Delta Sigma Theta
Encyclopedia : D : DE : DEL : Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (ΔΣΘ) is a non-profit Greek letter organization of college educated women committed to constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community.
In 1912, a dichotomy existed within the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) at Howard University. One group wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and public service, and in 1913, twenty-two women resigned and formed the beloved sisterhood, Delta Sigma Theta. [The ΑΚΑ /ΔΣΘ Connection] skipmason.com (URL accessed May 11, 2006). Delta Sigma Theta was incorporated in March of 1913 and the first public service act the founders participated in was the Women's Suffrage March in Washington D.C., March 1913.
Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is the LARGEST organization of women and the largest African- American Greek-lettered organization in the world. The Grand Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has a membership of over 250,000 predominantly African American, college-educated women. The sorority currently has 900-plus alumnae and collegiate chapters located in the United States, Tokyo, Okinawa, Germany; Bermuda, the Bahamas; Seoul, Saint Thomas and Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Jamaica.
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National
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority owns property located at 1703, 1705, 1707, and 1709 New Hampshire Avenue in the Dupont Circle area of Northwest Washington, D.C.. This is the site of its national headquarters and the headquarters of the Delta Research and Education Foundation (DREF).In March 2003, Delta Sigma Theta became a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations (UN). In a presentation by Hanifa Mezoui, Chief NGO Section, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN (ECOSOC), Past National President Gwendolyn Boyd (who served as National President during this time) accepted the credentials on behalf of the sorority, before 150 members of the organization from across the country. Delta Sigma Theta was welcomed to the United Nations by Assistant Secretary General for External Affairs, Gillian Sorensen, who asked the sorority in her keynote address to, “use your NGO status to monitor the status of women and children in the world and bind together with other NGOs to insure that the UN honors its commitments.” Delta Sigma Theta was granted Special Consultative Status as an NGO to the Economic and Social Council of the UN as a result of its volunteer services and humanitarian efforts performed to address issues throughout the world.
The sorority is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), an organization of nine international Greek-letter sororities and fraternities.
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Since its founding in 1913 Delta Sigma Theta has clearly distinguished itself as a public service organization that boldly confronts the challenges of African Americans and, hence, all Americans. Over the years, a wide range of programs addressing education, health, international development, and strengthening of the African American family have evolved. In realizing its mission, Delta Sigma Theta provides an extensive array of public service initiatives through its Five-Point Program Thrust of Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness and Involvement, Physical and Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement.
Program development and implementation in Delta is a cooperative function with committees, the national executive board, and headquarters staff involved. Those with direct leadership responsibilities for implementation include members of the Program Planning and Development Committee, Social Action Commission, Commission on Arts and Letters, Information and Communications Committee, Membership Services Committee and Regional Officers.
Delta's Five-Point Thrust
The major programs of the Sorority are based upon the organization's Five-Point Programmatic Thrust:
- Economic Development
- Educational Development
- International Awareness and Involvement
- Physical and Mental Health
- Political Awareness and Involvement
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Financial Fortitude: Smart Women Finish Rich
National economic trends, such as unstable employment, the threat to Social Security as we know it, and the widening gap between wealth and poverty are the basis for the development of Financial Fortitude, the current Economic Development Program Initiative of Delta Sigma Theta. Financial Fortitude is a process that will help program participants to set and define goals, develop a plan to achieve them, and to put the plan into action. The process serves as a blueprint to address all aspects of personal finances.
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy
Catching the Dreams of Tomorrow, Preparing Young Women For the 21st Century The Delta Academy was created out of an urgent sense that bold action was needed to save our young females (ages 11-14) from the perils of academic failure, low self-esteem, and crippled futures. Delta Academy provides an opportunity for local Delta chapters to enrich and enhance the education that our young teens receive in public schools across the nation. Specifically, we augment their scholarship in math, science, and technology, their opportunities to provide service in the form of leadership through service learning, and their sisterhood, defined as the cultivation service learning, and their sisterhood, defined as the cultivation and maintenance of relationships. A primary goal of the program is to prepare young girls for full participation as leaders in the 21st Century.
