Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is one of four college sororities for African American women, and is the largest African American Greek-letter sorority in the world. Since its founding, more than 350,000 women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds hold membership in Delta Sigma Theta. The sorority currently has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, Canada, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Republic of Korea.
Delta Sigma Theta’s community service, social, and philanthropic projects revolve around the “Five-Point Thrust.” The five points include: economic development, educational development, international awareness and involvement, physical and mental health, and political awareness and involvement.
On January 13, 1913, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Some of these women were already members of the Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, including the elected officers of Alpha Kappa Alpha: Myra Davis Hemmings, president; Ethel Cuff Black, vice-president; Edith Motte Young, secretary; Jessie McGuire Dent, corresponding secretary; Winona Cargile Alexander, custodian; Frederica Chase Dodd, sergeant-at-arms; and Pauline Oberdorfer Minor, treasurer.
The twenty-two Delta Sigma Theta (DST) founders were not pleased at the lack of progress of Alpha Kappa Alpha to move beyond organizing the affairs of campus society at Howard and wanted to reorganize the sorority to address topics like public service and women’s advancement. These new members wanted to establish a national organization, a broadening of the sorority’s activities, and ultimately change the sorority’s name to reflect this new purpose. They also wanted to change the symbols, change the sorority colors, and be more politically oriented. In 1912, they voted to change the Alpha Kappa Alpha name to Delta Sigma Theta. This new name was to reflect the group’s desire to change the direction of the group towards social activism and greater public service; rather than continue to focus on social activities.
The grand push caused conflict between graduate members who wished to keep the previous name and functional status quo, and the new Alpha chapter members who voted in favor of the name change. After a graduate member of the Alpha chapter gave the new members a deadline to stop the reorganization of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the twenty-two women split off from Alpha Kappa Alpha and created the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority on January 13, 1913. On January 20, 1930, the organization’s Grand Chapter was nationally incorporated after Delta became the first sorority composed of undergraduate African American women to apply to the trustees of any university for the right to become an incorporated body.