Myra Lillian Davis Hemmings (August 30, 1895 – December 8, 1968) was an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and a founder of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

sorority.

Early life

Myra Lillian Davis was born in

Gonzales, Texas Gonzales is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, with a population of 7,165 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Gonzales County, Texas, Gonzales County. Gonzales was the site of several integral events in the T ...

on August 30, 1895. Her parents were Henry and Susan (née Dement) Davis. In 1909, she graduated from Riverside High School in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Davis was a part of the group of seven who joined the ''Alpha chapter'' of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

in 1912; she served as its president.Tamara L. Brown, Gregory Parks, Clarenda M. Phillips (2005). ''African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision''. University Press of Kentucky, 192. A dichotomy ensued between the newly initiated ''Alpha chapter'' women who lived on campus and the rest of the organization who lived off campus. The neophytes led by Davis wanted to change the name.and voted to reorganize Alpha Kappa Alpha into

on January 13, 1913. In this meeting she was elected president of Delta Sigma Theta''.'' Retrieved on July 6, 2007. In 1913, Hemmings graduated from Howard University. In 1947, Hemmings received her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Career

After graduation, Davis began teaching in 1913 in San Antonio, Texas. Hemmings was active in amateur theater and participated in the San Antonio Negro Little Theater by directing productions. She and her husband helped to organize

Phyllis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784), was an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates Jr., Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: ...

Dramatic Guild Players.Handbook of Texas Online: Myra Hemmings
Retrieved July 6, 2007. In her career as an actress, she appeared in three films. First, in the

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

tragic drama film '' Go Down Death: The Story of Jesus and the Devil'', she starred as the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

Sister Caroline. In addition to acting, Hemmings co-produced and co-directed the film. In the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

film '' Marching On'', she played Mrs. Ellen Tucker. In ''Girl in Room 20'' (

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

), she played Sarra Walker. Later as a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

teacher, Hemmings directed plays from the 1920s to the 1950s at the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio. She continued to teach in San Antonio for fifty-one years.

Personal life

In 1922, Davis married John W. Hemmings, a former actor on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. Hemmings was elected as vice-president of the national Delta Sigma Theta in 1933 as well as the organization's historian in 1948. She was also a member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, the

National Council of Negro Women The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, ...

and the Alpha Phi Literary Society. Hemmings died on December 8, 1968, in San Antonio.

Honors

After Hemmings' death, the Dramatic Theatre Guild was renamed Myra Davis Hemmings Memorial Theatre Guild. In addition, the San Antonio alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority resource center was named after Hemmings in 1986.A Guide to the San Antonio Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Records, 1934-1998 (Bulk 1938-1992)
Retrieved on July 6, 2007. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. created the Myra Davis Hemmings Scholarship for the study of performance or creative arts.

References

External links