What's Inside
-------Martin Luther
To the Sorors who didn't know there would be days like this . . .
What in the world made you want to pledge?
Did you think Delta was the cutting edge?
Did you want to step on the yard while singing and saying chants?
Did you want a house full of ducks and elephants?
Did you want "suddenly loyal" subjects and new permanent friends?
Did you want attention from all sorts of men?
Did you want to stroll at all the parties while perfect strangers parted like the Red Sea?
Were you dying to put on that shirt that says, "I'm a Delta, look at me!"
Were you a legacy and felt that Delta was owed to you?
Were the akas not as popular and you didn't see anyone wearing white and blue?
No matter your reason, you've crossed the sands.
You now give long, tight hugs and know what to do when a Soror takes your hand.
Now that you are here, reality is told.
There is PUBLIC SERVICE to be done, all that glittered wasn't gold.
To step in that show, you must be a part of a team.
Your patience and precious time is required to realize that dream.
Your new friends you thought were so loyal and true,
Have put your connections to use trying to BE you.
When jealousy breaks through your stroll line it "Makes You Wanna Holla",
And Lord, that shirt costs about $50.
There are projects to be planned, money needed to follow them through,
And sometimes all that work falls directly on you.
You fight and fuss to make your dissatisfaction feel true,
But for every complaint, a counter complaint is directed at you.
So now you're frustrated, thinking, "This is not how it's supposed to be",
But as you head for the door for good, you remember Jewel #3.
You work through the details and reach a logical decision,
Then every detail is followed through with accuracy and precision.
And when it's all over, praises of Delta come from everyone's voice.
You sit back and smile knowing you've made the right choice.
You forget the reasons you came and rejoice in the fact that you've arrived...
Then you head for the party with your Sorors at your side.
Soror Ayanna Card
Auburn Alumnae Chapter, 1996
The bonds of Delta can never be broken
Together we have all crossed the same sands
Together we have learned the same things.
Which chapter?
Does it matter?
We are Sorors.....
Soror means I can lean on you
You'll be there for me, and I for you.
Soror means I can call all night
and you'll answer the phone without a fight.
Soror means you're more than a friend
Soror means on you I can depend
Soror means I'm you supportor
whatever you do I'm in your corner.
To Delta Sigma Theta we're all so true
Soror means, I love you!
by: Soror Yolanda Kali Denson (SP'97)
Pi Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Thank you, Crispus Attucks, for falling in the cause of liberty.
Thank you, Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner, too, for so strongly backing up the belief that all men are born free.
Thank you, Black composers, known and unknown, for lifting the spirit above the darkness of slavery through soul-stirring song that lighted the flame of faith, enabling us to survive.
Thank you, W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ethel Waters, Mahalia Jackson, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole, for the songs that you
sang and the music you played.
And thank you, Robert S. Abbott, for establishing newspapers that helped to enlighten us of our Black awareness and pride.
Thank you, Madame C.J. Walker, for your enlightened vision that caused us to see just how very beautiful Black can be.
Thank you, George Washington Carver and Percy Julian, for all of the contributions your great scientific minds made.
Thank you, Jack Johnson, for being a man. And you, Jesse Owens, for being a master of every race you ran.
Thank you, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks, for your artistic integrity and masterful books.
Thank you, Jackie Robinson, for knocking the balls out of the park and proving we deserved to be inside.
Thank you, A. Philip Randolph, Ralph Bunche, Roy Wilkins, Rosa Parks and Whitney Young, for leading us toward a freedom so long denied.
And thank you, Martin, Malcolm and Medgar, for reawakening the cause, for which you died.
Thank you, "shoeshine boy," struggling physicians, caddies, sleeping car porters, sharecroppers, mamas and daddies, grandmas and grandpas, for the sacrifices you made.
Thank you all for your strength and comforting aid. Without you and so many others, some renowned but most unknown, there's surely no way that any of us who have achieved some success would be where we are today.
For no Black person, in business or not, ever truly makes it on their own. We either hang IN there TOGETHER.....or we simply hang.
Think up something and do it.
-------Unknown
After all of these years and all we have been through together, we think it's appropriate for us to show our gratitude for all you have done for us. We have chastised you, criticized you, punished you, and in some cases even apologized to you, but we have never formally nor publicly thanked you for your never ending allegiance and support to our cause.
This is our open letter of thanks to a unique people, a forgiving people, a steadfast people, and a brave people: Black Americans. We will always be in debt to you for your labor. You built this country and were responsible for the great wealth we still enjoy today.
Upon your backs, laden with the stripes we sometimes had to apply for disciplinary reasons, you carried our nation. We thank you for that. We thank you for your diligence and tenacity. Even when we refused to allow you to even walk in our shadows, you followed close behind, believing that someday we would come to accept you and treat you like men and women. Your strength in the face of adversity cannot be understated. You are truly a great people, and we thank you so much.
