Monday is the 100th anniversary of the day Georgiana Rose Simpson became one of the first three Black women in the U.S. to graduate with a doctorate. In 1921, at age 55, she was the first Black woman to finish a doctorate at the University of Chicago.
In 2017, Asya Akca and Shae Omonijo, University of Chicago students, unveiled a bust of Simpson (sculpted by Preston Jackson) atop a pedestal at the Reynolds Club, the university’s student center, which was at one time open only to white males. The move gave Simpson her rightful place in university and Chicago history.
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In the late 1800s, Simpson was a Black educator who worked at a segregated high school in Washington, D.C. She came to Chicago to get her undergraduate degree, but after she moved into a dormitory on campus, she was instructed by the university’s president to move out. She took summer courses and corresponded by mail to get her bachelor’s degree. She finished her master’s in degree 1920 and her doctorate in 1921.
After Simpson graduated, a portrait of her in cap and gown was printed in the NAACP’s publication The Crisis. As a scholar, she wrote articles for W.E.B. Du Bois’ publications and was an ally of African American historian Carter G. Woodson. She retired as a college professor teaching German at Howard University.
Marla Anderson and Dayo Adeoye, two third-year students at the University of Chicago, are keeping Simpson’s legacy going with the Georgiana Rose Organization (GRO), a campus social group that honors Simpson and supports Black women and feminine-aligned students in academia. The group was created last summer and has since grown to nearly 30 members, according to the president, Anderson, and vice president, Adeoye. The organization’s mission: to offer support and a safe space to de-stress with other Black women, be it with a pat on the back that you might not get all the time, or recognition that you might not get at a predominantly white institution.
“Our mission is to be a space that’s dedicated to the political, cultural and personal advancement of Black women,” Adeoye said. “It’s so very easy to feel isolated as someone who’s Black and someone who identifies as a woman, especially at a predominantly white institution. But we are out here. We’ve been here since Georgina Simpson, and … we’re continuing to do great things and be there for each other.”
GRO focuses on the voices and experiences of those who identify as Black women, as well as on Black feminist theory. The organization, which meets weekly during the school year, is run through initiatives by members, who call themselves “roses.” Initiatives have included supporting Black-owned businesses like Kilwin’s confectionary and the bookshop Semicolon, and touring the Bisa Butler exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Anderson said upcoming events will focus on politics, books, mental health and graduation, as well as a dress-up event and perhaps a sleepover with Black hair as the focus. There’s also a group chat where members send encouraging texts each day. Joy, friendship and camaraderie are at the heart of GRO, Anderson said.
“A lot of people say they met a best friend, someone they’re really close to. And that’s the whole point … to create a space where we can have a community,” she said. “This organization is No. 1 social. We really wanted a space to just de-stress and be a Black woman and enjoy that space together. No. 1 is being social, but we also are open to everything else.”
While the pandemic sometimes made students feel isolated, GRO offered a community and resources, and targeted the specific needs of Black women. The two leaders are excited for GRO to continue to grow (pun intended), Anderson said, and she envisions it eventually joining the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.
“We honor ancestry. …. That’s one of the reasons why we decided to name it after (Simpson), but also just because she’s inspiring and she encapsulates everything we want to be as scholars,” Adeoye said.
“We’ve just been starting to grow GRO at UChicago, but I expect that GRO will grow far beyond these walls, especially as people start to graduate and make their own impacts as former or current members,” Anderson said.
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