wadleigh High School, the New York Training School for Teachers, Columbia University, the College-of the
City of New York, and New York University.
Upon the completion of her schooling she was appointed teacher at P.S. 11, Manhattan where after
completing a survey, published by the Y.W.C.A. and Consumers League, entitled "A New Day for the
Colored Woman Worker," she headed the women's department in a United States employment service
and also served for a time as the industrial secretary of the New York Urban League. Elise was one of first
vocational guidance experts in Board of Education of New York City, she worked at the Manhattan and
Henry Street Settlement Trade Schools and New York branch of the Department of Labor. In 1911 she
married Cornelius McDougald, a lawyer. In 1919, she was in charge of educational guidance for girls at
P.S. 119. She took the competitive examination for assistant principals, and in 1924 was appointed to
serve in such a capacity at P.S. 89. Gertrude Elise became an Honorary member of Alpha kappa Alpha
Sorority at the 1923 Boule.
In 1927 she was transferred to P.S. 90 where she remained until 1936, at which time she was appointed
assistant to the principal in charge of P.S. 24. On February 1, 1936 Alpha Kappa Alpha Honorary Member
Elise Ayer became principal of P.S. 24, the first Negro woman to ever attain this office, and the only black
person to hold position of principal within the New York City public school system until 25 years later.

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After her first year as principal, Tau Omega and Lambda chapters gave a scholarship and testimonial
banquet in her honor. Among her students was the great James Baldwin. Interestingly, in 1923, her first
husband, Cornelius W. McDougald defended Marcus Garvey against charges of mail fraud.
Elise Ayer was Vice President of the Harlem Adult Education Council, member of board of trustees of the
Utopia Children's Neighborhood House and member of Mayor's Permanent Committee on
Unemployment. Her Father, Dr. Peter A.Johnson was first Negro physician in New York City; her sister
Travis Johnson was first Black woman to enter the College of Physician and Surgeons of Columbia
University.
Her essay "The Double Task: The Struggle for Negro Women for Sex and Race Emancipation" was
published in March 1925 issue of Survey Graphic magazine, Harlem: The Mecca of the New Negro. This
particular issue, edited by Alain Locke, helped usher in and define what is now known as the Harlem
Renaissance. Her contribution to this magazine, which Locke adapted for inclusion as "The Task of Negro
Womanhood" in his 1925 anthology The New Negro: An Interpretation, is an early example of African-
American feminist writing.
Her image has been featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
She died on June 10, 1971.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Thelma Berlack Boozer

Journalist and Professional Patron.

Thelma Berlack, daughter of Sallie Smith and Leonard Berlack, was born September 26, 1906 in Ocala,
Florida. In 1920, the family moved to New York where she attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in
the Bronx graduating with honors in 1924. Thelma Berlack was blessed with a love of writing as well as
excellent oratorical skills, which led to her becoming her school’s newspaper reporter and an
accomplished speaker. She would represent her high school in a national oratorical contest sponsored by
the New York Times.
While a student at New York University (NYU), in 1924, Thelma became a member of Lambda chapter of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. A young student during the Harlem Renaissance, Thelma
Berlack became a reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier, a national black newspaper. Her column called
“Chatter and Chimes” covered New York society. She also started working with the New York Amsterdam
Star-News as a reporter, columnist, and eventually as assistant managing editor.

Although Thelma Berlack graduated in 1928 from NYU, she continued her studies and completed her
Master’s degree in 1931. In 1930, during the course of her graduate studies she married James C. Boozer
and gave birth to two daughters Barbara (1932) and Thelma (1946).
Thelma Berlack Boozer served Alpha Kappa Alpha in several capacities and on many levels, particularly
from 1928 until 1935, when that service included— for Tau Omega Chapter, serving as Ivy Leaf Reporter,
participating in a social action program to open New York City Hospitals training to black nurses, and
mounting an NBC radio broadcast heard from coast to coast on the purpose and ideals of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority. On our National level, she was a Boule officer, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Ivy Leaf.
and, later, as Chair of the 17th Alpha Kappa Alpha Boule in 1934 in New York City. Regionally, from 1930
to 1934, Thelma served as North Atlantic Regional Director and presided over the first North Atlantic

