The ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. announced a $1 million donation to the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation last week. This donation contributes to the foundation’s $75 million fundraising goal.

Dedicated to honoring the trailblazers of the early American struggle for women's equality, the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation is the group driving this project. The monument will be unveiled in 2027 in Washington, D.C.

Delta Sigma Theta also announced that Dr. Thelma T. Daley, the 16th National President, and Elsie Cooke-Holmes, the International President and Chair of the Board of Directors, had been named as foundation ambassadors. Additionally, the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation has named Delta Sigma Theta Sorority a National Partner.

“Delta’s imprint in making the Women’s Suffrage National Monument a reality is a tribute to all Black women whose names may not have made the pages in the history books nor recognized from a podium,” said Dr. Thelma T. Daley, the 16th National President of the sorority.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was founded on January 13, 1913, on the campus of Howard University by twenty-two young women. With the primary focus of public service and the advancement of women, Delta Sigma Theta is known for its involvement in the Woman’s Suffrage Movement dating all the way back to 1913. The sorority’s first act of public service took place on March 3, 1913, when they participated in the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington, D.C.

“On that day, the women of Delta cemented their legacy as pioneers whose bravery would come to define Black social activism of the twentieth century, and it is our honor to welcome Delta Sigma Theta as a National Partner and to work together to continue that legacy by uplifting all women’s stories out of the footnotes of history and into our collective memory,” said Anna Laymon, the President and CEO of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation.

In a social media post, the sorority expressed the significance of their financial contribution.

“This gift and our role as Ambassadors are a testament to our ongoing commitment to advocacy and education, ensuring the valor and stories of our 22 Founders and other courageous women continue to inspire generations,” read a post on Delta Sigma Theta’s social media.

Black women played a significant historical role in the suffrage campaign, as Dr. Daley noted, saying, “Black women from all walks of life played a pivotal role in the passing and ratification of the 19th Amendment, and as Delta rises, they, too, will rise.”

Delta Sigma Theta is committed to upholding and advancing the history of women's suffrage, as seen by this generous gift and collaboration.