Delta Academy has taken many forms. In some chapters, the Academies are after-school or Saturday programs; others are weekly or biweekly throughout the school year; and still other programs occur monthly. At a minimum, chapters plan and implement varied activities based upon the needs of the early adolescents in their areas. The activities implemented most often include computer training, self-esteem and etiquette workshops, field trips for science experiences and for college exposure, and special outings to cultural events, fancy dinners, museums, plays, and concerts.
Delta GEMS – Growing and Empowering Myself Successfully
A natural outgrowth and expansion for the continuation of the highly successful “Dr. Betty Shabaaz Delta Academy: Catching the Dreams of Tomorrow”, Delta Gems was created to “catch the dreams” of African American at-risk, adolescent girls aged 14-18. Delta GEMS provides the frame work to actualize those dreams through the performance of specific tasks that develop a “CAN DO” attitude. The goals for Delta GEMS are:
- To instill the need to excel academically;
- To provide tools that enable girls to sharpen and enhance their skills to achieve high levels of academic success;
- To assist girls in proper goal setting and planning for their futures—high school and beyond; and
- To create compassionate, caring, and community minded young women by actively involving them in service learning and community service opportunities.
INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS AND INVOLVEMENT:
Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital (formerly Thika Memorial Hospital)
Nothing is more precious than the gift of life. And, there is nothing more miraculous than the birthing of a child—bringing new life into being. Prenatal care and safe birth deliveries are practices often taken for granted in America. Yet, adequate prenatal and maternity care is seldom experienced by women in our ancestral homeland of Africa.
Realizing this critical health issue, in 1955, Delta Sigma Theta began making plans and laying the groundwork to establish a maternity hospital in the east African country of Kenya. The plans for a facility came to fruition in the early 1960s when Delta made a major donation to help finance the construction of the Thika Maternity Hospital in Thika, Kenya, which is now named Mary Help of the Sick Missions Hospital. The first hospital to open after Kenya gained its independence, Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital continues to be operated by the missionary sisters of the Holy Rosary.
In 1985 members of the Sorority visited the hospital and saw first hand the increased population and infant mortality rate in and around Thika. Delta responded by donating over $20,000 in 1985 which was used to establish two additional maternity wards and an administrative office.
Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital has grown to 120 beds. It provides affordable prenatal and postnatal care, nutritional education, child immunization, and family planning. The hospital gives prenatal care, including lab work, blood tests, and examinations to more than 200 women daily. The facility also has a special care nursery for babies after delivery. The hospital also serves as an educational institution for nurses and midwives. Over 66 students are trained each year.
Summit VI: Health Issues Impacting Women of African Descent
Obesity; HIV/AIDS; and breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers are all health issues impacting women of African descent at disproportionate rates. In April 2006, Delta Sigma Theta commemorates twenty-five years of summits with an international awareness program, Summit VI: “Health Issues Impacting Women of African Descent,” to be held on the beautiful, stress-free island of Jamaica.
Summit VI will feature many of the foremost experts on health care to focus on health issues of mothers, daughters, and sisters of the . The conference will include various formats for disseminating information—workshops, panels, and town hall formats. Healthy lifestyle activities will also be a feature of the conference
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH:
Total Woman: Mind, Body, and Spirit
As an organization of predominantly African American women, Delta Sigma Theta is uniquely positioned to impact not only the well-being of its members, but also the well-being of families and communities at large. To facilitate this effort, the Health Task Force was launched to provide concentrated expertise and focus on the Physical and Mental Health aspect of our Five-Point Programmatic Thrust.
The mission of the Health Task Force is to educate and facilitate lifestyle change for the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of sorors and the communities that we serve. The Health Task Force objectives are to:
- Raise awareness about the importance and benefits of lifestyle changes that affect longevity, morbidity, and mortality;
- Identify organizational alliances for the sorority that will work to address pertinent health issues; and
- Develop and implement health-focused programs within the sorority and the communities we serve.
