On a late summer night, 1954, a group of friends and classmates in the Washington, DC area, met at the home of Ms. Ruth and Selita Giles. The common bond of the group was that they attended or graduated from Tennessee A&I State College (now Tennessee State University). The purpose for the meeting was to discuss a need for a Tennessee A&I State Alumni Association chapter in Washington, DC. After much discussion and debate, the group agreed to submit an application to the college to establish an alumni chapter in Washington.
Ms. Ruth Giles was elected as the first president of the original charter members, who were: Valerie and *Smallwood Ackiss, *Tommy Adkins, *Walter Brown, *Bessie Davis and *Holbert Davis, Ruth Giles, Bettye and *Ralph Gill, Robert Hoosier, Joseph and Lucy Love, *Melvin Patterson, *Benjamin Sanders, *Joseph Tunstall.

In the early years meetings were held in members' homes, but as the membership expanded monthly meetings were held in libraries, police stations, churches, schools, and the congressional office of former Congressman Harold Ford (D-TN).

*Now Deceased

In the land of golden sunshine,
by the Cumberland's fertile shore.
Stands a school for greatest service,
One that we adore.
Alma Mater, how we love thee,
Love thy white and blue.
May we strive to meet Thy mandates
with faith that's true.