The Love Letter

Quarterly Newsletter

Founders Day 2023

Sorors Kristyn Cathey & Zoria Goodley Regional Journalists

In January, chapters celebrate, honor, and recognize the founding of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated through celebratory events based around our organization’s FivePoint Programmatic Thrust. A decade after the momentous centennial celebration at Howard University, where nearly 40,000 sorors came together to celebrate the founding of our sorority, chapters from across the globe will host events that directly reflect the sisterhood, scholarship, service, and social action for which our 300,000-plus members have come to be known.

Celebrating your first Founders Day as a collegiate is a special occasion. It is a wonderful pleasure to have the chance to participate in Founders Day activities, fellowship with sorors, and recognize the hard work of our Founders 110 years ago It is motivational to realize the amount of effort and commitment our Founders expended while still in college and at a similar age to us. It might be difficult for a college student to envision forming an organization right now Our 22 can, nevertheless, provide the perception of reality.

Crystal T Barker Regional Director

Aniecia Browning Regional Representative

OurFoundersFromtheSouthwestRegion

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded by 22 young collegiate women on the campus of Howard University on January 13, 1913 They include Soror 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 C. Jones, Jimmie Bugg Middleton, Pauline Oberdorfer Minor, Vashti Turley Murphy, Naomi Sewell Richardson, Mammie Reddy Rose, Eliza Pearl Shippen, Florence Letcher Toms, Ethel Carr Watson, Wertie Blackwell Weaver, Madree Penn White, and Edith Motte Young

Of the 22 founders, four were from the state of Texas. Soror Founders Zephyr Chisom Carter, Jessie McGuire Dent, Frederica Chase Dodd, and Myra Davis Hemmings contributed significantly to the Alpha Chapter and the sorority.

Founder Zephyr Chisom Carter was born on November 14, 1891, in El Paso, Texas She was among the first graduating class of the Douglass School before heading to Washington, DC o attend Howard University. She was elected to serve as the Alpha Chapter’s first reporter. Upon graduation, she returned to Texas to begin teaching in San Antonio but later moved to California, where she was active in the performing arts as a singer and performer. She passed away on September 8, 1976.

Founder Jessie McGuire Dent was an educator and civil rights activist, but before that, she was just a young girl from Galveston, Texas, with a dream to lead. Born on March 24, 1891, she matriculated to Howard University after graduating from Galveston’s segregated Central High School. Soror Founder Jessie McGuire Dent served as the first corresponding secretary of the Alpha Chapter and helped charter the Gamma Delta Chapter, now known as the Galveston Alumnae Chapter Upon graduation, she returned home and was hired to teach English and Latin at her alma mater She spent the next three decades in education Most notably, she filed a petition and fought for equal pay for Black secretaries, administrators, and educators in Galveston. She passed away on March 12, 1948. In 1999, the city of Galveston named the McGuire-Dent Recreation Center at Menard Park after the activist, and The Galveston Alumnae Chapter created a scholarship in her name.

Myra Davis Hemmings

Jessie McGuire Dent

Frederica Chase Dodd

Zephyr Chisom Carter

Founder Frederica Chase Dodd was born on November 3, 1893, in Dallas, Texas. Upon graduation from Dallas Colored School No. 2, she began her collegiate career at Howard University, where she served as the first sergeant-at-arms for the Alpha Chapter Upon graduation in 1914, she returned home to teach English at her alma mater. She co-founded the Eta Beta Chapter, now known as the Dallas Alumnae Chapter, in 1924, making it the first Greek-lettered organization in Dallas County, Texas. She passed away on January 21, 1972. A scholarship in her honor was established by the Dallas Alumnae Chapter, and the Frederica Chase Dodd Life Development Center was created south of downtown Dallas.

