Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Founded on January 13, 1913

This week has in it the founding days of three of the four National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Sororities. All three, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. were founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. January 13, 1913, is the date upon which Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. came into being. It was founded by 22 Howard University collegians – Winona Cargile (Alexander), Madree Penn (White), Wertie Blackwell (Weaver), Vashti Turley (Murphy), Ethel Cuff (Black), Frederica Chase (Dodd), Osceola Macarthy (Adams), Pauline Oberdorfer (Minor), Edna Brown (Coleman), Edith Mott (Young), Marguerite Young (Alexander), Naomi Sewell (Richardson), Eliza P. Shippen,  Zephyr Chisom (Carter), Myra Davis (Hemmings), Mamie Reddy (Rose), Bertha Pitts (Campbell), Florence Letcher (Toms), Olive Jones, Jessie McGuire (Dent), Jimmie Bugg (Middleton), and Ethel Carr (Watson).

All of the sorority’s members were initiates of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded on January 16, 1908. When a disagreement about the future of the organization arose between the active chapter and the alumnae, an ultimatum was given, decisions were made, and in the end, the active members left Alpha Kappa Alpha and became Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Myra Davis Hemmings went from being the president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter to being president of the Delta Sigma Theta chapter. Many of the first meetings took place in Edna Brown Coleman’s living room. The 1913 Valedictorian and Class President, she married Frank Coleman, a founder of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Florence Letcher Toms’ hobby of collecting elephant figurines led to the animal becoming the sorority’s symbol.

Two months later, on March 3, 1913, the sorority walked in the historic suffrage march in Washington, DC. They were the only African-American women’s group to participate. Honorary member Mary Church Terrell, an ardent suffragist and civil rights activist, joined them in their march. She inspired and mentored the women. Terrell wrote the Delta Oath in 1914.

The daughter of former slaves, Terrell was an 1884 graduate of Oberlin College. She taught high school, was a principal, and was appointed to the District of Columbia Board of Education. Terrell was a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and picketed at the White House. She was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women. Terrell dedicated herself to suffrage and equal rights. She signed the charter that established the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Terrell help found of the College Alumnae Club, which later became the National Association of University Women (NAUW). She was awarded three honorary doctorates before she died in 1954.

Mary Church Terrell