Ruth Tappe Scruggs Explained

Ruth Tappe Scruggs
Birth Name:Ruth Eliza Tappe
Birth Date:August 4, 1893
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., United States
Death Place:Detroit, Michigan, United States
Known For:National president of Zeta Phi Beta (1926–1930)

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.

Early life and education

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

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

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.

Notes and References

  1. Book: University, Howard . Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Howard University, District of Columbia . 1919 . Judd & Detweiler . 259 . en.
  2. News: 1918-03-30 . Washington Letter . 2 . The New York Age . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  3. September 1927 . Along the Color Line . The Crisis . 233.
  4. News: Shackleford . W. H. . 1930-01-05 . Happenings Among Colored People: The Tenth Annual Boule . 8 . The Tennessean . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  5. Summer 2021 . Greetings from Grand Val . The Archon Magazine . 3 . Issuu.
  6. News: 1964-07-30 . Community Day Series of Coffee Hours Launched . 27 . The Buffalo News . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1957-04-22 . Charity to Benefit . 11 . The Buffalo News . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1945-08-25 . Holloman-Jenkins Nuptials Take Place in Summer Home of Dr. and Mrs. Scruggs . 10 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: 1961-08-03 . Picnic Saturday . 6 . The Buffalo News . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Book: Williams, Lillian Serece . Strangers in the Land of Paradise: Creation of an African American Community in Buffalo, New York, 1900-1940 . 2000-07-22 . Indiana University Press . 978-0-253-21408-9 . 91–92 . en.
  11. News: 1974-04-08 . Dr. Ivorite L. Scruggs Dies; Leader in Black Community . 16 . The Buffalo News . 2023-02-25 . Newspapers.com.