Gadsden Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta to mark Founders Day March 19

Staff Report
·2 min read

The Gadsden Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will commemorate the 110th anniversary of the sorority’s founding at 3 p.m. March 19 in the Antioch Family Life Center, 2001 E. Broad St.

The event’s theme, according to a news release, is “Fortitude: Then, Now and Always."

Founders Day celebration is an annual event for the chapter, which marks its 47th year in 2023, but this will be the first in person post-COVID celebration, according to the release.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., by 22 young students who were committed to forming an organization committed to serious endeavors and public service. The new sorority’s first public act, according to the release, was to take part in the 1913 Women’s Suffrage March.

Delta Sigma Theta continues to break social and political new ground. To mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, it became the first Black Greek letter organization to establish a social political affiliate, D4 Women in Action, a 501(c)(4) organization.

While D4 Women in Action is not a PAC and cannot give money directly to candidates, it works to enhance Delta’s political presence and identify critical issues in the Black community. It seeks to increase advocacy, education, economics, and power of Black women in the political process.

Gadsden Alumnae is one of more than 1,000 Delta Sigma Theta chapters in the United States, England, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and South Korea.

Chapter President Cynthia Toles said, “Delta Sigma Theta Inc. is the largest of the 9 Greek letter college educated social service organizations affectionally known as the “Divine 9.”

The Founders Day program is open to the public and there is no cost to attend. Email communiondemic@gmail.com or call Mary Carstarphen Kelley at 256-251-5155 for more information.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Delta Sigma Theta to commemorate Founders Day