Soror Carmelita Jeter - American Olympic Athlete

Carmelita Jeter

hree-time Olympic medalist Carmelita Jeter is dubbed the “Fastest Woman Alive”. An American sprinter specializing in the 100 meters, Jeter holds three of the top 10 fastest times to ever run in the women’s 100-meter dash.

Nicknamed “The Jet”, Jeter anchored the U.S. Olympic 4x100-meter relay team in 2012, surpassing the previous world record by more than half a second, awarding her the gold medal. Jeter also became the first athlete to ever medal in both the 100- and 200-meter races at an Olympic Game. In 2012, Jeter earned the Jesse Owens Award, the highest accolade in the sport of Track and Field. Awarded by USA Track and Field, Jeter was applauded as the most outstanding U.S. female track and field athlete. She was also named Los Angeles Sports Woman of the Year. Despite competing with a torn right quadricep at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Jeter won the bronze medal in the 100-meter dash. Her personal best of 10.64 in the 100-meter dash, set in 2009, is the second-fastest mark ever in that event. She won three gold medals at the World Championships and two more in the World Athletics Finals between 2007 and 2011.

Jeter’s service to others through philanthropic endeavors reflects her care for the community. She partnered with Nike to design hot pink spikes worn in her races in support of breast cancer research. Jeter was named the 2014 official ambassador for the Susan G. Komen’s California Circle of Promise Initiative designed to promote breast cancer awareness among Black women. As a 2005 graduate of California State University Dominguez Hills with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, Jeter became the university’s first U.S. Olympic trials qualifier. She later became the most decorated track and field athlete in the history of the school.

In 2017, Jeter retired from professional competition. She received honorary status as a member of Sigma Gamma Rho in 2018. In the same year, Jeter joined the track and field coaching staff at Missouri State University and was promoted to head coach the following year.

Ellia English

merican singer, stage and film actress, Ellia English is best known for her role as Aunt Helen King on the comedy sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show. She also had recurring roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Good Luck Charlie, and Code Black.

A native of Covington, Georgia, English is one of nine children born of Rev. Calvin English, a Baptist minister, and domestic worker Ella Mae English. English graduated high school early and attended Clark Atlanta University, formerly Clark College. Initially, her goal was to become a lawyer. But English’s life shifted once the drama department head overheard her singing and offered her one of the leading roles in the school’s musical production. English later transferred to Georgia State University to study speech and drama. Soon after, she became an ensemble player at the Alliance Theater. To advance her career, English went to New York City. Despite being the first person in her family to travel so far and alone to such a big city, English courageously decided to follow her dreams.

While in New York, English starred in many productions including Ain’t Misbehavin’, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Colored Museum, Dreamgirls, Romeo and Juliet, Spunk, Show Boat, Barnum, Nunsense and One Mo’ Time. She also sang with the New York Community Choir as one of their solo recording artists. English also landed the role of Sheila on the television pilot production of Fame. English accepted the call to move to Los Angeles and in 1996, English became a series regular as Helen King in The Jamie Foxx Show until 2001. Other television credits include Martin, Sinbad, Empty Nest, The Five Mrs. Buchanans, Love & War, Get Smart, and Thea. She was featured in the made for television movies The Innocent, The Barefoot Executive, and Based on an Untrue Story. On the silver screen, English was featured in Good Luck Chuck, Wildcats, Woman Thou Art Loosed, Sidewalk Stories, Rain Without Thunder, and Semi-Pro.

In 2021, English was casted in the horror thriller, Blood Pageant, alongside Snoop Dogg, Stephen Baldwin, and Ted Lange. English is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho and resides in Atlanta.

Anita Hawkins

ary, Indiana native Anita Hawkins is a mother of two, model, author, and global philanthropist. Her beginnings as an entrepreneur began when she inherited her grandmother’s hair salon in her teens. Seizing the opportunity, she immediately obtained her cosmetology license and elevated the salon’s success by growing clientele. This was the start of many business ventures for Hawkins, making her big dreams come alive.

Shortly after moving to Texas in 2000, Hawkins married Major League Baseball pitcher, LaTroy Hawkins. The move to the southwest proved to be prosperous in business as the founder of Trokar Industries, LLC in 2011. Hawkins acquired numerous land developments around the state and celebrated a tremendous victory when she sold a parcel of land to home construction company D.R. Horton for $1.53 million dollars.

Hawkins next business venture was created from her own health challenges. After being diagnosed with thalassemia, a rare blood disorder, Hawkins made lifestyle changes and embraced healthy eating and exercise. From there, she became the master franchise owner of Healthy Café, located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. No stranger to beauty and fashion, Hawkins appears as a model and spokesperson for many brands. She’s walked the runway for numerous high-profile fashion events and designers, including T.D. Jakes MegaFest 2015, Designer’s Rack at Neiman Marcus, and Grace the Runway benefitting Simply Grace at the Women’s Museum at Dallas’ Fair Park. She has modeled designs by Andre Terry at ShonDanz Entertainment’s Runway Extravaganza, and is a frequent model for fashion extraordinaire J. Bolin.