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Regional Conference, which was held in New York City in July 1930. Thelma Berlack Boozer was a
prominent figure locally and nationally, serving on the board of the Harlem Newspaper Club founded in
1932. She received several honors for her achievement in journalism from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and
Brooklyn Women’s Service League’s World’s Fair Medal. Her "Woman of the Week" column for the New
York Amsterdam News would highlight African-American women in various professions in the New York
City area while her second column focused on "The Feminist Viewpoint", about political topics. In the
lifetime of her work, Thelma corresponded with civil rights figures including Horace Mann Bond, Adam
Clayton Powell, Jr., W. E. B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr.
Thelma Berlack Boozer worked for the New York Amsterdam Star-News until 1942 when she accepted a
position as a faculty member in the Journalism School of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri
becoming the School's first assistant professor of journalism. She left Missouri in 1945 to return to New
York City.
Upon her return to New York City, Thelma accepted several writing jobs and served as Assistant Managing
Editor of the New York Age. She was Director of Uptown Division of United Negro College Fund from 1945-
1966. She was also a member of Les Seize Club and Director of Public Affairs at Harlem Hospital until her
retirement. In 1950 Mayor Robert F. Wagner appointed Thelma to work in public relations in the Office
of the Borough President of Manhattan. In 1954, the New York branch of the National Association of
Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club awarded her its Sojourner Truth Award. Thelma Berlack-
Boozer continued to work for the city in various capacities utilizing her journalistic talents until she retired
in 1973. Her oral history interview in 1981 is part of Columbia University’s United Negro College Fund
project.
Thelma Berlack Boozer died In 2001, at the age of 94. Her legacy continues in Harlem’s Tau Omega Chapter
through the Thelma Berlack Boozer Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Ruth M. Handy

Activist, Feminist and Teacher

The sixth President of Tau Omega, Ruth, one of nine siblings, was born in Nyack, NY on July 11, 1895 to
George and Sarah Avery, both born in North Carolina. On June 23, 1920 she married Charles Handy, the
brother of W.C. Handy who is recognized as “Father of the Blues”. Ruth and Charles relocated to New
York City in the mid-1920’s. She was first educated in Nyack, NY, then graduating from the Normal
Training School in Oswego, NY. She received a B.S. in Education from the City College of New York, an
M.A. in Elementary School Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and pursued further
studies at Wellesley College, Rutgers and New York Universities. Teaching first in South Carolina for three
years and then in New York City public schools for thirty years, Ruth subsequently became an Assistant
Principal and, later, a School-Community Coordinator. Active in women’s rights issues and in her church
community, she was a member of the Professional Women's Club, College Women's Club and the NAACP.
Ruth was initiated into Tau Omega Chapter in 1929 and quickly began to ascend, serving as Chapter
President from 1933 – 1935. During her tenure, she led Tau Omega and Lambda in hosting the 1934 Boule.
She actively supported a landmark project initiative that enabled Black nurses to train at city hospitals. In
1935, she served as a member of the health commission, helping to formulate plans for the renowned
Mississippi Health Project‘s immunization and venereal disease control programs. In 1936, Ruth was
elected official delegate of the New York chapters to the National Negro Congress in Chicago. After her
term as President, she went on to National Office serving as National Recording Secretary from 1935 –
1937. She was President of National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.
In 1944 during her administration, the organization’s official publication “Responsibility” was developed.
Ever devoted to Alpha Kappa Alpha, Ruth M. Handy served as charter member and President of Delta Rho
Omega’s graduate chapter established in Brooklyn, NY in 1947.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Elizabeth Ross Haynes

Community Leader, Activist, Sociologist, Writer

Elizabeth Ross Haynes was one of 22 charter members of Lambda Chapter. She was a pioneering
sociologist, a tireless reformer and advocate for the development of housing and employment resources
for young African American women.
She was born in Alabama in 1883 of former slaves and graduated with an A.B. from Fisk University. Later
moving north, she received her Masters Degree from Columbia University and later studied medicine and
graduated from Columbia University medical school. Elizabeth became the first African American woman
appointed student secretary to the National Metropolitan Board of the YWCA in New York City, serving
from 1908 to 1910. After marriage to George E. Haynes, co-founder of the National Urban League, and
the birth of son George Jr., she returned to the YWCA to continue her reform work. At the Y, she promoted
the establishment of new branches to help female migrants find employment and job training. In
recognition of her activism, the YWCA appointed her to its newly-formed Council on Colored Work in 1922
which led to her appointment the following year to the National Board, a position to which she was
elected for the next ten years. While dedicating herself to reform work at the Y, she also served as
domestic service secretary in the US Employment Service from January 1920 until May 1922, and became
keenly interested in the plight of Black women, particularly with regards to labor. In the 1930’s she served
as Dollar a Year employee of the U.S. Department of Labor. While there, she was the author of several
important studies on the employment of black women, using her expertise to further the cause of Black
women workers. She also volunteered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, and as
Assistant Director of its Negro Economics office while her husband served as Director. She was active in
interracial work with the Commission on Race Relations and the Federated Council of the Churches of

