Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime

These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years

- Kelyn Soong and Maya Valentine

They got ready for parties and shared countless laughs as freshmen in the dormitories of the University of Maryland at College Park. They bonded over being Black women at a university where, in 1971, only 4 percent of the student body was Black. Friends dubbed the tight-knit group of women Sugar Hill, and the name stuck.

“It was unique for that many African American females to be in one place,” says Elizabeth Gholston, an early member. “During that time, you needed that kind of camaraderie and cohesiveness.”

On 14 December 1973, the women, most of them college seniors, gathered to celebrate a birthday and an early graduation. But that wasn’t the end of the friend group. By the evening’s end, they decided they should meet again the following December. And the next one. And the next one.

For the past 50 years, the women have met at least once a year for dinners, sleepovers and vacations. The 16 women of the Sugar Hill Sisterhood, as they now call themselves, have leaned on one another through decades of milestones: weddings and graduations, baby showers and funerals.

There’s no challenge too big for the sisterhood, says Everene Johnson-Turner. “I could call in the troops in a minute.”

Lasting Traditions

While many people have friendships that span decades, the women of Sugar Hill are something of a case study in what it takes to maintain them. Although the bond among them was forged during college, they’ve worked hard to stay connected and nurture their relationships. A group chat helps them stay in touch daily, as do phone calls, video chats and remote group activities like a 90-day fitness challenge. They are committed to their annual reunions and have maintained unwavering support for one another.

“People are in awe that all these women, in all these years, we haven’t had a fight, we haven’t had a breakup or anything like that. We respect each other’s individuality,” says Jonetta Hill.