GSUSA, 1955
*On this date in 1912, the Registry affirms the history of African Americans in the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low assembled 18 white girls from Savannah, Georgia, for a local Girl Scout meeting on this date. Racially segregated in the beginning, the first troop for Black girls was formed in 1917, and by the 1950s, GSUSA began a national effort to desegregate all Girl Scout troops. In 1956, Martin Luther King Jr. described the Girl Scouts as "a force for desegregation." In keeping with their goal of creating the leaders of tomorrow, now over 100 years old, GSUSA has a record of noble leadership of African American women within the Girl Scout Movement.
From 1975 to 1978, the first African American GSUSA President, Dr. Gloria D. Scott, was the face of this organization. In more recent times, GSUSA has partnered with historically black colleges and universities, companies, and organizations, including Wilberforce University, Clark Atlanta University, Essence magazine, the National Urban League, the United Negro College Fund, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and 100 Black Men of America, Inc., to make Girl Scouts an important essential African American community.
These partnerships have made their Movement richer by adding many new volunteers and scores of new Girl Scouts. Currently, close to 300,000 African American girls embrace the values and promise of Girl Scouting, enhancing the beauty and strength of our organization along the way.