Founder Myra Davis Hemmings was born in Gonzales, Texas, on August 30, 1895 She graduated from Riverside High School in San Antonio in 1909 Soror Founder Myra Davis Hemmings matriculated to Howard University shortly thereafter, where she holds the distinction of serving as the first president of the Alpha Chapter. In 1933, she established the Psi Sigma Chapter, later known as the San Antonio Alumnae Chapter, and served as its first president. She returned home to begin her teaching career in San Antonio immediately after graduation from Howard. Her teaching career spanned over 51 years. An accomplished playwright, she and her husband organized the Phyllis Wheatley Dramatic Guild Players and the San Antonio Negro Little Theater She passed away on December 8, 1968

In January 2013, on the cusp of the organization’s centennial celebration, in resolutions that listed founders, both houses of Congress recognized Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, and in 2021, state legislator Toni Rose introduced a resolution to recognize January 13, 2021, as “Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Day” in Texas. The resolution acknowledged the roles of the four Texas founders and legislators, Ruth Jones McClendon and Barbara Jordan.

110 years after its founding on the campus of Howard University. The decision made by our 22 Founders on January 13, 1913, to create an organization dedicated to public service has stood the test of time Their contributions to the greater good of the female Greek-lettered experience can be seen and felt in 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located throughout the world.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated continues to move “Forward with Fortitude,”

“Of the 22 founders, four were from the state of Texas. Soror Founders Zephyr Chisom Carter, Jessie McGuire Dent, Frederica Chase Dodd, and Myra Davis Hemmings contributed significantly to the Alpha Chapter and the sorority."

What Our Regional Director & Representative Have Been Up To, With Our 22…

Soror Tiffany Treadway, Lead Regional Journalist

Gearing up to “Paint the City Red,” Southwest Regional Director, Crystal Barker and Regional Representative Aniecia Browning prepared to travel throughout the Blazing Southwest Region and beyond to kickoff Founders Day weekend Soror Browning, graced the Southwest Dallas County Alumnae Chapter with powerful greetings at the Starlight Center in Cedarwoods, TX on January 13, 2023

Soror Barker’s first stop was, the city that ‘never sleeps,’ New Orleans, LA., where she was welcomed as the keynote speaker for the New Orleans Alumnae Chapter. With over 900 attendees, the weekend’s theme of, “Celebration of Life, Liberty, and Legacy, was proclaimed during the main event, Founders Day luncheon on Saturday, January 14th, 2023, at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside. The weekend concluded with worship at the New Home Full Gospel Cathedral in New Orleans-East.

Making her way back to the ‘Boot (Louisiana),” on January 22nd, Soror Barker was greeted at the Baton Rouge Airport with so much love, by the beautiful Sorors of the Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter Soror Barker was scheduled to be the highlighted speaker the following day at the Renaissance Hotel with a theme: Forward with Fortitude: Engaging our Sisterhood, empowering our Communities and Elevating our Impact”

Furthermore, the last Saturday of the month, January 28th, she raised the roof with her home chapter Little Rock Alumnae, followed by being the keynote speaker at the elegant and historical Parc 73, for the Ascension Alumnae Chapter in Gonzales, LA

Lastly, our dynamic Southwest Regional Representative attended Houston's Joint Founders Day and was the Presiding Officer of the Rededication Ceremony.

According to Eugene Therapy.Com, “Relationships are a cornerstone of happiness and living a full life. This is because they come with a wide array of awards. Relationships have been around since the beginning of time. Therefore, it’s no surprise that they have been the bedrock for many other things throughout history such as: family, community, and future goals.” Now, you may ask, ‘how can one foster a genuine relationship without love? Well, my friend, my sister. The answer is simple, it’s impossible. Many experts suggests that to have a thriving relationship, one must embody love. Not the love given to us by man, but “Agape Love” The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love It is distinguished from the other types of love by its lofty moral nature and strong character Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing”

Moving forward with Fortitude, Believing in Delta, and Loving Deltas.

SororCrystalT.Barker

Founders Day - Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter

Founders Day - New Orleans Alumnae Chapter

SororAnieciaBrowning

Founders Day - Southwest Dallas County Alumnae Chapter

Celebrating Founders Day in Style

Sorors Tiffany Treadway, Lead Regional Journalist & Percy Kabir, Houston Metropolitan Alumnae

Houston Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter Sisterhood Celebration for Founders Day (J13- January 13). “Got To Be Real” HMAC J13 Line dancing was a reclamation/sisterhood event.

