Uncovering Upsilon Delta Pi: A Forgotten Chicago-Based Black Sorority

In 1910, Shelley Parker, an older society matron, organized the Do-Li-So Club, a domestic, social, and literary organization for young Black women in Chicago.

Shelley was the wife of James A. Parker, a manager at the General Mills Flower Company. The original group was composed of nine young ladies. Helen Perry served as President, Ethel Mitchell as Secretary, and Norma Kennedy as Treasurer of the Do-Li-So Club. The Chicago Defender, a Black newspaper, encouraged other women to become interested in the social welfare of the city’s young women and to start similar clubs, stating they were “badly needed.”

Sometime between August 1910 and July 1911, the Do-Li-So Club underwent reorganization and was renamed the Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority. At the time, its members were primarily high school students, many of whom attended Englewood or Wendell Phillips high schools. In the spring of 1911, the Chicago Board of Education voted to prohibit any secret societies, fraternities, or sororities existing within Chicago public schools. The resolution passed by the Board stated that “pupils must either resign from societies or be expelled from their schools.” [4]

In response to this restriction, and in an effort to preserve the organization, members of Upsilon Delta Pi officially incorporated the Sorority on December 7, 1911. [5] This action made them the first incorporated Black Sorority. The incorporators listed were: Helen Perry, Beatrice Lee, and Ethel C. Mitchell.

The Founders

Helen Perry

Helen Perry served as inaugural president of both the Do-Li-So Club and the Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority. In December 1919, Perry was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority through Beta Chapter at the University of Chicago. In 1922, she chartered Theta Omega, AKA’s Chicago graduate chapter.

Helen Perry was the daughter of Dr. A.F. Perry and Agnes Perry. She attended Wendell Phillips High School, Chicago Teachers College, and the University of Chicago. She taught in Chicago public schools and served as recreational officer for the colored YWCA in Hammond, Indiana.

Beatrice Lee

Beatrice Lee was a graduate of Wendell Phillips High School and the University of Chicago. She was an incorporator of Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority and later served as the sorority’s president. She chartered Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Beta and Theta Omega chapters.

Beatrice was fluent in German and French. In 1919, she married Opal Cooper, a Black actor, and shortly thereafter the couple built a life abroad. Beatrice worked as a businesswoman in Paris, France.

Social Life and Culture

The Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority was a social sorority that primarily held gatherings for members of Chicago’s young Black elite. The Sorority’s parties were always on the city’s social register. In January 1915, the Chicago Defender described Upsilon Delta Pi’s New Year’s Party as “one of the most brilliant affairs of the holiday season.” [6] The sorority also conducted business meetings, which were typically accompanied by musical selections, intellectually stimulating games, and refreshments.

Correspondence, presumably from Beatrice Lee, on behalf of the Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority to Eva Overton concerning the final business meeting of the business year, dated June 10, 1914.

Eva Overton Lewis and Julian Herman Lewis, M.D., Ph.D., Collection circa 1887-2015

The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago

Ties to Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta

Several members of Upsilon Delta Pi also held dual membership in other Black sororities. After its entire active membership reorganized in fall 1912, the graduate members of Alpha Kappa Alpha chartered its second chapter, Beta, in Chicago, Illinois, in October 1913. They did so by drawing on Upsilon Delta Pi’s network of college women. All of Beta Chapter AKA’s charter members were also members of Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority. An earlier connection between the two sororities was noted in an article appearing in the Chicago Defender. The article mentioned that in July 1911, Mrs. Geneva McGowan hosted a party in honor of Edna Cook, an initiate of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority. [7]

Other members of Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority, like Bessie Mitchell, were members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Mitchell, an Honorary Member of Delta Sigma Theta, was initiated at Beta Chapter seated at Wilberforce University. Netta Paullyn Garner, a nationally-renowned pianist, also belonged to both Upsilon Delta Pi and Delta Sigma Theta sororities. Elsie Evans Harris, a longtime member of Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, was active with Upsilon Delta Pi too. [8]

Decline

By the late 1920s, the Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority had declined in prominence. This shift was largely due to the growing emphasis on membership in national Black sororities rather than in local organizations. By the end of the decade, at least six chapters of national Black Greek letter sororities had been established in Chicago, including Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Beta and Theta Omega chapters, Delta Sigma Theta’s Lambda and Theta Sigma chapters, and Sigma Gamma Rho’s Eta and Delta Sigma chapters. Throughout the 1920s, national Black sororities adopted procedural measures to prohibit women from having active membership in more than one Sorority. These measures contributed to the decline in local sororities like Upsilon Delta Pi.

