Iota Phi Lambda Journal [Vol. 42 (Summer 1975)]

Tuskegee Institute, Alabama: Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc, 1975. Very good. 11" x 8½". Stapled wrappers. Pp. 125. Very good: covers lightly worn with a few small stains, toning at spine and inked owner's name to front; tiny nick to top corner of spine extending to first few leaves; five pages with evidence of offsetting and a bit of spotting at outer edge.

This is a publication of the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority (IPL) which is filled with historical data and many images. IPL is the first African American sorority for business and professional women. It was founded by Lola Mercedes Parker in 1929 in Chicago. According to the sorority's website, its goals are to:

"Unite in sisterhood qualified business and professional women in order to enhance and improve the status of women in our highly complex, competitive business and professional world; Promote increased interest in the broad field of business education among high school and college young women through planned programs and scholarships; Encourage the development of personal goals and leadership potential; and Establish and promote civic and social service activities for youth and adults."

This book offers a trove of reference data about the national organization as well as its regional and local chapters. There are 111 photographic images, including portraits that accompany biographies and messages of IPL leaders past and present. Much of the content is dedicated to chapter news, with images documenting events and identifying officers and members. We see sorors receiving honors and awards individually and in groups, including the "Outstanding Woman of the Year Award," scholarship recipients and the Alpha Chi chapter receiving the NAACP Life Membership Plaque. Some sisters' special achievements were recognized, including Soror Mae Marion, a part time teacher at the University of Texas and "courageous black candidate" for City Council, and Magnalene M. Moore, the president of Alpha Zeta chapter who was selected "Outstanding Teacher, 1974-1975 - Nationally." There were great shots of participants in the Miss Iota Pageant as well as undergraduate and teen chapters. The book also identifies dozens if not hundreds of women at regional and national conventions, banquets and other events such as the Founder's Day Observance and a Scholarship Tea. Several pages document IPL's national projects and auxiliaries.

This book also celebrates the achievements of incredibly important African American women. There is an article on career opportunities for women in space authored by Ruth Bates Harris, an equal opportunity officer for NASA who made waves when she blew the whistle on their discriminatory hiring practices in the early 1970s. There are photo features, complete with biographies, achievements and direct quotes of eleven other women including Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and Jewel Lafontant, the first female (and African American female) deputy solicitor general of the United States. One piece focused on the Kappa chapter's Woman of the Year, Elizabeth Murphy Moss, (vice president and publisher of the Afro-American newspaper), and one on Margaret Bush Wilson, a barrier-breaking lawyer and activist who became the first female chair of the NAACP's National Board of Directors in 1975. There is also an original poem by an IPL member, as well as a five page chapter directory and list of officers at the rear of the book.

A celebratory publication loaded with images and information on this important Black female business sorority. No holdings located in OCLC or online.