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Christ in America. She also chaired the National Association of Colored Women’s Industry and Housing
Department. She was appointed to several commissions, including the NYS Temporary Commission on
the Conditions of the Urban Colored Population and the NYC Planning Commission.
She was initiated in Lambda chapter in 1924 and was a very active member of Abyssinian Church, serving
as Superintendent of the Junior Department. In 1925 Elizabeth Ross Haynes helped to charter Alpha
Kappa Alpha’s Tau Omega chapter, whose beliefs she found perfectly aligned with her own.
A prolific writer, she also authored several books and studies. In 1921, W.E.B. DuBois published her first
book, “Unsung Heroes” a children’s book of short biographies of black men and women. Her second book,
“Negroes in Domestic Service,” which drew on her findings and experiences at the US Department of
Labor, was published by Carter Woodson in 1923 in the Journal of Negro History. In 1922, she wrote “Two
Million Negro Women at Work,” which identifies the three main areas in which women in the labor force
were engaged. Her final book in 1952 “The Black Boy from Atlanta,” was a children’s book, the biography
of Richard Robert Wright Sr., an ex-slave who became a college president and a banker. Proceeds from
the sale of the book were earmarked to help establish a business scholarship for young people in honor
of the Black Boy of Atlanta. A strong advocate for women’s voting rights, she was elected as the first black
Co-Leader of the 21st Aldermanic District of New York in 1935, becoming the first black woman executive
of Tammany Hall where she experienced gender prejudice from her male counterpart. Though not re-
elected, she continued to advocate for women to seek political office. Her work with the YWCA was
influential in the board’s decision to desegregate its programs and facilities in 1946. Elizabeth Ross Haynes
died in October 1953.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Anna Arnold Hedgeman

Educator, Civil Rights Activist, Political Leader, Author

Anna Arnold was born July 5, 1889 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Her family moved to Minnesota and in 1922,
Anna Arnold became the first African American to graduate from Hamline University in Saint Paul,
Minnesota, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In 1924, she began working with the Young
Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and would subsequently become the Executive Director of YWCA
branches in Springfield, Ohio; Jersey City, New Jersey; Harlem, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
Brooklyn, New York. In 1936 she married Merritt Hedgeman.
Anna Hedgeman served as Assistant Dean of Women at Howard University and in 1944, she was appointed
Executive Director of the National Committee for a Permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission.
Anna Hedgeman was also Associate Editor and columnist for the weekly newspaper, New York Age.
Anna Arnold Hedgeman was an active pacesetter of Tau Omega Chapter and an exemplary Alpha Kappa
Alpha woman. In 1948, she worked on the Presidential Campaign of President Harry Truman and became
the first African American woman to serve in a mayoral cabinet in New York City under Mayor Robert F.
Wagner from 1954 to 1958. She also served as Coordinator of Special Events for the Commission of
Religion and Race of the National Council of Churches. With her position on the National Council of
Churches and through her activism on racial equality, she became one of the organizers of the March on
Washington in 1963, serving as the first woman on the administrative planning committee for the historic
March. Her efforts also influenced the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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In 1966, Anna Hedgeman co-founded the National Organization for Women and owned her own
consulting firm in New York City. She was the author of two books which chronicled her work in the civil
rights movement: The Trumpet Sounds (1964) and The Gift of Chaos (1977).
Anna Arnold Hedgeman passed away at Harlem Hospital on January 17, 1990. In 2011, Hamline University
renamed their diversity office “The Hedgeman Center for Student Diversity Initiatives and Programs”, in
honor of Anna Arnold Hedgeman. An endowed scholarship in her name is awarded yearly to student
leaders of color at Hamline University. Her portrait is displayed in the Smithsonian National Portrait
Gallery in Washington, DC.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Addie Waites Hunton

