During Black History Month, discover the most iconic yearbook superlatives from Black high schools, colleges, and universities in the 1950s. From best dressed to most likely to succeed, these vintage snapshots capture the essence of a generation and reveal the unique experiences and achievements of Black students during a pivotal time in history.
1948 Washington High School (Raleigh, N.C.) “Most Humorous” students.
Vintage Yearbook Superlatives from Black High Schools, College & Universities 1950-1959
“Best Looking” Williston Senior High School, North Carolina, The Willistonian [1955] via digitalnc.org
SUPERLATIVE: The actual definition of a superlative is an object or person that has the most of a given quality. Within the context of high school, college & university, superlatives are reserved for the senior class as a rite of passage, with their peers voting in various categories. They are part of yearbook traditions.
Examples of Categories:
Best all-around
Biggest flirt
Class clown
Cutest couple
Life of the party
The Vintage Class Superlatives…
“Most Dignified“, Pauline Leake & Kenneth Norton from Central Piedmont Community College, “The Buck [1950-1951]” Yearbook.
Liz note: I’m obsessed with Pauline’s early 1950’s jacket.
“Most Carefree”. One more from Central Piedmont Community College, “The Buck [1950-1951]” Yearbook.
Saint Augustine’s University, 1951 ‘Falcon’ Yearbook picks….
“Most Popular” was Alexander Morris. “Best Dressed Girl” went to Marilyn Lomax. “Best Dressed Boy”, Jason Randall and “Most Versatile” was Donald Ashman.
Saint Augustine’s University, 1953 ‘Falcon’ Yearbook Superlatives…
“Most Cooperative”, “Most Musical” and “Friendliest”.
1955 Williston Senior High School, North Carolina, The ‘Willistonian’ Yearbook featuring the “Most Intellectual”, “Best Dancers”, “Best Solo Dancer”, “The Most Studious” and “The Most Temperamental”.
1955 Superlatives from the Booker T. Washington High School (Reidsville, N.C.), ‘The Pioneer’ Yearbook. The categories on this page were…
“Most Dependable”, “Most Studious”, “Most Versatile”, “Biggest Flirt”, “Most School-Spirited”, “Most Likely to Succeed”, “Best Dressed” and “Best Actor / Actress”.
1958 ‘Blue Flame’ Yearbook from Central High School (Hillsborough, N.C.) featuring the “Most Dramatic” & the “Most Talkative” Superlative.
Another 4 from the same Central High School in 1958….“Most Athletic” & “Best Dancers”.
Some new one’s in the Senior Superlatives from Dunbar High School 1959 ‘The Bar’ Yearbook.
“Most All-Round”, “Most Helpful” & “Shortest”.
Shaw University, 1959 ‘The Bear” Yearbook featuring the chosen two for “Most Jovial”.
I hope our Richard was just having an off day when they took his photo.
Thanks for reading my post!
I wonder how everyone made out in life? Did they continue to be the “best dressed” or the “most carefree”? I would like to think so.
Question time: Did your yearbook have as Superlative? If so, were YOU in it (I don’t think my school had this)? Share any fun insights or comments in the section below.
You may never know if your great-grandmother was part of a sorority back in the day, but with a few clicks of a mouse, you can get a glimpse into the sorority culture of the 1920s-1950s thanks to vintage photographs that capture the spirit of sisterhood and tradition.
Whether it’s a sweet snapshot of two friends goofing around or a formal portrait of a group of girls lined up in matching outfits, these classic photos are sure to spark a sense of nostalgia.
For today’s Vintage Photo Tuesday, I was inspired by the topic of back to school and the vintage images that have been crossing my Pinterest feed of Sororites from the 1920s-1950s.
So let’s see what I found, shall we?
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Vintage Photos of Sororities
1920s-1950s
All the pledges for all the sororities on North Dakota Agricultural college’s campus took a group photograph on the steps of Old Main. GOSH what amazing 1920s fashions!
Source: Flickr
1922 ‘Phi Gamma’ Sorority‘ as seen in the Queens University of Charlotte, Nods and Becks yearbook.
Source: Digitalnc.org
‘Sigma Gamma Rho, Alpha Chapter, 1924.
About: On November 12, 1922, seven young women came together in the middle of “Klandiana” to create Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, a sisterhood that would change the world. At the time of the organization’s founding at Butler University in Indianapolis, the state was the epicenter of the Ku Klux Klan, In the middle of that hostile environment, the founders of Sigma Gamma Rho built a sorority that not only supported and encouraged Black women to pursue higher education, but was also focused on serving the Black community (Source).