We publicly acknowledge Black people for raising our children, attending to our sick, and preparing our meals while we were occupied with the trappings of the good life. Even during the times when we found pleasure in your women and enjoyment in seeing one of your men lynched, maimed and burned, some of you continued to watch over us and our belongings.
We simply cannot thank you enough. Your bravery on the battlefield, despite being classified as three-fifths of a man, was and still is outstanding and beyond the call of duty.
We often watched in awe as you went about your prescribed chores and assignments, sometimes laboring in the hot sun for 12 hours, to assist us in realizing our dreams of wealth and good fortune. You were always there, and we thank you.
Now that we control at least 90 percent of all of the resources and wealth of this nation, we have Black people to thank the most. You were there when it all began, and you are still with us today, protecting us from those Black people who have the temerity to speak out against our past transgressions.
How can we thank you for your dedication? You warned us about Denmark Vessey. You let us know about Gabriel Prosser's plans; you called our attention to Nat Turner. And you even sounded the alarm when old John Brown came calling on Harper's Ferry. Some of you still warn us today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Now, as we look out upon our enormous wealth, and as we assess our tremendous control of the resources of this country, we can only think of the sacrifices you and your families made to make all of this possible. You are indeed fantastic, and we will forever be in your debt.
To think of how you have looked out for us for hundreds of years and to see you still doing the same thing today, is simply amazing. Thank you for continuing to bring 95 percent of what you earn to our businesses. That is so gracious of you. Thanks for buying our Hilfigers, Karans, Nikes, and all of the other brands you so adore. Your purchase of these products really makes us feel that we are at least giving something back to you for your patronage.
After all, in the past, the brands we put on you were quite painful, but those of today can be proudly worn because they give you as sense of self-esteem, right? But it's the least we can do for a people who have treated us so well.
Your super-rich athletes, entertainers, intellectuals, and businesspersons (both legal and illegal) exchange most of their money for our cars, jewelry, homes, and clothing. What a windfall they have provided for us!
The less fortunate among you spend all they have at our neighborhood stores, enabling us to open even more stores. Sure, they complain about us, but they never do anything to hurt us economically. You are a very special people. Thank you.
Oh yes, allow us to thank you for not bogging yourselves down with the business of doing business with your own people. We can take care of that for you. Please don't even trouble yourselves with it. Yes, you were very successful at it after slavery ended and even as recently as 1960, but you know what happened when you began to build your own communities and do business with one another. Some of the "lower ones" of our kind burned you out time and time again. So, why bother? In today's business environment, your own people will not support you anyway. You just keep doing business with us. It's safer that way. Besides, everything you need, we make anyway, even Kente cloth.
You just continue to dance, sing, fight, get high, go to prison, back bite, envy and distrust and hate one another. Have yourselves a good time, and this time we'll take care of you. It's the least we can do, considering all you've done for us. Heck, you deserve it, Black people.
For your labor, which created our wealth, for you resisting the messages of trouble-making Blacks like Washington, Delaney, Garvey, Bethune, Tubman and Truth, for fighting and dying on our battlefields, we thank you. For allowing us to move into your neighborhoods, we will forever be grateful to you. For your unceasing desire to be near us and for hardly ever following through on you treats due to our lack of reciprocity and equity-we thank you so much. We also appreciate your acquiescence to our political agendas, for abdicating your own economic self-sufficiency, and for working so diligently for the economic well-being of our people.
You are real troopers. And, even though the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were written for you and many of your relatives died for the rights described therein, you did not resist when we changed those Black rights to civil rights and allowed virtually every other group to take advantage of them as well. Black people, you are something else!
Your dependence upon us to do the right think is beyond our imagination, irrespective of what we do to you and the many promises we have made and broken. But, this time we will make it right, we promise. Trust us.
Tell you what. You don't need your own hotels. You can continue to stay in ours. You have no need for supermarkets when you can shop at ours 24 hours a day. Why should you even think about owning more banks? You have plenty now. And, don't waste your energies trying to break into manufacturing. You've worked hard enough in our fields. Relax, have a party. We'll sell you everything you need. And when you die, we'll even bury you at a discount. Now how's that for gratitude?
Finally, the best part. You went beyond the pale and turned your children over to us for their education. With what we have taught them, it's likely they will continue in a mode similar to the one you have followed for the past 45 years. When Mr. Lynch walked the banks of the James River in 1712 and said he would make you a slave for 300 years, little did we realize the truth in his prediction. Just 13 more years and his promise will come to fruition. But with two generations of your children gone through or education systems, we can look forward to at least another 50 years of prosperity.
Wow! Things could not be better-and it's all because of you. For all you have done, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Black Americans. You're the best friends any group of people could ever have!
Sincerely,
All other Americans.
-------Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer
