Inspiration: Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

“Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.”

-Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

My condolences and prayers go out to the family of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, my esteemed Soror. Dr. Height passed this morning at the age of 98.

Growing up in the South, the significance of the Civil Rights Movement was an everyday reality. Soror Height is the reason I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority…the reason I have such an interest in human rights…the reason I serve my community…the reason I joined the Peace Corps…the reason I am sitting here writing at this very moment. On April 16, 2005, my ’99 prophyte Marisa Slack gave me Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir. I was inspired. There is no such thing as impossible. In the midst of violence, staring HATRED in the eye, with all odds against you, you can win. Y O U C A N W I N. So what of ignorance? What of laziness? What of bigotry? What of poverty? What of sorrow? What of addiction? What of self? Y O U C A N W I N. In spite of the opposition, I know I will succeed. Check the birth certificate…I was born a winner.

“Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.”

-Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

INSPIRATION: more old school pics

Soror Florence Letcher Toms, Founder

Soror Eliza Pearl Shippen, Founder

1924 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority National Convention

Sigma Chapter Charter Members

Alpha Upsilon Chapter, 1927

Soror Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Delta's 1st National President

Beta Chi Chapter, 1948

Talladega, Alabama 1950

Delta Sigma Theta Bookmobile

Sorors 1960's