Twenty-two women attending Howard University began an organization in 1913 hoping to make strides in community service and education.
One hundred years later, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has more than 250,000 members, including nearly 90 who represent the Kinston Alumnae Chapter.
Thousands of Delta women geared up for the New Year with their centennial on Jan. 13.
Local chapter members will invite area sorors — members of the same sorority — at the Woodmen Community Center on Jan. 26 for the Kinston centennial celebration.
“One hundred years ago, our 22 founders had a vision to impact community service,” said chapter Vice President Lendell Fields Wayne, who’s been a member since 1985. “(The centennial) gives us a chance to let the community see and be a part of what we do on an ongoing basis.”
Sorority members will have a private ceremony followed by a public reception.
“We will rededicate ourselves to the ideas and the mission (of our founders),” said Wayne, a retired teacher of 33 years. “The rededication is going to be the highlight of the local chapter’s involvement in our 100th.”
The 55-year-old alumnae chapter, part of the South Atlantic region, has also hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations for area nursing homes and mentoring programs for Lenoir County’s youth over the years.
“We provide workshops on issues of today (and) what we think our kids need to know about what’s going on in the world,” said Eleanor Mills Harvey, the chapter’s immediate past president and a retired educator. “Our main objective is service.”
The current president is Erin Harvey, Eleanor’s daughter-in-law.
Eleanor Harvey and Wayne said the sorority exemplifies outstanding sisterhood with its unique bond.
“Membership in Delta Sigma Theta is a lifetime commitment,” they said unanimously last week.
The pair attended N.C. Central University and became educators.
“Like all sisters, you have your disagreements,” Harvey said, “but if one of us falls, all of us fall.”
That means they take the rap for each other and hold equal responsibility during tough times.
Greek-lettered organizations are often associated with negative stereotypes around hazing — activities involving harassment, abuse and humiliation.
“We don’t have that problem in the Kinston-Lenoir County chapter,” Wayne said. “Your chapter will be immediately revoked if you (haze). That’s not what our founders stood for.”
If hazing-related incidents, typically on college campuses, occur, it has to be investigated from a national stance.
“We believe in educating, not harassing people,” said Harvey, who’s been a member of the local chapter since 1978.
In 2013, members still celebrate history and service through re-enacting historical events, such as the Women’s Suffrage March. Some local Deltas have already signed up to travel to the D.C. area for various national events in the next few months.
Delta Sigma Theta was also the first black sorority to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., which they did again this year for the Rose Bowl celebration.
“I feel very privileged to be part of an organization that supports the issues important to me as a retired educator and mother of an African American male student,” Wayne said. “I don’t take it lightly.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
BREAKOUT BOX:
Meet Me Monday
Kinston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
- Started in 1958 by 20 founders
- President, Erin Harvey
- Contact: PO Box 2346, Kinston, NC 28502-2346
Fun Fact: Two original charter members are still active in the community