Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is proud to announce a $1 million gift to the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. In addition, International President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Elsie Cooke-Holmes, and 16th National President, Dr. Thelma T. Daley, have been named as Ambassadors of Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. Additionally, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated has been named as a National Partner to the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation.
“Today marks a milestone for Delta Sigma Theta and all who champion women’s rights and honor their history,” said Elsie Cooke-Holmes, International President and Chair of the Board of Directors. “Our Founders stood not only in the parade lines but at the forefront of change. This gift and our role as Ambassadors are a testament to our ongoing commitment to advocacy and education, ensuring the valor and stories of these courageous women continue to inspire generations. Together with the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, we are not just preserving history—we are propelling it forward.”
“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, 16th National President. “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.”
“When the 22 Founders of Delta Sigma Theta marched with Mary Church Terrell in the 1913 Woman Suffrage Parade, they changed history,” said Anna Laymon, President and CEO of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation. “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.”
Delta Sigma Theta’s extraordinarily generous gift is a major step towards the Foundation’s $75 million fundraising goal. Laymon added, “We extend our deepest gratitude to International President Elsie Cooke-Holmes and Dr. Thelma Daley for their leadership, their strength, and their commitment to elevating women’s history in our Nation’s Capital.”
