Twenty-two undergraduate women founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on January 13, 1913 at Howard University.

Osceola MaCarthy Adams
Marguerite Young Alexander
Winona Cargile Alexander
Ethel Cuff Black
Bertha Pitts Campbell
Zephyr Chisom Carter
Edna Brown Coleman
Jessie McGuire Dent
Frederica Chase Dodd
Myra Davis Hemmings
Olive C. Jones
Jimmie Bugg Middleton
Pauline Oberdorfer Minor
Vashti Turley Murphy
Naomi Sewell Richardson
Mamie Reddy Rose
Eliza Pearl Shippen
Florence Letcher Toms
Ethel Carr Watson
Wertie Blackwell Weaver
Madree Penn White
Edith Motte Youngg

These young women wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide services and programs to promote human welfare. The Grand Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has a membership of over 200,000 predominately African-American, college-educated women. The Sorority currently has 900-plus chapters located in the United States, Tokyo, Japan, Okinawa, Japan, Germany, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Seoul, Korea, and St. Thomas and St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The major programs of the Sorority are based upon the organization's Five-Point Programmatic Thrust:

• Economic Development

• Educational Development

• International Awareness and Involvement

• Physical and Mental Health

• Political Awareness and Involvement

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