The Baltimore Chapter was established in 1950 and currently has 27 active members and six Lifetime members.
Welcome to Baltimore, Maryland! Also known as “Charm City”, Baltimore, Maryland is an urban city with a touch of “Hometown” flair. It is the jewel of the Chesapeake where you can savor the taste of a “world renowned” crab cake at any number of restaurant establishments. The Gay Northeasterners, as they were once known, began in Washington, D.C. in 1930. From the initial group, women from other cities wanted to expand. One of the cities was Baltimore, Maryland. In 1950, the Washington, D.C. Chapter installed 16 women into their chapter. Six of these women were from Baltimore. In time, they thought it would be acceptable to establish a Baltimore Chapter. One particular member, Helen Lee, would ultimately become the Baltimore Chapter founder and charter member. Helen Lee remained a member of the Northeasterners for 68 years until 2018, the year of her death. When she passed, she was 100 years old. The Baltimore members were women of style, grace, and finesse. They had lively and fun meetings and took trips together with their spouses or significant others, who were named Lords. The members nurtured cultural trends and were impactful in community charities and educational scholarships. Like other chapters, the Baltimore Chapter dropped the word “Gay” in 1978 due to societal changes. Every few years, the Chapter delights in sending a collection of member successes and chapter achievements to the Schomburg Museum in New York City, a museum dedicated to preserving black culture.
It has been my sincere honor to serve as President of the Baltimore Chapter since September 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic presented the world with incredible challenges that we never thought we see in our lifetime, I believe it solidified the underlying friendship that our organization is based upon. As sisters and friends, we miss getting together and hugging one another but once we return to “normal”, I believe we will truly be able to say that we “cherish these friendships more and more each day.”
Charter and early members of the Baltimore Chapter were Jeannette Christmas, Helen C. Lee, Etta Phifer, Beautine DeCosta-Lee, Wilhelmina Garner, Blanche Beckman, Pamela Beckman, Emma Bright, Elizabeth Brooks, Greta Burnett, Tywana Dorsey, Jane Dyer, Betty Harris, Yvonne Lansey, Jacqueline Lewis, Lena McKinney, Elsie Jude Mason, Phyllis Moore, H. Jewel Moseley-Gray, Lillian D. O’Daniel, Cheryl Simpson Parker, Sylvia T. Patterson, Alice G. Pinderhughes, Elizabeth M. Ramsey, Virginia J. Richardson, Carolyn A. Stubbs, Rita Braxton Turner, Jacqueline Watts.
In 2015 the chapter was honored to celebrate charter member Helen C. Lee’s 100th birthday. At that time, a contribution was made to the Helen C. Lee Foundation at Morgan State University. Our dear charter member passed away two weeks before she would have celebrated her 101st birthday in 2016.
