KAREN: AFRICAN AMERICAN SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES HAVE BEEN A FORCE WHEN IT COMES TO CIVIL RIGHTS AND VOTER ACTIVISM . THE NATIONAL PANHELLENIC COUNCIL, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DIVINE NINE, IS AN UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION FOR THE NINE BLACK GREEK-LETTER SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES. THEY HAVE PROMOTED SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HAVE BEEN COMMITTED
TO COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR DECADES. >> WE’VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE SINCE THE INCEPTION OF OUR ORGANIZATION. AND STILL TODAY OUR FIGHT CONTINUES. EFFORTS TO MAKE IT HARDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS ARE PROLIFERATING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. OUR SORORITY WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO BEST, AND HAVE DONE
REPEATEDLY, PROTECT OUR RIGHT TO VOTE. KAREN: JOINING ME NOW IS ELSIE COOKE-HOLMES, NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY. WELCOME. ELSIE: THANK YOU. IT IS GREAT TO BE HERE. I HAVE LONG ADMIRED YOUR PROGRAM. KAREN: AND I HAVE LONG ADMIRED YOU. LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW THE DELTAS DEVELOPED A COMMITMENT TO VOTER
EDUCATION AND GETTING OUT THE VOTE. ELSIE: IT STARTED A LONG TIME AGO. WE WERE FOUNDED ON THE CAMPUS OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY IN 1913 BY 22 COLLEGIATE WOMEN, WHO ARE FOCUSED ON SOCIAL ACTION FROM THE BEGINNING. THE FIRST PUBLIC ACT BY OUR SORORITY WAS THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MARCH OF 1913.
EVEN THOUGH THAT MARCH WAS REALLY FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE, AND BLACK WOMEN WERE NOT EVEN INCLUDED WHEN THE SUFFRAGE OF LAW WAS INITIALLY PASSED, WE STILL FOUGHT FOR THOSE RIGHTS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. AND WE STILL OFFICIALLY MARCHED IN THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MARCH. EVER SINCE THEN, WE HAVE BEEN
FOCUSED ON SOCIAL ACTION. WE HAD A VIGILANCE COMMITTEE THAT BEGAN IN MAY 19 20’S, FOCUSING ON ANTI-LYNCHIE, ANTI POLL TAX LAWS, AND CONTINUED TO FIGHT FOR CIVIL-RIGHTS. WE STARTED OUR SOCIAL ACTION COMMISSION, WHICH IS WHERE MOST OF OUR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FALLS UNDER. THAT WAS STARTED ABOUT 60 YEARS AGO IN 1963.
AND DELTA IS SYNONYMOUS WITH CIVIL ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL ACTION. KAREN: THE AUTHORITY HAS ALWAYS DONE A GOOD JOB AT HIRING BLACK WOMEN AND GIVING THEM A STRONGER VOICE. ELSIE: ABSOLUTELY. ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC POINTS IS THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS, BUT AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE LONG BEEN POLITICALLY
ACTIVATED, VERY FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT OUR VOICES ARE HEARD, AND THE VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE HEARD. EACH YEAR, WE SPONSORED DELTA DAYS AT THE NATION”S CAPITAL,S WHERE MEMBERS COME TO WASHINGTON. WE ALSO SPONSORED DELTA DAYS AT THE STATE CAPITAL AND IN LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR
MEMBERS UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND CAN GO OUT AND EDUCATE THE COMMUNITIES AT LARGE ON THESE ISSUES THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES. WE FOCUS NOT ONLY IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT ACROSS THE WORLD THROUGH OUR INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS, OUR INTERNATIONAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS. WE ARE AN NGO, THE SECOND AFRICAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION TO
BECOME AN NGO WITH THE UNITED NATIONS, SO WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THEM WITH THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS ACROSS THE WORLD. KAREN: GO AHEAD. ELSIE: I WANT TO MENTION ONE OTHER THING THAT’S HISTORY MAKING FOR OUR SORORITY, IN 2020, WE STARTED D4, A C4 ORGANIZATION THAT CAME FROM DELTA SIGMA THETA.
IT IS A SEPARATE ORGANIZATION, A 501C4 ORGANIZATION WHERE WE CAN ENDORSE CANDIDATES, AND WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE FOCUS ON FIGHTING FOR ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES. KAREN: VOTER TURNOUT I TRADITIONALLY LOWERS FOR MIDTERM ELECTIONS THAN FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEARS. WHAT ARE THE DELTAS DOING TO GET
MORE PEOPLE OUT TO THE POLLS? ELSIE: WE ARE FOCUSED ON A NUMBER OF THINGS. ONE IS A VOTER PROTECTION. SO, WE ENTERED INTO TWO LAWSUITS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AS WELL AS THE STATE OF GEORGIA WITH THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IN ORDER TO LOOK AT PROTECTING AND
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF VOTERS WHO ARE BEING STRIPPED AWAY EVERY DAY. WE ARE WORKING HARD IN OUR LOCAL CHAPTERS, INCLUDING THOSE FOUR ALUMNI CHAPTERS WITHIN BOSTON AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, AS WELL AS THREE COLLEGIATE CHAPTERS. WORKING HARD EVERY DAY AS WE FOCUS ON VOTER REGISTRATION,
THOUGH VOTER EDUCATION, NOT ONLY ON THE ISSUES BUT ON VOTING RIGHTS. SO, OUR COMMUNITIES UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS. VOTER MOBILIZATION — WE ARE WORKING HARD ON THAT. AT THIS POINT, WE KNOW WE ARE IN THE EARLY VOTING FOR A NUMBER OF MUNICIPALITIES AND L LEADING UPO NOVEMBER 8, JUST REALLY LOOKING
AT THE VOTER MOBILIZATION THROUGH OUR ORGANIZATION, THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE DIVINE NINE, WITH OPRAH AND OWN YOUR VOTE, TO MAKE SURE OUR VOICES ARE HEARD BECAUSE THERE IS POWER IN OUR COLLECTIVE VOICES. AGAIN, THOUGH VOTER PROTECTION — THE VOTER PROTECTION THAT WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON. WE ARE PARTNERED WITH 866 OUR
VOTE AND PROTECT YOUR VOTE, SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT THROUGHOUT ELECTION DAY. KAREN: THE MESSAGE IS GET OUT AND ABOUT. ELSIE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. THANK YOU TO
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