Educator, Suffragist, Civil Rights Leader, Author

She was born Addie Waites on June 11, 1866 in Norfolk, Virginia. After the death of her mother, she
relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to be raised by her maternal aunt. Addie Waites would graduate
from the prestigious Boston Latin School, moving on to attend Spencerian College of Commerce in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1889, she became the first African American woman to graduate from the
Spencerian College of Commerce. Addie Waites would later relocate to Alabama to teach at the State
Normal School, now known as Alabama A & M University, where she would meet and marry William
Alpheus Hunton in 1893.
In 1906, the Hunton family moved to New York City. Not wasting any time, Addie Hunton would become
active from 1906 to 1910 as the national organizer for the National Association of Colored Women. In
1907, she was appointed Secretary of the National Board of the Young Women’s Christian Association
(YWCA). From 1909 to 1910, Addie Hunton resided in Switzerland, Germany, and France, where she
studied at Kaiser Wilhelm University. When Addie returned to New York City, she enrolled at City College
and continued her work with the YWCA.
During World War I, the educator and activist returned to Europe to assist African American soldiers
stationed in France. She developed literacy courses and educational series in music, art, and religion,
among other disciplines. Hunton documented her work in France in her book entitled, Two Colored
Women with the American Expeditionary Forces, published in 1920.

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Addie Hunton’s life was dedicated to civil rights, international peace, and the women’s suffrage
movement focusing on voting rights of African American women. During the Harlem Renaissance, she
served as Vice President and Field Secretary of the NAACP, President of the Empire State Federation of
Women’s Club, and as President of the Circle of Peace and Foreign Relations. In 1927 she was one of the
organizers of the fourth Pan-African Congress. It is no wonder in 1926, the Harlem pacesetters of Tau
Omega Chapter would sponsor this Harlem trailblazer for women for Honorary Membership in our
prestigious Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Addie W. Hunton was one of the delegates on the National Board at the Y.W.C.A. conference on the Cause
and Cure of War which took place 1936 in Washington , D.C . She attended a reception at the White
House given by Mrs. Roosevelt. Addie was elected Vice President of the National Board of Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom and was Honorary President of the Council of Women of the
Darker Races.
Addie Waites Hunton died on June 21, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925 - 1935

Caterina Jarboro

Opera Singer and Vocalist

Caterina Jarboro was a well-known opera singer and the first black female opera singer ever to sing on an
opera stage in America, preceding the debut of the African –American contralto, Marian Anderson, by
twenty-two years.
One of three children, Caterina Jarboro was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to an American Indian
mother and a black father who was a local barber. Christened as Katherine Lee Yarborough at St. Thomas
Catholic Church in Wilmington, she received an elementary school education at St. Thomas and later
attended Gregory Normal School. She became an orphan at 13 years old when her parents died and, in
1916, traveled to Brooklyn, New York to live with an aunt.
During the Harlem Renaissance and before Caterina became a well-known African-American opera singer,
she studied music in New York where her exceptional ability soon became apparent. By 1921, she had
appeared in popular theater musicals, such as Sissle and Blake’s “Shuffle Along,” and later in James P.
Johnson’s, “Running Wild.” But her fortunes proved to be better overseas. Like many black musicians
and performers, she sought more opportunity for study and experience in Europe. Under contract to the
San Carlo Opera Company, Caterina debuted in Verdi’s Aida in 1930 at the Puccini Theater in Milan,
Italy. She continued to study in France and to perform in small productions in Europe until 1932. She
decided to return to the United States for a brief stay during the Harlem Renaissance and accepted an
offer with the Chicago Opera Co.

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In 1933, sponsored by Tau Omega Chapter, she became an Honorary Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority. In 1933, Alfredo Salmaggi recruited her to perform Aida with the Chicago Civic Opera at the
New York Hippodrome Theater. The music editor at the New York Times praised her vivid performance
and her perfect Italian diction. This appearance made Caterina the first black female opera singer to
perform with a major company in America, breaking the long-held color barrier in American opera. First
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt expressed gratitude to Salmaggi for introducing Caterina and other black opera
singers to the American stage in her column, “My Day,” in 1946.
Caterina followed Aida with a world-renowned performance of Seleka in Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine in New
York. She also created and performed the lead role in Cameron White’s Ouanga at the Chicago Ravinia
Festival. The New York Metropolitan Opera Association invited her to become a member. However, after
realizing her nationality was not Italian, but Afro-Indian, they refused her request for membership. After
a long and successful career, she declined membership when a second invitation was extended to her.
Despite her triumphs, she was not hired by any other American opera houses.
Caterina returned to Europe where she repeated her American roles with great success. In 1936 during
the Harlem Renaissance, she created in French the starring role in Die Konigin Von Saba, at the Theatre
de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium. Caterina continued to perform regularly in several European countries
until her return to the United States in 1941 where she often gave benefit performances and concerts at
Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in New York City. She retired from singing in 1955.
Caterina was honored at a ceremony in her native Wilmington, North Carolina’s Thalian Hall in 1975, and
a star in her memory was placed on the city’s Walk of Fame in 1999. She was also honored by Pope John
Paul II, U.S. presidents, the Governor of New York, the Mayor of New York City and numerous academic
and social organizations. Caterina Jarboro died in New York City in 1986 at the age of eighty-three.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Mabel Bickford Jenkins

