The Big Easy was bejeweled and bedazzled with sparkling touches of crimson and cream earlier this month as sisters of the largest black sorority celebrated Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated’s 50th National Convention. More than 15,000 women from as far away as Japan gathered to rejoice in old ties and make organizational plans to carry the nearly century-old sorority into another decade of sisterhood, scholarship and service.
Now led by National President Cynthia M. A. Butler-McIntyre, Delta was founded in 1913 by 22 students at Howard University to fight against injustices faced by African Americans and women. The sisterhood has grown to include more than 900 chapters in seven regions and hundreds of thousands of college-educated women who serve their communities though the sorority’s five-point programmatic thrust.
Hosted by local chapters, the weeklong convention was held at New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The theme, which was inscribed on decorative charms affixed to Mardi Gras beads that were handed out to the sisters as they landed at the airport, was, “A Sisterhood Called to Serve: Transforming Lives, Impacting Communities.”
The women took the call, which was approved by their New Orleans-bred national president, quite literally. The first full day of activity was “IMPACT Day” (Inspiring and Mobilizing Public Service Advocates for Community Transformations), when thousands of Deltas dressed down in crimson and cream work clothes and headed out to participate in dozens of citywide service projects. Old and young picked and pruned side by side in the name of community uplift. The project couldn’t have been more timely, as many African American organizations have come under fire recently for planning lavish conventions where pomp and circumstance seem to outweigh service.
“I feel compelled to use Delta’s collective forces to let the people of this city know we love and care for them,” said Felicia Nickerson of Georgia’s East Point/College Park chapter as she waited to board her service bus. “I’m delighted to do this.”
As could be expected from the lively ladies, the Deltas did more than serve and plan. Highlights included a parade, masked ball, step show hosted by comedian Bill Bellamy, literary café featuring signings by Delta Paula Giddings and Pam Grier, an address by Delta and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, and serenades by Christopher Williams and Charlie Wilson.
Most moving was the sorority’s open mourning of the passing of American civil rights champion Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. A spectacular commemorative wall was erected in the convention center in tribute to Height, whose commitment to Delta was marked with nine years of service as president.
Members cried as they remembered Height’s legacy at a memorial service. Some stopped and proudly took pictures before the wall.
“She was a true servant-leader,” said Billie Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa chapter in Alabama. –grace octavia
Essence best-selling author Grace Octavia has penned four romance novels, including “Playing Hard to Get.” For more information, visit www.graceoctavia.com.
