Morris Memorial Building / Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Pi Sigma Chapter (Nashville Alumnae)

Morris Memorial Building. The Morris Memorial Building is named for the Rev. Elijah Camp Morris (1855-1922), who served as the first President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. from 1895 to 1922. At the time, the National Baptist Convention was considered one of the largest African American religious bodies. Designed by McKissack & McKissack, one of the nation's first African American architectural firms, in the mid-1920s, the Morris Memorial Building housed the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Sunday School Publishing Board, McKissack & McKissack Architectural Firm, and other African American businesses. The Neoclassical building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places since January 1985, is the only building still standing associated with African-American businesses in the downtown area. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Nashville Alumnae Chapter (Pi Sigma chapter). Pi Sigma Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was chartered at the Morris Memorial Building in April 1930. Charter members, all graduates of Fisk University, were Mary Katherine Battle. Eloise Lowe Clark, Melissa Elliott, Grace Price Goins, Minerva Hatcher Johnson Hawkins, Bennie Bell McClendon, Edwina Randall Wilson. A year later, the Pi Sigma Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority hosted the Sorority's Eleventh Annual National Convention in Nashville from December 27 through December 31, 1931. This was the first convention held in the South by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Pi Sigma was renamed Nashville Alumnae Chapter in 1958.