On Friday, January 13, 2023, from 7:13 pm to 10:13 pm, HMAC hosted 250-chapter members and special guests at the Big Brothers Big Sisters - W.T. and Louise J. Moran Foundation Building. As sorors danced with a purpose, this was an evening of line dancing, strolls, refreshments, door prizes, and sisterly fun. Sorors danced on J13, promoting retention, reclamation, and philanthropy.

Additionally, January is “Mentor Month” The event raised $2500+, benefiting the Big Brother/ Big Sister Houston Mentor Program As a result of the HMAC J13 event, we reclaimed eight members and had two collegiate transfers

Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter's 22 Days of Service

Soror Tamiko Garrison, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter

On January 1, 2023, the Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. launched its “22 Days of Service” This initiative is a bold Greater Baton Rouge Area (GBR) public service project leading up to the 110th Founders Day Celebration, which will be held on January 22, 2023. At this event, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter will also celebrate 92 years of public service to the GBR community.

Baton Rouge Delta, as it is affectionately known, has served the GBR community for over 90 years They have done so by advancing the vision set forth by the 22 Founders more than a century ago They have continued to be at the forefront of community advocacy and activism The programs are rooted in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc’s National Five-Point Programmatic Thrust of Economic Development, Educational Development, Physical and Mental Health, Political Awareness and Involvement, and International Awareness and Involvement.

“The chapter members will serve at various locations throughout the 22 days Our first stop was on today, New Year’s Day, serving at St Vincent de Paul’s Dining Hall,” said LaConga Hilliard Scott, President of Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter. “We will continue by writing thank you notes to teachers, sending thank you notes to deployed Louisiana service men and women, reading in classrooms at local schools, hosting a vaccination drive, decorating placemats for Meals on Wheels, hosting a self-defense class, hosting a virtual workshop talking about the importance of knowing your medical history, collecting business attire for collegiate students, hosting a benevolent collegiate basketball service day, volunteering at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, and collecting feminine products in the fight against period poverty. It is our mission to enhance, elevate, and empower our communities.”

The Lafayette Alumnae Chapter Celebrates its 60th Anniversary Soror Havana Raggett, Lafayette Alumnae Chapter

Soror Marcelle Fontenot said, “If you want something done, give it to a leader If you want something done well, give it to a Delta.” Since 1962, the Lafayette Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has provided service to Lafayette, St. Martin, and Vermilion parishes. On November 13, 2022, charter members, chapter members, and many others assembled to celebrate “Diamonds & Pearls 60 Years of Excellence” in Lafayette, LA

Dr Willis Lonzer, III, General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, was the guest speaker for the evening A video that captured a recent conversation of five of the chapter’s charter members reflecting on the details of how Lafayette Alumnae came to be was shared. Artist Brandon Lewis donated a commissioned painting recreating a photo of charter members from 1962 As a souvenir of the celebration, prints of the painting were provided to each of the surviving charter member

Lafayette Alumnae Chapter’s charter members: Soror Geraldine G Roy, Soror Gloria A Wiltz, Soror Enrica Singleton, and Soror Rose Landry Joseph Photo

The Lafayette Alumnae Chapter was instrumental in establishing four chapters within the Acadiana area: Theta Xi (The University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in 1971, New Iberia Alumnae Chapter in 1972, Crowley Alumnae Chapter in 1975 and Opelousas Alumnae Chapter in 1977. Current community service projects include awarding scholarships to high school seniors, voter registration drives, Delta Academy, Delta GEMS, and a Beautillion Lafayette Alumnae Charter Member Soror Rose Landry Joseph stated, “We as Deltas need to remind ourselves continuously of the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. If we can bond utilizing all of the principles of Delta with the love chapter, we will always remember that the greatest of these is love.”

Acknowledgements

Soror Cherie Johnson Chair, Video & Graphic Design

Credit: Brandon Foster

Soror Tiffany Treadway Lead Journalist

Soror Annetra Piper Editor-In-Chief