Happy Centennial Anniversary to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority!

One hundred years ago today 22 young women set out to form a new sorority at Howard University. The founding members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need. With great fortitude and focus, the 22 young women formed Delta Sigma Theta Sorority on January, 13, 1913.

The members wanted to emphasize social activism as opposed to social activities. The first public act performed by the Delta Founders involved their participation in the Women's Suffrage March in Washington D.C., March 1913. Delta Sigma Theta was incorporated in 1930. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is the largest African-American Greek-lettered sorority in the world.

A sisterhood of more than 250,000 predominantly Black college-educated women, the sorority currently has over 900 chapters located in the United States, England, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Republic of Korea.

Members have included activists Mary McLeod Bethune and Dorothy Height, and congresswomen Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan. Other notable members include poet Nikki Giovanni, journalists Gwen Ifill and Soledad O' Brien, singers Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Leontyne Price and Roberta Flack, and actresses Cicely Tyson and Ruby Dee.

More than 12,000 members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority convened to mark the organization's centennial this weekend with activities including community service, a re-dedication and an awards ceremony.

Happy 100th Anniversary to the distinguished women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.!