A Black Greek Connection: Lena Hillsman and Delta Sigma Theta

With the election of Kamala Harris as the next Vice President of the United States, both HBCUs (she went to Howard) and black sororities (she is an AKA) have been in the news lately. I’ve been exploring my Cooper/Cummings family’s historical relationships to HBCUs for a little while now, but we also have a historical connection to at least one black sorority: Delta Sigma Theta. In fact, one of our family members helped to found a new chapter!

Lena Mae Hillsman, shared courtesy of Delta Sigma Theta, Beta Psi Chapter

 

Mystery Monday: What Did Borden Scott Do for the Panama Canal?

I came across something interesting while I was tracking Sydney Borden Scott through the catalogues of Atlanta Baptist College. In addition to providing all sorts of basic information about the school and current students, the catalogues also list what all of their alumni are up to during the year being discussed. And when the catalogue for the 1904-1905 school year was published, here’s what they had to say about Borden:

Catalogue of Atlanta Baptist College, 1897/98 - 1911/12. (1904-1905, p. 30). Found on HathiTrust: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112004585920

Yes: Scott, Sidney B. - Isthmian Canal Commission – Cristobal, Panama.

Working Wednesday: At the Blackboard, Borden Scott

Sydney Borden Scott stepped into the world as a graduate of Atlanta Baptist College (now Morehouse) in the Spring of 1901. What came next? To be honest, I’m not quite sure. However, I do know what he’s up to just a little bit later, from the Fall of 1903 to the Spring of 1904: He’s teaching a gaggle of 3^rd and 4^th graders in Athens, Georgia. In fact, he’s not just teaching them, he’s also the Principal of their school!

Catalogue of Atlanta Baptist College, 1903-1904, showing Borden's current occupation as an alumni of the Academic Course class of 1898. He is also listed with the same info as a graduate of the College Course c/o 1901, but the info is broken across two lines. Accessed via Hathi Trust: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.3011200458590

 

The Education of Lula A. Scott - Part 2

Once upon a time, in 1897, a woman named Lula A. Scott began her studies at Spelman Seminary. She was the younger half-sister of my 2x Great-Grandmother, Scoatney Scott. Perhaps she looked like, or was even one of, the young ladies in this photo, published in 1897.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. (1897). Students of Spelman Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-7120-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

I ended my last post on Lula Scott’s education by asking if she’d made it through her studies, earning her degree. Well, good news: she did!