WE.ARE.CENTRAL.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is divided into seven (7) geographic subdivisions identified as regions: Central, Eastern, Farwest, Midwest, South Atlantic, Southern, and Southwest. Each chapter within the organization is assigned to a region based on its geographic location.
The Central Region was established in 1932. The first Central Region Conference being held on May 14, 1932, with First Vice President Naomi Cherot presiding.
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During the first years of Delta's existence, tremendous growth and the establishment of chapters throughout the nation provided the Sorority with a geographically and culturally diverse membership. As our ranks grew, travel restrictions sometimes precluded participation in National Convention activities by the most geographically dispersed sorors. This challenge was viewed as an opportunity for the establishment of "regional conferences" with each region hosting a biennial meeting in the year Grand Chapter does not assemble. Regional Conferences offer members the opportunity to further Delta's mission, ideals, and principles through internal development, strengthen their bond of sisterhood, and plan for meaningful, relevant public service.
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Delta Founders Bertha Pitts Campbell was born in Winfield, Kansas;
Wertie Blackwell Weaver was from Kansas City, Missouri, and Madree Penn White, the driving force and inspiration behind the founding of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, was originally from Atchison, Kansas. Later as a young child, she relocated to Omaha, Nebraska.
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The label "Charismatic and Courageous" was coined during a regional leadership retreat under the administration of Past Regional Director Gayona L. Washington. She also published the first Central Region website and, in 2002, created the C3 logo, which has become a symbol to represent the Central Region. She also commissioned a song for the Region called "Central Region So Easy To Love."
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REGION SONG
The second, Admiral Michelle Howard, A ground-breaking leader during her 35-year career in the U.S. Navy, Michelle Howard was the first female to achieve the rank of four-star admiral and the first woman to be appointed to the position of vice-chief of naval operations (the second highest rank in the Navy). She was also the first African American woman to reach the rank of three-star and four stars in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and the first African-American woman to command a ship in the Navy. A veteran of operations that included NATO peacekeeping, Indonesia tsunami relief, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, she was thrust into the international spotlight in 2009 as leader of the counter-piracy task force that rescued civilian Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates. The rescue was later depicted in the film Captain Phillips. Admiral Howard is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. She is the first woman graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy to become an admiral.
The Central Region proudly touts prominent Delta leadership from our ranks, including our very own 14th National President Frankie Muse Freeman, Esq., who served from 1967-1971.
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Frankie Muse Freeman was an active member with the St. Louis Alumnae Chapter, located in St. Louis, MO. She served as an Honorable Co-Chair on several National Committees, Commissions, and Taskforce. She is most noted for being a civil rights attorney and becoming the first woman appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In 1982 she created the Citizens Commission on Civil Rights, and in 2015 President Barack Obama appointed Frankie Muse Freeman to the Commission on Presidential Scholars.
The Region was blessed to celebrate her birthday when she turned 100 years old on November 21, 2016. In 2017, a bronze statue was erected in her honor located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
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CENTRAL REGION HISTORIAL FACTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Region is blessed to have two Honorary Members. The first is, Wilma J. Webb, the first African American First Lady for Denver, Colorado when her husband Wellington Webb was elected as the first African American Mayor in 1991. She was also the first First lady to hold a political office and the first African American member on the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee, where she was instrumental in helping to secure a $4 billion state budget in 1981.​
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REGION
BIG 6 PLUS 1!
The Central Region is proud to have four single letter collegiate chapters. Delta Chapter, located in Iowa, Omicron Chapter located in Nebraska; Phi Chapter located in Iowa, and Psi Chapter located in Kansas.
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For Central, members have served at all levels in the organization. Our leadership legacy runs deep in the Central Region. The region has had twenty-five regional directors with Michelle Tucker currently serving as the 26th Central Regional Director. There have been twenty-five regional representatives, Arilynn Miller presently serves as the 26th Central Regional Representative.
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As the Central Region continues to evolve, the phrase We. Are. Central., inspired by Past Regional Director Jacqueline A. Dillard, has now become synonymous when Delta's speak about the leadership, impact, and contributions made by the sorors from Central Region. The song "Central Region Big 6 Plus 1" inspired and sung by the Delta Denverettes from the Denver Alumnae Chapter exudes how the region is central in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
