Delta Sigma Theta Founders Day 2017: Facts And History Of Black Sorority

Delta Sigma Theta sorors were celebrating the 104th anniversary of their sorority as part of the national nonprofit organization's Founder's Day festivities on Friday. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded Jan. 13, 1913, on the campus of Howard University, a historically black college. Its mission was to have its college educated members "committed to constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community," according to its website.

Read on for more facts and to know more about the history of the second oldest black sorority.

More than 200,000 women have become members in the sorority's history, including campus chapters in the U.S., Jamaica, Europe and Asia.

Members also took to Twitter on Friday to express their pride at the organization and its longevity.

Numerous events across the country have been planned for Friday, including but not limited to a special members only celebration in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and a luncheon in Richmond, Virginia.

Delta's national headquarters is in Washington, D.C., the same city in which it was founded at Howard University with just 22 students. It was founded just five years after Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first official black sorority.

Dr. Paulette C. Walker is the national president of the sorority, and her motto is “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” something she has said is imparted to each of the organization's members.

Walker, who began her second term as president in 2015, spoke last year for Founders Day in Moss Point, Mississippi, and told those in attendance what she thought the day was all about.

"For the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Founders Day represents more than just another reason to fellowship with our sisters. It is a day that we can set aside to not only honor 22 tenacious women, but to also remind and recommit ourselves to the legacy of service they entrusted to us," Walker said at the time.

She continued: "Each time we go into our communities to mentor our youth; feed and clothe the homeless; host health fairs and screenings; provide financial resources; bring awareness of key legislative issues to local areas; and advocate for the rights, education, and safety of women and girls around the world, we celebrate our Founders. Put into those terms, Founders Day is a year-long event for the women of Delta Sigma Theta, who have served communities across this nation and around the world for over a century."