Hawkins is the author of “The Storm After the Storm”, a novel based on her true-life experience of surviving childhood rape and incest. Her philanthropy includes holding board and committee positions and raising and donating funds for several organizations including St. Jude Children’s Research, Minnie’s Food Pantry, and The Source of Hope and Women Called Moses.

In 2020, Hawkins became an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho.

Merri Dee

orn Mary Francine Dorham, broadcasting legend Merri Dee used her voice to speak for crime victims. Best known for her work at Chicago’s superstation WGN-TV, Dee rallied Illinois politicians to draft the nation’s first Victims’ Bill of Rights in 1992, in which legislation in other states followed. Her mother died when she was two and her stepmother was abusive, she wrote in her memoir.

Over a 43-year tenure at WGN, Dee hosted public affairs programming, charity telethons, and lottery drawings, becoming a broadcasting trailblazer who won the hearts of Chicagoans. Dee landed her first radio job in 1966 at WBEE in Harvey, moved to TV at the then-fledgling WCIU-Channel 26 in 1968, then switched to host “The Merri Dee Show” on WSNS-Channel 44 in 1971, quickly gaining a huge following. Leaving the station one night, a man kidnapped Dee and a guest who appeared on her show. He took them both to a forest preserve after demanding money, where he shot Dee twice in the head. Her show guest, amateur psychic Alan Sandler, was killed. But she managed to drag herself to the side of a road to flag down help. Dee responded by fighting through paralysis and blindness to return to TV news the next year at WGN, becoming one of the first Black news anchors in a major U.S. city. Her attacker was released on parole after 12 years and harassed her over the phone. Dee became an advocate for victims of gun violence, rallying to Illinois politicians to draft the nation’s first Victims’ Bill of Rights in 1992, legislation that other states followed.

She helped raise more than $30 million as manager of WGN-TV Children’s Charities, according to the station, becoming the face of advocacy for adoption in Illinois through fundraisers and telethons. Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar commended her efforts at the station in 1998, crediting them with boosting adoptions in the state by 50%. In a 2005 interview with Contemporary Black Biography, Dee said that she was inspired to work on behalf of adopted children because of her experiences with her stepmother. “I made up my mind to get involved so that no other child would go through that.”

Dee was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame, an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, and served as president of Illinois’ American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) chapter from 2009 until her death in 2022.

Hydeia Broadbent

orn with congenital HIV, Hydeia Broadbent became the first minor to be an HIV activist. She was twice named by Ebony Magazine as one of 150 most influential African Americans.

Abandoned at birth at a Las Vegas hospital, Broadbent was adopted by Loren and Patricia Broadbent as an infant at 6 months old. Though her HIV status was congenital, Broadbent was not diagnosed as HIVpositive with advancement to AIDS until the age three.

Broadbent’s activism began at age 6, speaking about HIV and AIDS through Elizabeth Glaser, creator of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Health. From there, Broadbent began to speak at various events including AIDS benefit concerts, documentaries, college campus education events, and talk shows.

In 1996, Broadbent appeared as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and again on Oprah’s Where Are They Now, as one of the most requested guests to be revisited. She also appeared on a Nickelodeon special with Magic Johnson, establishing the Hydeia L. Broadbent Foundation two years later. Continuing her advocacy for HIV/AIDS awareness, Broadbent has appeared in Essence Magazine and on the Maury Povich Show, Good Morning America, and at the 1996 Republican Convention, famously stating, “I am the future, and I have AIDS.” In 2012, Broadbent became an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho. Broadbent currently speaks on behalf of the Magic Johnson Foundation and other AIDS activist organizations to educate people about HIV/AIDS, raise awareness, and fight discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS.

AFFILIATE NEWS

Alpha Iota Sigma Philo Affiliate Savannah, GA

Centennial Appreciation Project: An Exposition of People that Serve Our Community In an effort to live by the motto, “Greater Service Greater Progress,” the ladies of the Alpha Iota Sigma Philo Affiliate presented cards of appreciation and doughnuts to the employees of seven different agencies throughout Savannah and the surrounding areas. The number seven signifies the seven founders of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Throughout the pandemic, several individuals such as first responders, and health care workers, unselfishly worked to serve our community to keep us safe. These brave men women worked tirelessly to keep us safe as well take care of our loved ones. Many were working long hours with little or no sleep and were away from their families for extended lengths at a time. Alpha Iota Sigma Philo Affiliates are comprised of Philo Natilyne VanEllison, Philo Althea Hall, Philo Sarah Butterfield, Soror Jacqueline VanEllison, Philo Advisor, Soror Malaker Carraway, and Philo Co-Advisor.