Delta Sigma Theta
A historically Black Greek-letter sorority founded at Howard University and organized around public service, leadership, scholarship, and civic engagement.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is a historically Black collegiate and alumnae sorority founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 1913. Its founders were college-educated women who sought to create an organization combining fellowship with sustained public service, educational advancement, civic participation, and support for African American communities. Membership is open to women without regard to religion, race, or nationality, subject to the organization’s membership processes. Women may join through undergraduate chapters while enrolled at a college or university or through alumnae chapters after completing a degree. The organization emerged from a disagreement among members of Howard University’s Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter about the group’s identity, legal structure, symbols, and direction. The women who established Delta Sigma Theta wanted a distinct national organization with a more explicit commitment to collective public action. The new sorority’s Alpha chapter was incorporated in February 1913, and the national Grand Chapter became a perpetual incorporated body in 1930, creating a stronger legal and administrative foundation for expansion. Public activism was present from the beginning. In March 1913, members participated in the Woman Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., only weeks after the sorority was founded. Over subsequent decades, Delta Sigma Theta developed programs addressing literacy, access to education, economic opportunity, health, political participation, international development, and support for women and families. Its Five-Point Thrust, formalized in 1956, provided a common framework for chapter programming: educational development, economic development, physical and mental health, political awareness and involvement, and international awareness and involvement. The sorority expanded from collegiate chapters to alumnae chapters, regional structures, and international chapters. Its initiatives have included library and book-distribution efforts, scholarship fundraising, literacy programs, youth development, health and maternal-care projects, housing construction with Habitat for Humanity, international relief and community-development work, and public-policy advocacy. Delta Sigma Theta is affiliated with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the umbrella body for nine historically Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities, and received special consultative status with the United Nations in 2002. By the period covered by the reference material, the sorority reported more than 350,000 members and more than 1,000 chapters across the United States and several other countries. Its centennial year in 2013 included participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade, where its float presented the theme “Transforming Communities through Sisterhood and Service.” The organization remains a membership-based, service-oriented institution whose identity combines sisterhood, professional and civic networks, leadership development, and community advocacy.
History
Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913, by twenty-two women at Howard University. Several founders had previously belonged to Alpha Kappa Alpha, but they sought a separate organization with a different name, visual identity, governance structure, and stronger orientation toward public service. The disagreement included questions about national authority and the ability to establish chapters. The women adopted the name Delta Sigma Theta and reorganized as a new sorority. Its Alpha chapter was incorporated on February 18, 1913. The organization’s first public action came soon afterward, when members joined the March 3, 1913, Woman Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C. Early chapters developed local service projects, while the national organization worked to create shared rituals, communications, and programs. Mary Church Terrell wrote an early oath in 1914. Expansion began with Beta chapter at Wilberforce University in 1914, followed by chapters at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Iowa, and Ohio State University. Graduate, or alumnae, chapters were authorized in 1920, allowing membership and service activity to continue after graduation. The 1920s established much of the sorority’s national infrastructure. May Week promoted college attendance among Black women, the publication The Delta improved communication, and the Omega chapter was created to honor deceased members. The organization expanded westward with a chapter at the University of California in 1921, established regions in 1925, and created the Jabberwock fundraising tradition to support scholarships. National incorporation in 1930 made the Grand Chapter a perpetual body and simplified the legal expansion of chapters. During the 1930s and 1940s, Delta Sigma Theta broadened its educational and civic work. The National Library Project supplied books to rural Black communities in parts of the South, while the National Victory Book Drive collected books for servicemen during World War II. In 1945, the sorority made an early contribution to the United Negro College Fund. That year it also joined other historically Black Greek-letter organizations in establishing the American Council on Human Rights, which sought to coordinate resources and influence in support of equal opportunity and justice. International work developed alongside domestic civil-rights activity. The first foreign chapter was established in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1950. The sorority opened its first national headquarters in 1953 and supported a maternity ward at Thika Memorial Hospital in 1955. In 1956, National President Dorothy Height introduced the Five-Point Thrust, organizing programming around educational development, economic development, physical and mental health, political awareness and involvement, and international awareness and involvement. Delta members participated in the 1963 March on Washington, and the organization created a Social Action Commission during its twenty-seventh national convention. Programs for teenagers, unwed mothers, and international women’s issues followed during the 1960s and 1970s. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, the sorority added programs focused on women, families, youth, literacy, and public policy. The Fortitude sculpture was unveiled at Howard University in 1979 to honor the founders. A series of summits addressed women’s concerns, single parenting, and the preparation of young men for adulthood. The Right-to-Read program, life development centers, and School America addressed educational and lifelong-development needs. Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital began in 1990, bringing members into direct contact with policymakers. Collaboration with Habitat for Humanity produced housing projects in the United States and Ghana, while international projects supported schools, health facilities, orphaned children, and technology education in Africa and the Caribbean. In 2002, Delta Sigma Theta became the second African American organization to receive special consultative status with the United Nations, according to the reference material. The sorority began its centennial year on January 1, 2013, with a Tournament of Roses Parade appearance. Its continuing model combines chapter-based service with national initiatives, professional networks, leadership development, scholarship support, and advocacy for educational, economic, health, political, and international priorities.