Delta has embraced the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign. Heart disease is women’s #1 killer—a fact that most women don’t know. The program raises awareness of the risks and causes of heart disease and focuses women on healthier life styles.
POLITICAL AWARENESS AND INVOLVEMENT:
Delta Days in the Nations Capital
In 1989, the National Social Action Commission instituted Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital, an annual legislative conference to increase members’ involvement in the national public policy-making process. The annual conference includes legislative briefings, issue forums, and advocacy skills development. Featured speakers include key policy makers, members of the United States Congress, Congressional staff members, and national issues experts.
Delta Day at the United Nations
Special Consultative Status as an NGO allows the organization to provide analysis and expertise in monitoring and implementing international agreements on issues of mutual concern. As an NGO, Delta has the opportunity to gain access to and disseminate information concerning a range of issues on women and children in which the United Nations is involved. Delta representatives attend regular briefings and disseminate information on UN activities to its members and the community at large.
Delta Day at the United Nations, held annually, is tentatively scheduled for March 3, 2006.
Voting Rights
In March of 1913, nearly six weeks after its founding, several Delta Sigma Theta Founders marched in the historic Suffragist March under the Delta Sigma Theta Banner, the Sorority’s first public act. Today, low voter turnout statistics highlight the need to continue to identify ways to include opportunities for all citizens to exercise their voting power.
Under the of the National Social Action Commission, Delta Sigma Theta continues to institute programs that advocate:
- The re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act.
- The repeal of voter disenfranchisement laws.
- The full restoration of voting rights for individuals who have paid their debt to society.
- The full implementation of the Help America Vote Act.
Delta Sigma Theta established the Delta Research and Educational Foundation (DREF), as, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit foundation. DREF was designed to help strengthen and expand the charitable, educational, scientific programs of Delta Sigma Theta and other organizations with similar community service goals.
DREF provides:
- BENEFITS for contributors to the national, regional and chapter activities of Delta Sigma Theta.
- RESEARCH AND PROGRAM INITIATIVES through The Center For Research on African American Women serving as a comprehensive database and resource on the diverse lifestyles of African American women and the roles they have played in contributing to the building of the United States. The Center is designed to present extensive research on Black women that will be of significance for policy decision-making on both local and national levels.
You may contribute to DREF using DREF's ID No. 1636 through United Way or the National Black United Federation of Chapters.
Contact us: Delta Research and Educational Foundation Alta J. Cannaday, Director 1703 New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-347-1337 202-347-5091 Fax Email:DREF@deltafoundation.net
Delta Founders
- Osceola Macarthy Adams
- Marguerite Young Alexander
- Winona Cargile Alexander
- Ethel Cuff Black
- Bertha Pitts Campbell
- Zephyr Chisom Carter
- Edna Brown Coleman
- Jessie McGuire Dent
- Frederica Chase Dodd
- Myra Davis Hemmings
- Olive Jones
- Jimmie Bugg Middleton
- Pauline Oberdorfer Minor
- Vashti Turley Murphy
- Naomi Sewell Richardson
- Mamie Reddy Rose
- Eliza Pearl Shippen
- Florence Letcher Toms
- Ethel Carr Watson
- Madree Penn White
- Wertie Blackwell Weaver
- Edith Mott Young
Alumnae
There are many notable recognized as leaders in activism, athletics, business, education and scholarship, entertainment and media, government, and literary sectors at the local, national and international level.External links
- [Delta Sigma Theta Sorority official website]
- [Delta Research and Educational Foundation (DREF)]
- [National Pan-Hellenic Council]
Footnotes
| National Pan-Hellenic Council Alpha Kappa Alpha | Alpha Phi Alpha | Delta Sigma Theta | Iota Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Psi | Omega Psi Phi | Phi Beta Sigma | Sigma Gamma Rho | Zeta Phi Beta |
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