Activist and Social Worker

Mabel graduated from Howard University with an A.B. and from the University of Chicago with a Ph.B...
A former member of Beta Chapter, she was an Urban League Fellow at the N.Y. School of Philanthropy. A
dedicated social activist, she founded in 1923 the Intercollegiate Association, designed to foster fellowship
among students and those interested in student movements. The Intercollegiate Association held
conferences annually.
In 1922 she worked in the Department of Public Welfare. In 1925 she became one of the charter members
of Tau Omega chapter. The June 1935 Ivy Leaf announced the appointment of Soror Mable as Assistant
Psychiatric Case Worker in the Bureau of Child Guidance of the Board of Education of New York. She was
also formerly a Unit Supervisor in precinct 75, Home Relief Bureau in Brooklyn. Soror Mabel worked for
many years as a Social Worker at St. Phillips Episcopal Church and was a tireless and involved citizen, who
left a legacy of sisterhood and service.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Geraldyn Hodges-Desmond Major

(aka Gerri Major)
Writer, Radio Announcer, NY Society Leader

Known in popular circles as Gerri Major, Geraldyn Hodges was born on July 29, 1894 to Herbert and Mae
Powell Hodges in the Douglas section of Chicago's Bonneville neighborhood. She led a varied and
successful career that spanned decades, as a journalist, editor, newscaster, publicist, public health official,
and community leader. Called one of the ‘new Negroes’ of the early 20th century, she was one of the
more well-known African-American women of that time.
Geraldyn was raised by her aunt and uncle, Maud and David Lawrence, her mother’s sister and brother-
in-law. After the death of her mother in her childbirth, her father, Herbert, arranged for her adoption by
the couple, who lived nearby and had enough wealth to give Geraldyn a stable and loving upbringing.
Following elementary school, Geraldyn attended Wendell Phillips High School and subsequently was
awarded a work-study scholarship at the University of Chicago from which she graduated with a
Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1915. While at the university, she became one of the five founding
members of the Beautiful Beta undergraduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The Chapter was
the second chapter chartered at the University of Chicago in 1913, making Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,
the first sorority to be chartered on this campus.
During the summer months after her graduation, Geraldyn studied at Hampton Institute and during the
next school year taught dramatic art and physical culture at Lincoln Institute, an African-American college

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in Jefferson City, Missouri. Dissatisfied there, she returned to Chicago and entered a two-year program
at Chicago Normal School so that she could qualify to teach elementary school in that city. In the fall of
1917, Geraldyn served as a teacher-in-training, or “cadet,” in the Chicago public school system, a position
that was interrupted when Soror Geraldyn joined the American Red Cross during the WWI years. She
rosed to the rank of Major when she left in 1918.

Geraldyn returned to teaching from 1919 to 1923, and then left the profession to move to New York City.
Her prospects changed in 1925, after her successful fund-raising efforts for the NAACP in composing and
distributing a public announcement for the annual NAACP Dance. The release appeared in the New York
Age and led to an offer of a new career in journalism, in October 1925, as the New York Social Editor for
the Pittsburgh Courier. Announcement of her new position described her as "a leader in Harlem society"
and also as "a willing worker for charity and social uplift agencies”. A month later, as a mark of her social
standing, she was runner up in nationwide balloting for "Queen of the Classic" on the occasion of the
annual football game between Lincoln and Howard Universities. A year later, Geraldyn figured
prominently within a group of "representative New York society leaders" in a text accompanying a news
photo headed "New York Social Leaders Plan Brilliant Season"; the photo's caption listed some of her
many positions in civic organizations.

Geraldyn was a true Renaissance woman, holding many important duties over the course of her long life.
During the Renaissance, while contributing extensive new content at her aforementioned first editorial
job at the Pittsburgh Courier, she managed to perform even more extensive editorial work-- from 1928 to
1932 she also worked for the Inter-State Tattler newspaper, writing under the name of Geraldyn Diamond.
Between 1928 and 1930, Geraldyn also wrote and presented a review of current events for a New York
radio program that aired each week on Sunday afternoons. This made her, as one source put it, “the first
Negro woman commercial radio announcer.” The program was the “Negro Achievement Hour,” a variety
show featuring talks and music that was carried on two local stations, WABC and WEVD.

