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The date was March 3, 1913 when the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., participated in their first act of social service by way of the Women’s Suffrage March.   Not only were they women, but they were black, and living in a time where both attributes were deemed inferior, powerless and invisible. These brave women however, wanted to build something more than just a social organization.  They were laying the foundation for their sorority to be an actual agent of social change.  And while many people advised them not to participate in the march for fear of their safety, they ignored the warnings and proceeded.  Needless to say, they were not they welcomed and were met with nasty words and objects hurdled at them, yet they pushed on.  Upon learning about this history, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that legacy.

I wanted to be a part of the legacy that the Divine Nine provided to many eager, bright-eyed college students looking to change the world.  Unfortunately, with experience and time, my sentiment toward this legacy went out the window, along with the Divine Nines public commitment to social change and action.   While I give credit to many undergraduate chapters who still try to bring awareness to social issues, where are our National and Graduate Chapters in this commitment? Please understand that this article is not a knock against Black Greeks, rather a desire to understand your silence on matters of black life and death?

 My question then is WHERE ARE YOU?

Where are you when so many black women and men are fighting for their lives and the lives of young black children?  Where are you?  When so many black mothers are grieving for the loss souls of their children, where is your consolation?  When the police become tools of oppression, where do you stand in the fight against it?  Or are you still standing?

 I know that many people will not agree with my sentiments.  Some will give me a run down of all the wonderful things that Black Greek organizations have accomplished, while also asking what have I done to push the agenda within my own organization.  And while these all are important pieces of the story, its does nothing more than detract from the facts still remaining.  With the death of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner Michael Brown, John Crawford and many others, along with the subsequent protest and unrest, there has been an international movement and cry to end police brutality, suppression and oppression of black people, and we have been silent.

So to Mark Stewart Tillman (APA) Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson (AKA) William “Randy” Bates, Jr., Esq. (KAP) Antonio F. Knox, Sr. (OPP) Dr. Paulette C Walker (DST) Jonathan A. Mason (PBS) Mary Breaux Wright (ZPB)  Bonita Herring (SGR) and Robert Clark (IPT) it is time to take a stand, and to give the younger generation a living legacy to identify and connect with.  A legacy of their own time, and of your making.  By uniting your members and taking a stand that extends beyond a letter of condolence and/or condemnation, you have the power to make a huge impact.  Or does the power have you?