Source: Essence
Heading back to the North Dakota Agricultural College, here is the 1928 Pledge class for the ‘Gamma Phi Beta‘ sorority.
About: Gamma Phi Beta is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The term “sorority” was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University (Source).
Source: Flickr
‘Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) Sorority‘ National Convention (June 28 – July 2 – 1936) yard long photograph. The photo is taken in front of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
About: Although there were three women’s groups represented at Boston University in 1888, seniors Sarah Ida Shaw and Eleanor Dorcas Pond saw a need for a different organization that would “be kind alike to all and think more of the girl’s inner self and character than of her personal appearance.” It came to be on Thanksgiving Eve 1888 (Source).
Source: Etsy
‘Alpha Delta Chi Sorority‘ as seen in the 1938 Pine Knot yearbook-Barton College in North Carolina.
About: The sorority is the only honor society on the campus and was organized in 1936. The members are selected for scholarship, character, and particpation in extra-curricular activities. Its colors are red and gold.
Source: Digitalnc.org
1942 ‘Chi Omega‘ Sorority as seen in the Queens University of Charlotte, Coronet 1942 yearbook.
Vintage yearbooks are one of my favourites go-tos for seeing what 1940s hairstyles actually looked like and our lovely sorority sisters in their yearbooks photos from 1942 are no exception.
Source: Digitalnc.org
“Beta Lambda”. ‘Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority‘ at Howard University in 1945 looking incredibly stylish. Fantastic 1940s fashions!
ABOUT: The Alpha Kappa Sorority, is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority**. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for Black women in areas where they had little power or authority due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early 20th century. Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913 (Source).
**June 2025 Update: A lovely reader reached out and informed me that my info about the Alpha Kappa Sorority is incorrect. “The first African American Greek organizations to make what we call the D9 is Alpha Kappa Alpha (1908) and Alpha Phi Alpha (1906)”.
Source: Flickr
‘Kappa Alpha Theta‘ as seen in Duke Universities, 1947 Chanticleer yearbook.
About: Kappa Alpha Theta, also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women (Source).
Source: Digitalnc.org
Shaw University 1951 Yearbook Photo of the ‘Delta Sigma Theta Sorority‘.
About: The first African-American Greek organizations, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, both chapters of national organizations, appeared in 1920.
Source: Digitalnc.org
Fun Fact! Lena Horne, legendary singer/actress was also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta (Source).
‘Pi Kappa Tau Sorority’ as seen in the 1951 Elon University (North Carolina), Phi Psi Cli yearbook.
Source: Digitalnc.org
‘Rho Gamma Alpha Sorority’ at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 1956 yearbook photos.
About: Rho Gamma Alpha is the social society of Charlotte College. New members are admitted each Fall Quarter on the basis of character, personality and interest displayed in organization.
Source: Digitalnc.org
The Livingstonian College (North Carolina) yearbook from 1959 featuring the ‘Alpha Kappa Sorority‘ in their beautiful 1950s evening gowns (I had to share this sorority again because this image was just so wonderful).
Source: Digitalnc.org
And that is this is the end of this post. I hope you enjoyed taking a look at this collection of vintage sorority images and learning a bit about their history.
Please share any fun / interesting comments about this topic in the comments section below.
![1950s yearbook photo from Williston Senior High School, North Carolina, The Willistonian [1955] featuring a young Black Woman being voted as "Best Looking" for the Superlatives in her yearbook.](https://www.vintageinn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1950s-vintage-yearbook-photo-of-a-pretty-Black-Woman-Student-named-Best-Looking-736x1024.jpg)
![1950s vintage yearbook Superlative from Central Piedmont Community College, "The Buck [1950-1951]" Yearbook featuring "Most Dignified" Black Man and Black Women from a HBCU. Fantastic early 1950s fashions!](https://www.vintageinn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1950s-vintage-yearbook-photo-from-a-North-Carolina-HBCU-featuring-two-young-Black-College-Students-winning-a-Most-Dignified-Superlative.jpg)
![1950s vintage yearbook Superlative from Central Piedmont Community College, "The Buck [1950-1951]" Yearbook featuring the "Most Carefree" Students. The Image features 5 Black College students in early 1950s fashions.](https://www.vintageinn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1950s-vintage-yearbook-photo-from-a-North-Carolina-HBCU-featuring-young-Black-College-Students-winning-Most-Carefree-Superlative-688x1024.jpg)
