Ruth Eliza Tappe Scruggs (August 4, 1893 – July 2, 1980) was an American clubwoman. She was the sixth national president (Grand Basileus) of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, in office from 1926 to 1930.
Ruth Tappe Scruggs | |
|---|---|
 Ruth Tappe Scruggs, from a 1927 issue of The Crisis | |
| Born | Ruth Eliza Tappe August 4, 1893 Washington, D.C., United States |
| Died | July 2, 1980 (aged 86) Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Known for | National president of Zeta Phi Beta (1926–1930) |
Early life and education edit
Ruth E. Tappe was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of James Henry Tappe and Mary Susan Monroe Tappe. She earned a bachelor's degree in education from Howard University in 1919.[1]
Career edit
Tappe worked at the Government Printing Office in Washington as a young woman.[2] Scruggs was the sixth national president of Zeta Phi Beta, serving in that leadership role from 1926 to 1930.[3][4] During her tenure, the sorority joined the National Pan-Hellenic Conference, and its official national magazine, The Archon, began publication.[5]
Besides Zeta Phi Beta, Scruggs was active in church work.[6] In 1950, she helped found the Niagara-Buffalo chapter of The Links, another Black women's service organization.[7]
Personal life edit
Ruth Tappe married physician and community leader Ivorite Lorimer Scruggs in 1920. They moved to Buffalo, New York in 1921, where they were socially prominent,[8][9] and owned an apartment building.[10] Her husband died in 1974,[11] and she died in 1980, in her late eighties, in Detroit, Michigan.
References edit
- ^ University, Howard (1919). Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Howard University, District of Columbia. Judd & Detweiler. p. 259.
- ^ "Washington Letter". The New York Age. March 30, 1918. p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Along the Color Line". The Crisis: 233. September 1927.
- ^ Shackleford, W. H. (January 5, 1930). "Happenings Among Colored People: The Tenth Annual Boule". The Tennessean. p. 8. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Greetings from Grand Val". The Archon Magazine: 3. Summer 2021 – via Issuu.
- ^ "Community Day Series of Coffee Hours Launched". The Buffalo News. July 30, 1964. p. 27. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Charity to Benefit". The Buffalo News. April 22, 1957. p. 11. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Holloman-Jenkins Nuptials Take Place in Summer Home of Dr. and Mrs. Scruggs". The Pittsburgh Courier. August 25, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Picnic Saturday". The Buffalo News. August 3, 1961. p. 6. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Lillian Serece (July 22, 2000). Strangers in the Land of Paradise: Creation of an African American Community in Buffalo, New York, 1900-1940. Indiana University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-253-21408-9.
- ^ "Dr. Ivorite L. Scruggs Dies; Leader in Black Community". The Buffalo News. April 8, 1974. p. 16. Retrieved February 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.