Born and raised in Chicago, Beverly Effort Biggs applied to Illinois at the encouragement of a high school teacher in 1961. Up until then, her educational environments had been majority - black. She came to Illinois at the young age of 16 and found a sense of belonging through the Black Greek system by joining Delta Sigma Theta her junior year. She remembers coming of age through the sorority and picketing with sisters in the Civil Rights Movement for fair housing.
Alum Judy Coonce discusses her experiences as the first white woman to have a Black roommate at the university. Coonce also helped refound the Sigma Kappa sorority on campus, which she details here. This oral history was recorded as part of the ongoing Oral History project and conducted in partnership with the University of Illinois Library Archives.