In 1933, during the Renaissance years, Geraldyn became Executive Director of a health center on Lenox
Avenue in Harlem operated by the United Health Association. The following year she was chosen by the
Newspaper Guild to work on a welfare publicity project in the Central Harlem Health District and later
served the District as Publicity Specialist, a position she held from 1936 to 1946.

Geraldyn remained an active and well-known figure for several more decades. In the 1950’s, Geraldyn
known as a Harlem socialite and now married to John Major, changed her name to Gerri Major in 1953,
when she began a 25-year career at the New York office of the Johnson Publishing company as writer and
Society Editor for “Ebony” magazine, and as an Editor for “Jet” Magazine. She became Senior Staff Editor
for “Ebony” in 1967 and briefly served as a European correspondent. She wrote and lectured on aspects
of black society, and co-authored the book, “Black Society,” published in 1976. Gerri Major died on August
17, 1984.

23

HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Vivian Carter Mason

Activist, Social Worker

Vivian Carter was one of eight children born to George Carter, a Methodist minister, and Florence William
Carter, a music teacher in Wilke-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1900. Her family moved to Auburn, New York
during her childhood and Vivian attended public schools in the area before attending college at the
University of Chicago, where she studied political economy and social welfare. She graduated from the
University, earning a degree in Political Science and Social Work.

Vivian Carter was initiated into Beta Chapter at the University of Chicago. She was later the driving force
who led eleven members into the chartering on December 2, 1921 of the Sigma Graduate Chapter
(renamed Epsilon Omega) of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Baltimore, and became its first president.
Epsilon Omega, the first graduate chapter of the North Atlantic Region, hosted the first National
Convention in the Region in December of 1923. It was at the 1923 National Convention that Vivian Carter
was elected Northeastern Organizer, later becoming the third Northeastern Regional Director in 1924-
1925, with jurisdiction over New York, New Jersey and New England. In May 1924, Regional Director
Vivian established Epsilon Chapter in Boston. Moving to New York City in 1925, Vivian became active at
the height of the Harlem Renaissance period. She became a graduate member of Lambda Chapter, and,
in keeping with the rules adopted at the 1923 Convention, joined with the other graduate members in
separating from the undergraduate membership in Lambda to charter the graduate chapter, Tau Omega,
in May 1925.

While at the University of Chicago Vivian had met William T. Mason, Sr., whom she later married in
Brooklyn, New York. The couple then moved for a few years to Norfolk, Virginia, where their son, William
T. Mason, Jr., was born.

When Vivian Carter Mason returned to New York in 1931, she further pursued her studies at Fordham
University and Hunter College in New York City. She started her career with the YWCA in Baltimore, then
transferred to Brooklyn, as a Program Director and achieved a number of “firsts” throughout the

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Renaissance period and beyond. Vivian Carter Mason served as the first African American female
Administrator of the Thirty-Second Precinct Home Relief Bureau (1934). And her previously outstanding
work with the YWCA subsequently led to her appointment as the first African American woman to serve
as Director of New York City's Administrative Division, Department of Welfare (1940 - 1942).
Vivian Carter Mason was the founder and honorary president of The Committee of 100 Women. This
group, founded in 1936, sponsored fundraising events to purchase a camp for inner-city children that
could be attended free of charge. In 1939 she was the banquet speaker at the North Atlantic Regional
Conference. The following year, Vivian was the guest speaker at the Tau Omega Chapter-sponsored “AKA
Day at the World’s Fair” in June 1940 on “The Negro Woman in the Field of Social Work”. In 1940 she was
one of a group of women who met with President Roosevelt to consider the problems of unemployment.
By 1942, Vivian Carter Mason had returned to Norfolk and continued an active life of advocacy. In 1945,
she founded and was the first President of the Norfolk Women Council for Interracial Cooperation. Vivian
was appointed a National Council of Negro Women delegate to the International Women’s Democratic
Federation Meeting in Paris, France. In 1953, she was elected third President of the National Council of
Negro Women. She was a life member of the National Council of Negro Women and Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority,. Vivian became the first African American woman elected to the Norfolk, Virginia School Board
(1971 - 1978). She resigned to start the Urban League of Hampton Roads, Virginia and, in 1978, she
established the Norfolk branch of the National Urban League.
Vivian Carter Mason spent nearly six months visiting Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, France, Russia, Italy and
Sweden. She was interested in studying the function and role of women in post-war rehabilitation efforts
and in society in general.
Having lived a purposeful life as a feminist and an advocate for labor and civil rights, Vivian Carter Mason
died in 1982.