- 2013
Centennial celebration
[1]The organization marked its hundredth anniversary and appeared in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
- 2002
United Nations consultative status
[1]The sorority received special consultative NGO status with the United Nations.
- 1990
Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital begins
[1]Members began meeting with congressional representatives about issues affecting women and minorities.
- 1956
Five-Point Thrust introduced
[1]National programming was organized around five service and advocacy priorities.
- 1950
First foreign chapter established
[1]A chapter was established in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
- 1930
National incorporation
[1]The Grand Chapter was incorporated as a perpetual national body.
- 1920
Alumnae chapters authorized
[1]The sorority approved graduate chapters and introduced major national programming and communications initiatives.
- 1913
Founding at Howard University
[1]Twenty-two women founded Delta Sigma Theta in Washington, D.C., on January 13.
- 1913
Participation in the Woman Suffrage Parade
[1]Members marched in Washington, D.C., in the organization’s first public act.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, historically Black service sorority emphasizing sisterhood, scholarship, leadership development, civic engagement, and community service.
Product categories. []
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Centennial Tournament of Roses Parade float
United States
The centennial float, titled “Transforming Communities through Sisterhood and Service,” represented the sorority’s public-service identity.
- 1992Habitat for Humanity collaboration
United States · Ghana
Delta Sigma Theta collaborated with Habitat for Humanity on housing construction for people in need, including a later project in Ghana.
- 1990Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital
United States
An advocacy and civic-engagement program through which members discuss policy priorities with congressional officials.
- 1973Right-to-Read
United States
A literacy program created to assist functionally illiterate people.
- 1943National Victory Book Drive
United States
A wartime book-collection effort providing reading material to servicemen.
- 1937National Library Project
United States
A book-access project serving rural Black communities in areas lacking libraries or equal library access.
- 1920May Week
United States
An educational initiative encouraging Black women to pursue college attendance and higher education.
Brand decisions
1956
Adoption of the Five-Point ThrustStrategyBackground
Rapid growth and varied chapter activity created a need for a shared national programming framework.
Action taken
The sorority organized its service priorities under five areas: education, economic development, health, political involvement, and international involvement.
Aftermath
The framework became a central organizing principle for chapter and national initiatives.
1913
Reorganization as Delta Sigma ThetaStrategyBackground
Founders believed a new organization was needed to establish a distinct identity, governance structure, and public-service direction.
Action taken
The women adopted the Delta Sigma Theta name and reorganized as a separate sorority.
Aftermath
The organization developed its own chapters, programs, incorporation, and national structure.
Recent events
- 2013
Delta Sigma Theta celebrates its centennial in the Tournament of Roses Parade[1]
Campaign · Other
The sorority marked its 100th anniversary with a Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade float focused on community transformation through sisterhood and service.
- 1913
Delta Sigma Theta participates in the 1913 Woman Suffrage Parade[1]
Other
Members of the newly founded sorority marched in the collegiate section of the Woman Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., establishing an early public example of its civic engagement.
Sources3 sources
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