04/06/2026
As we kick off JA Week 2026, we would like to share how our organization began more than 85 years ago.
Our history originally started amid the Great Depression in 1935. Two doctors in Greenville, MS, Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Gamble, contacted the society editor of the Delta Democrat Times, Louise Crump, for help. These doctors saw daily the plight of Greenville’s children living in back alleys and on shanty boats on the river. They asked Crump to solicit the aid of her friends in providing food, clothing and toys, along with transportation to the doctors’ and dentists’ offices. She contacted nine women who met with her in her home. They assessed themselves $5 each to begin their work. They convinced businesses and other individuals in Greenville to provide services and goods. Local dentists and doctors donated their time, and membership grew.
The Greenville women realized that there were similar groups of women in other towns, and by 1940 they began meeting with some of them in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta. They joined forces, and using the National Junior League as a model, they created a constitution on Nov. 14,1941 with Crump as the first NAJA president. The charter chapters were McComb, Greenville, Greenwood, Leland, Laurel, Meridian, Vicksburg and West Point, MS; and Pine Bluff and Russellville, AR.
Today there are 83 chapters with more than 16,000 members in seven Southeastern states. Chapters find needs that are not being met in their communities and develop projects to meet those needs.
To learn about how to become part of JA of Tipton County, contact Cindy Wilkins at [email protected]