Notable Members of Upsilon Delta Pi

Netta Paullyn (Bell) Garner

Netta Paullyn (Bell) Garner was born in Illinois in 1892. In 1913, she earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University’s School of Music; later she pursued additional coursework there to further refine her craft. Two years later, in 1915, she married George R. Garner, a Black singer and choral director. Together the couple embarked on a music career that spanned many decades and brought them before international audiences in London and Paris.

In May 1912, Paullyn Bell was initiated into Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority, alongside Mildred Kennedy. She was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Eva Overton

Eva Overton graduated from high school in Kansas City, Kansas. During her time at the University of Chicago, she chartered Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Beta Chapter with four other women. After earning her degree, Eva joined her father’s company, Overton Hygienic Manufacturing Company, where she worked as Secretary.

In 1918, Eva married Dr. Julian Herman Lewis, a leading pathologist and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The couple’s union produced three children: Gloria Julienne Lewis, Julian Herman Lewis, Jr., and John Overton Lewis.

Geraldyn (Hodges) Dismond Major

Geraldyn (Hodges) Dismond Major graduated with a Bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1915. She pursued additional coursework at Hampton Institute and Chicago Normal School. Geraldyn went on to have a distinguished career as a journalist, editor, and publicist. Most notably she served as associate editor of Ebony Magazine and senior staff editor at Jet Magazine. She also worked as a publicist for the New York City Department of Health. Geraldyn served as President of Upsilon Delta Pi and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Vivian Harsh

Vivian Harsh, a Chicago native, graduated from Wendell Phillips High School. She was an original member of Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority.

In 1909, the Chicago Public Library hired her as a junior clerk. Over a two-decade career, Harsh continued to work her way up in leadership within the library system. By 1932, she was appointed head librarian at the newly-opened George Cleveland Hall branch located in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood.

Harsh passed away in 1960. Her collection of books and memorabilia focused on Black life and history is housed within the Carter G. Woodson Branch of the Chicago Public Library.

Sources

1. The Chicago Defender (May 21, 1910).

2. “Obituaries.” Alton Evening Telegraph (June 19, 1963).

3. The first mention of Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority was in the Saturday morning issue of The Chicago Defender (July 8, 1911) mentioning the group’s dance party. “Extracts from a Girl’s Diary.” The Chicago Defender (July 8, 1911).

4. “Chicago Bars All ‘Frats’.” Chicago Defender (June 3, 1911).

5. “Business, Commercial and Financial Section.” Chicago Daily Tribune (December 8, 1911).

6. “Upsilon Delta Pi Sorority.” The Chicago Defender (January 9, 1915).

7. “Personals.” The Chicago Defender (July 8, 1911).

8. “Delta Sigma Theta Sorors Give Colorful Dance.” The Chicago Defender (August 10, 1940).

Research Credits

Written by Marquis Taylor, a sixth-year Ph.D. Candidate at Northwestern University. His research specializes in late 19th and early 20th century African American history. In the spring of 2018, he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha’s Beta Chapter, seated at Howard University.

Tia M. Lowe (she/her) is an Arts Administration and Policy MA student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BA in Journalism from Howard University. As a music and arts curator, her research interests fall at the intersection of sound, history, and architecture. She was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Delta Lambda Omega Chapter, fall 2021.

Latif Legend is a Master’s in Higher Education Administration student at Louisiana State University and a member of the Historical Commission of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha’s Zeta Chapter, which is seated at Yale University, in spring 2005.