History
Lambda Kappa Mu was founded on January 19, 1937, in the Upper Manhattan YMCA in New York City.: 352 It was founded by Florence K. Williamson-Norman and a group of 25 charter members, all African American college educated women working in various business fields.: 352 The sorority was formed to foster fellowship and stimulate businesswomen to greater personal advancement, cultural awareness and an appreciation of Black women's progress.: 352
Later in 1937, Williamson-Norman estalbished the Beta chapter in New York City and Gamma chapter in Brooklyn. The sorority was incorporated in the State of New York on March 15, 1938. Philitus Joyce was its first grand basilei or president. Lambda Kappa Mu affiliated with the National Council of Negro Women in 1939.: 162 In 1940, the Delta chapter was established in Long Island, followed by the Epsilon chapter in Newark, New Jersey. In 1940, Williamson-Norman was the sorority's representative to the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
One of the sorority's earliest projects was a nationwide campaign established in 1940 to support the music program at Bethune-Cookman College, raising funds to purchase instruments and creating a scholarship for a female senior student. Benny Goodman donated a $650 drum kit for this effort. Florence Norman served on the college's board and was married to Fred Norman, an alumnus of the college and a former arranger for Goodman. Gladys Hampton, the sorority member in charge of the music project, was married to Lionel Hampton, a member of Goodman's band. Artie Bernstein, also of Goodman's band, donated a bass violin. Cab Calloway donated a saxophone.
In 1940, Lambda Kappa Mu sponsored an annual Week of Progress, with chapters holding events such as a typewriting contest, spelling bee, debate, a quiz and business clinics. The sorority also established a scholarship to help a member continue her education.
Lambda Kappa Mu help its first national convention on June 22, 1940 at the Harlem YWCA. at 137th Street in New York City. More than 75 people attended the dinner session and there were thirteen delegates from nine states for the sorority's business sessions. During the meeting, plans were made for a national survey of Black women in business. The sorority also adopted resolutions to support socialized medicine and to condemn the segregation of the United States Army and the United States Navy. In June 1961, it installed its first chapter in the Southeastern United States, the Sigma chapter in Hampton, Virginia.
Lambda Kappa Mu is a member of the Coalition of Black Business Sororities, which also includes Iota Phi Lambda, Gamma Phi Delta and Eta Phi Beta. Lambda Kappa Mu is not a National Pan Hellenic Council (NPHC) sorority; dual membership within NPHC sororities is allowed.
Governance
Lambda Kappa Mu is overseen by a national executive board. Its officers include grand basileus (president), first anti-basileus (vice-president), second anti-basileus, executive grammateus (secretary), recording/corresponding grammateus, tamiochus (treasurer), assistant tamiochus, epistoleus (journalist), historian, and regional syntakte (director) for the Northeastern United States, Western United States and Southern United States.
The sorority's national headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
Controversies and scandals
Prize-fight benefit
Lambda Kappa Mu scheduled a benefit for Bethune-Cookman College at the Polo Grounds in New York City for August 22, 1940, including an all-star boxing match and the music of Louis Armstrong, Count Bassie, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Jimmy Lunceford. The forty rounds of boxing were to include a demonstration by Jack Dempse, a Red Burman fight, a world championship bantamweight match between Georgie Pace and Louis Salica, and a competition for lightweight crown of New York State. The boxing was coordinated by prize-fight promoter, Fred Irvin, husband of sorority member Helen C. Smith Irvin. The benefit was planned to raise $30,000 for a new music building for the college.
Eleanor Roosevelt came to New York City to purchase the first ticket for the benefit. However, the championship fight was cancelled at the last minute for unknown reasons, leaving the sorority with a deficite of $2,000, used for promotion and advertising. Newspapers reported that the Polo Grounds had never received the $5,000 rental deposit from the event's sponsors and Irvin had rescheduled the prize-fight for another date and venue. Sorority founder Florence Norman told The New York Age, "Neither Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority nor Bethune-Cookman College has any connection with the fight being promoted at Queensboro Stadium by Fred Irwin on August 29. We have withdrawn completely from any events which may be sponsored by Mr. Irvin."
Irvin told The Afro American that the benefit was cancelled because, a week before the event, the Boxing Commission demanded that he deposit $13,000 with the New York State Athletic Commission; within an hour, the Polo Club demanded a $5,000 deposit that had to be paid within the next hour. These advance fees were unprecedented in this history of boxing, according to Irvin. Irvin had received $8,500 in donations from his friends that he had used to promote the event; he was going to lose that money if he did not immediately come up with $18,000 before any tickets for the benefit had been sold.
However, the venue and the sports commission both claimed that these payments were part of their original contract with Lambda Kappa Mu, being a 25 percent down payment for the venue rental and a forfeit to ensure that the boxers would be paid after the fight. Irvin said the ticket sales for the benefit would have drawn $75,000 if the event had taken place at the Polo Grounds.
