Five Facts About Lena Mae Hillsman and Delta Sigma Theta

Many moons ago, in my last post, I wrote about the fact that my 2x great-grandmother’s grandniece, Lena Mae Hillsman, was one of the founders of Portland, Oregon’s Omega Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. I promised to follow it up with some details on what she actually did as a member of the sorority and what it meant for her to be a member. Well, here goes, with five facts!

 

Fact 1: In their very first year, Lena’s chapter worked to become a visible part of their community.

Portland Inquirer, June 29, 1945, p6. Accessed via Historic Oregon Newspapers, Oregon Digital Newspaper Program.

Beta Psi was chartered on March 24^th, 1945. On Saturday, April 14, just 2 days after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, they were guest hosts of a radio program on KWJJ honoring his life, featuring musicians and a talk by prominent local physician and civil rights activist Dr. DeNorval Unthank. In June, they purchased an ad in the Portland Inquirer, a weekly Black newspaper, wishing the publication a happy first birthday. And in July, they went all out decorating a “Streamline Black Buick” for the July 4^th parade for Vanport, a neighboring wartime labor community that was about 40% African American. In the spirit of reconciliation and positivity, given racial unrest in the city, a poster on the back of the car used musical symbols and letters to spell out the words “Harmony, Unity, Equality, Peace.”  

 

Fact 2: Lena appears to have been a very involved member.

Portland Challenger, September 19, 1952, p2. Accessed via Historic Black Newspapers of Portland, PDXScholar, University Library, Portland State University.

Not only was Lena a founding member of Beta Psi chapter when it was chartered in 1945, she served as President in the early 1950s! In this role in 1952, she wrote a letter to the editor of a local Black newspaper, the Portland Challenger, thanking the paper for positively covering her chapter’s activities. At the chapter’s 10^th Anniversary Banquet, held at The Mandarin, a local Chinese-American restaurant, Lena was one of two keynote speakers, presenting on “Ten Years with Beta Psi.”  And in 1962, Lena was elected to be her chapter’s Sergeant-At-Arms.

 

Fact 3: Lena even served on a National Committee for DST.

Newly-elected national officials and committeewomen of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc, at the 23rd National Convention in 1954. Lena Mae Hillsman is in the 2nd row, 2nd from the right. Detroit Tribune, September 4, 1954, p3. Accessed via Chronicling America, Library of Congress.

In August of 1954, Lena joined approximately 1100 other members of Delta Sigma Theta from across the country and even Haiti for the sorority’s 23^rd National Convention in New York City. There, in the same convention where the by-laws were amended so that Dorothy Height could again serve as Grand President, and where economist, lawyer and civil rights activist Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander and Dr. Kenneth Clark (of the doll studies and Brown v. Board fame) spoke, she was elected to the Nominating Committee.

 

Fact 4: Lena used her organizational skills – and maybe her connections – for good.

 

R.L. Polk and Co. Portland (OR) City Directory, 1950. Accessed via Ancestry.com.

In 1920, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. launched a new annual program called May Week, where chapters across the nation would focus on educational and professional achievement. In 1955, Lena was the “general chairman” of Beta Psi’s 3-day May Week program. The centerpiece was a career conference for local high school students, including a luncheon with speakers focusing on careers in medicine, education, social work, counseling and secretarial work. A Mother’s Day Tea wrapped up the May Week program, but it was kicked off by a Friday night Public Educational Meeting featuring Dr. Herold Lillywhite of the University of Oregon Medical School. A speech and language consultant who researched and wrote on communication and miscommunication, he spoke on “Barriers and Gateways to More Satisfying Human Relations.” It’s likely that Lena was responsible for his participation, as she worked as a stenographer at the school where he taught.

 

Fact 5: And Beta Psi believed in having fun for a good cause.

Portland Challenger, October 3, 1952, p7. Accessed via Historic Black Newspapers of Portland, PDXScholar, University Library, Portland State University.

Like many chapters across the nation, Beta Psi hosted an annual Jabberwock – yes, as in the Lewis Carroll beast – building on a tradition started in 1925. Despite the nonsense name for the scary monster, there was nothing scary about the DST Jabberwock, unless you got stage fright or didn’t do a good job of attracting guests, because this event was actually a variety show and fundraiser to provide scholarships for young women in or heading to college and to help support other community projects. As chapter President in 1952, Lena would have helped to plan the Jabberwock advertised above, for which the theme was “Remember When.” The Portland Challenger noted that skits that year would include: “Tales by Grandma” performed by Iota Phi Lambda, “Ye Old Barber Shoppe” by Kappa Alpha Psi, and “The Daguerreotype” by the Culture Club, among others.  

 *     *     *

And there you have it, five facts about Lena Mae Hillsman’s participation in Delta Sigma Theta!

Do you know more about her time with Beta Psi chapter? Or photos of anything mentioned above? Drop a note in the comments section below!