25

HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne

Nurse Activist

Estelle Massey was born May 3, 1901 in Palestine, Texas. After high school, she enrolled in Prairie View
State Normal and Industrial College, graduating as a teacher. She later enrolled in nursing school at City
Hospital No. 2 in St. Louis, Missouri, where she would receive the highest score in Missouri on the nursing
examination. She would also be the first African American nurse to receive a Julius Rosenwald scholarship
in 1928.
Estelle Massey would continue her studies at Columbia University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree
in 1930 and in 1931 becoming the first African American nurse to receive a Master’s Degree with a major
in nursing from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. In 1934, due to her outstanding leadership skills,
she was elected President of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. She would also serve
as the first Educational Director of Nursing at Freedman’s Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) in
Washington, DC and would become the first African American Superintendent of Nurses at Homer G.
Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1945, she became the first African American faculty member in New York University’s Department of
Nursing Education. It is important to note that as a member of Tau Omega Chapter, she held the position
of National Health Chairman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated from 1945 to 1948 and received
the Mary Mahoney Award in 1946 for her leadership in the field of nursing.
Estelle Massey married Dr. Bedford Riddle and subsequently married Herman Osborne in 1947. Estelle
Osborne was successful in the integration of all-white nursing associations and eventually served on the
Board of Directors of the American Nurses Association from 1948 to 1952. She served as Director of the

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National League for Nursing and served on the Advisory Committee for Harlem Hospital School of Nursing.
She was a member of the Key Women of Greater New York, the NAACP, the National Urban League, and
Vice President of the National Council of Negro Women.
During World War II, Estelle Osborne was appointed to the National Nursing Council for War Service.
Under her tenure, the number of nursing programs admitting African American students rose from 14 to
38. Through her efforts, the Army and Navy began accepting African American nurses for service. In 1959,
she was honored as “Nurse of the Year” by the Department of Nursing at New York University.
Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne was a true pioneer of nursing during the Harlem Renaissance and a
pacesetter of Tau Omega Chapter. She became an Ivy Beyond the Wall on December 12, 1981. Three
years after her passing, her name was inducted into the American Nursing Association’s Hall of Fame. To
commemorate her life, New York University hosts an annual “Estelle Osborne Legacy Celebration”. New
York University has also created a scholarship in her honor.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Ruth Logan Roberts

Suffragist

During the Harlem Renaissance, Ruth Logan Roberts, was well-known as an activist, advocating for
women’s suffrage and against racial discrimination. She was born in 1891, the daughter of suffragist Adella
Hunt Logan and Warren Logan, second-in-command to Booker T. Washington. After her primary and
elementary schooling in Tuskegee, she attended Oberlin College in Ohio for two years of college
preparatory work, and concluded her studies in physical therapy in three years at Boston’s Sargent School
of Physical Education, graduating in 1913 with an A.B.
Ruth began her work as a suffragist around 1913, in conjunction with her mother, while serving as a
physical educator for the Tuskegee Institute. In December 1917, Ruth married Eugene P. Roberts, M.D.,
a prominent New York City physician and the first black man to be elected to the Board of Trustees of
Lincoln University. The couple moved to New York, where she continued her activism, notably serving on
several boards and becoming widely known for establishing her home as one of the Harlem Renaissance’s
leading social, artistic and political salons. Known for being a gracious hostess, inviting people over for
tea and stimulating conversation, Ruth hosted a regular salon at her home at 130 West 130th Street in
Harlem, New York City that brought together major figures active in Harlem at the time in politics,
community service, and the arts.
On April 22, 1922, Ruth Logan Roberts was one of the five charter members of Lambda Chapter and served
as Vice President of the chapter. She was also one of 22 Lambda graduate members who chartered Tau
Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on May 25, 1925.

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Ruth Logan Roberts continued to be a prominent figure throughout the Harlem Renaissance years. She
was a member of the board of directors of national and local YMCAs as well as the board of the Katy
Ferguson Home for Unmarried Mothers. While at the YWCA, she helped organize women in the sale of
war bonds through the Liberty Loan program. She served on the New York State Board of Social Welfare,
a position that she was appointed to by Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Her health education led her to
serve on the boards of New York Tuberculosis and Health Association and the National Association of
Colored Graduate Nurses. Ruth initiated a social program during the Great Depression that opened tax-
supported city hospitals to enable colored nurses to train there, thus beginning the integration of Negro
nurses in city hospitals.
Ruth enjoyed travel and in the mid 1920’s, participated in the eighth annual Pocono Study Tour to Europe,
the first-time people of color could participate in the study group. She traveled across the Scandinavian
countries and Germany, visiting many historical sites and attending plays and concerts in famous venues.
In 1940, Ruth was among the distinguished guests from twenty states and the District of Columbia
attending the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Annual conference in
Philadelphia. The discussion centered on the attitudes of coloreds toward equality. And in 1942, she was
awarded the Mary Mahoney Medal by the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses for her
successful efforts during World War II in lobbying for the ultimate passage of legislation on behalf of
African American graduate nurses facing racial and gender discrimination.
Ruth Logan Roberts died in October 1968.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Sonoma Talley

