Dorothy Pelham Beckley

Dorothy Pelham Beckley (May 1897 – August 16, 1959) was an American educator and clubwoman. She was the second national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, in office from 1923 to 1926.

Dorothy Pelham Beckley
Born
Gabrielle Dorothy Pelham

May 1897
Detroit, Michigan
DiedAugust 16, 1959
OccupationEducator
Known for2nd national president, Delta Sigma Theta (1923–1926)
RelativesGeorge F. Pelham (uncle)
Sara Pelham Speaks (sister)

Early life and education

Gabrielle Dorothy Pelham was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Robert Pelham Jr. and Gabrielle Lewis Pelham. Her father was a lawyer, inventor, and newspaper editor who worked for the U.S. Census Bureau;[1] her mother was a pianist and organist from Ohio,[2] who taught music in Washington, and was one of the founders of the Detroit Study Club. Her sister Sara Pelham Speaks was a lawyer and activist.[3] Their uncles included Fred B. Pelham, the first Black engineering graduate from the University of Michigan,[4] and George F. Pelham, a noted architect.[5]

While she was at Howard University during World War I, she was active in the school's Red Cross unit.[5][6]

Career

Pelham was a founding member of the Washington, D.C. alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta in 1921. From 1923 to 1926 she was national president of the sorority.[7][8][9] She spoke on a panel about "The Part of the Young College-Bred Negro in Race Betterment" at a national conference held at Howard University in 1924.[10] In 1925, she became a member of the executive board of the National Association of College Women.[11] In 1927, she refused re-election to a third term as president of Delta Sigma Theta,[12] and she gave a radio address from the sorority's national meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.[13] Also in 1927, she made an unsuccessful legal protest against being transferred from one school to another.[14][15]

In 1939, as a member of the Interracial Committee of the District of Columbia, Beckley testified about school funding before a Senate committee hearing on appropriations.[16] During World War II, she was salvage chair of the Howard Park Defense Area, and organized a scrap metal drive called "Give-a-Gun Week" in 1942.[17] She also organized a book drive in the segregated schools, to send reading material to servicemen overseas.[18] After the war, she was active in fundraising for the Ionia A. Whipper Home.[19]

Personal life

Pelham married physician Edgar R. Beckley Jr. in 1926. They had three sons.[5][20] Her husband died in 1949,[21] and she died in 1959.[22]

References
  1. "Funeral Services for Robert A. Pelham". Evening Star. June 15, 1943. p. 12. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. "Mrs. Pelham Funeral Set for Tomorrow". Evening Star. 1947-02-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Gallagher, Julie A. (2012-06-15). Black Women and Politics in New York City. University of Illinois Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-252-09410-1.
  4. "Fred B. Pelham: Building Bridges". Jim Crow Museum, Ferris State University. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  5. Kiesel, Diane (2019-03-01). She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-64012-168-3.
  6. Matthews, Lopez D. (2019-10-21). Howard University in the World Wars: Men and Women Serving the Nation. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6494-0.
  7. Giddings, Paula J. (2009-10-06). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-198444-0.
  8. "Along the Color Line". The Crisis: 27. March 1927.
  9. "Sorority Convention". Oakland Tribune. 1926-12-19. p. 33. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "The First Meeting of the Negro Sanhedrin All-Race Conference". The Broad Ax. 1924-02-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Hundley, Mary S. (June 1925). "The National Association of College Women". Opportunity: 185.
  12. "Delta Sigmas Meet". Baltimore Afro American. January 15, 1927. p. 4. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. "Broadcasts Ideals of Colored Women". The Monitor. 1927-01-28. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Teacher Fights Transfer from One School to Another; Claims Her Transfer is Unfair". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1927-03-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Mr. Wilkerson's Appointment Still Stands". Baltimore Afro American. April 16, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. Appropriations, United States Congress Senate Committee on (1940). District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1941: Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, Seventy-sixth Congress, Third Session, on H.R. 9109, an Act Making Appropriations for the Government of the District of Columbia and Other Activities Chargeable in Whole Or in Part Against the Revenues of Such District for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1941, and for Other Purposes. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 572–574.
  17. "'Give-a-Gun Week' Scrap Drive Opens in Howard Park Area". Evening Star. 1942-11-01. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Garnet-Patterson Students Give 2,000 Victory Books". Evening Star. 1942-02-28. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Aid Sought for Home for Unwed Mothers". Evening Star. 1954-08-08. p. 64. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. Sluby, Patricia Carter (2004). The Inventive Spirit of African Americans: Patented Ingenuity. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-275-96674-4.
  21. "Dr. Edgar R. Beckley". Evening Star. 1949-05-20. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Sorority Honors Departed Deltas". Baltimore Afro American. September 20, 1960. p. 6. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
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