Concert Pianist and Music Teacher

Sonoma Talley was born August 16,1902 in Jacksonville, Florida. One of 22 charter members from Lambda
Chapter, Sonoma Talley was a distinguished concert pianist, educator and lifelong lover of music. Born
on August 16, 1902, she attended Fisk University, earning a music diploma in 1917 and, while a student
there, was the recipient of two scholarships.
She relocated to New York City in 1919 to continue her education on scholarship, and, by 1923, Sonoma
had earned both a diploma for piano and an artist’s diploma from the Institute of Musical Arts in New
York. Upon graduation from the Institute, she was awarded the Artist’s Prize of five hundred dollars,
maintaining the highest average of the four piano graduates. Despite her success as a concert pianist, she
chose to spend many years as a teacher of music, beginning in 1920 at the Smith-Martin Music School. By
1928, she had also become the director of the YWCA Music School, Harlem Branch where she gave
instructions to beginners and advance students at minimum cost.
While in New York, she found support and sisterhood through membership in Lambda Chapter of Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority. In 1925, Sonoma became the first President of Tau Omega Chapter, 1925-26 and
in that role, helped to provide educational and vocational guidance to Harlem youth and coordinating a
career development program at Brandeis High School. Prizes were awarded for poetry, short story and
posters; judges of the contest included: W.E.B.Dubois, Editor of N.A.A.C.P. magazine, Crisis, Charles S.
Johnson, Editor of Opportunity, Urban League Magazine, Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. In
addition to her commitment to Alpha Kappa Alpha, she was an active member of the National Association
of Negro Musicians.

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HARLEM RENAISSANCE YEARS 1925-1935

Helen E. Hagan Williams

Pianist and Composer

Helen Eugenia Hagan was born on January 10, 1893 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her mother taught
her to play the piano and she went on to study at schools in New Haven, Connecticut. She began playing
the organ for the Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church in New Haven when she was 9 years old. In 1911
she won a coveted Lockwood Scholarship at Yale university School of Music. She earned her bachelor of
music degree from Yale in 1912 and was awarded the Samuel Simmons Sanford Fellowship which granted
her 2 years music study abroad. And on her return to the united States she became a faculty member of
Bishop College for many years.
Helen studied music in France and went to Europe during World War I and used her talent as a musician
to entertain Black troops in France of the American Expeditionary Force along with others under the
auspices of the YMCA. In 1920 she married John Taylor Williams of Morristown, New Jersey. She
continued her concert career and had a music studio in Morristown for at least a decade. She was the
first African American woman admitted to the Morristown Chamber of Commerce, and was the first Black
pianist to present a solo recital in New York’s Aeolian Hall (1921). In 1924 she was initiated into Lambda
Chapter and in 1925 she became a charter member of Tau Omega Chapter where she would dedicate her
talent on many occasions. She taught at Tennessee State Agricultural and Mechanical College, became
dean of the School of Music at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, and finally, sometime after 1935,
established the Helen Hagan Music Studio in New York.
The only work by Hagan that survives is the Concerto in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra. Her other
compositions, including piano works and a violin sonata, have been lost. She died on March 6, 1964.

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POEM BY CARLINE HILL

Imagine this Sorors if you will, this empty scene;
There’s no me or no you,
What will we do?
An awful sight to see

We’ve taken on a project, to support our black neighborhood;
But somehow we’ve now realized its time consuming,
And are undecided if we should

However, we’ve committed ourselves to this project;
Which requires our dedication
So come fully prepared to work;

This is not the place for added frustrations.

If you’ve committed yourself to a job, finish it;
Value the vows you’ve made

That way feelings are never hurt;
Because we believe in what you say

PLEASE correct me when I am wrong
AND AT THE SAME TIME have faith in what I do

Follow me to the end of the earth
As I would follow you

We will complete this project in its entirety
And we will complete it today

With the help and strength of the Almighty
If we just let Him have His way

If you take heed to these instructions;
I’m sure that you will find

That these TAU OMEGA AKA’s
Will be supreme in service to all mankind

By: Carline Hill, March,1993 Tau Omega

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