Divine 9 Sorority Presidents Live Discussion with GirlTrek

Throughout time black women have been sowing seeds of survival wellness and self-care into their daughters my mother worked until 12 o’clock at night in this lady’s room for tips to send me to school during the transatlantic slave trade these tactics and skills were passed down carried on and gave us not

Only a will to live but the means by which to do so we are sick and tired of being sick and tired now in 2020 more than ever we need to remember the ancient wisdom and daily rituals of our foremothers who prepared us for a time

Such as this and so today we call their names our mothers and their mothers and their mamas before them women who were never meant to survive but blazed through any ways I spend before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the

United States of America we are the harvest of these women and with the daughters of campaign we share their stories and self-care secrets to inspire a revolution and to wage a resistance movement for the total healing and Liber of our people isn’t it beautiful all right Hello hello hello hello everybody hello my name is Morgan Dixon and this is my dear friend Vanessa garrison say hi V oh you’re on mute Vanessa you’re on mute you’re on mute because I hear your comments this is your girl Vanessa I’m calling it from Washington DC God is so

Good Morgan God is so good yes why am I on the screen they’ve been loving the cutters we have a fabulous team behind the scenes led by one of the most talented miss evany amputee Andrews has been with our organization girltrek for years as a volunteer and came on

Just recently as a producer of this show so we’re so grateful to you evany and keep us on evany so we can talk to each other stop trying to be so fancy so listen everybody this is a special night it is gonna be epic tonight this

Has been a moment in the making for Everett for 10 years said my name is Morgan this is Vanessa we are the cofounders of an organization called girltrek if you have not heard of girl check before girltrek is the largest health movement in the entire country for black

Women and it started with two friends an hour over 700,000 black women our goal is to inspire a million black women to walk for their lives this year to walk outside the of their front doors for total healing to inspire our daughters and to reclaim the streets of our

Neighborhoods and we are on track to do it Vanessa and I met in college so this is a really beautiful conversation we have so many questions from our college days that we want to ask tonight to the four presidents of the black sororities in the divine nine it is a historic

Event to have all of these beautiful women together tonight and we cannot wait to tell you so Vanessa do you want to welcome or say anything before we get started yes look as the opening montage we are the harvest of survivors and Morgan’s sister I’m saying this to you

We specifically meet and you are the daughters of black women who caught the bus and went to work who took care of us through trying times who inspired us and we are now producing a TV show from our living rooms I’m just saying women out

There who have tuned in we are you you are us and the fact that this theme this Friday is sisterhood girl trek literally is a movement that started with Morgan and I just talking on the phone as girlfriend’s about the health crisis that was facing our families women whose

Names that we could call and we wanted to rally and do something for them and we decided to build this movement of women walking to reclaim our health and communities and it has been so beautiful and in particular Morgan this last three weeks where we have rolled out this daughters

Of campaign where we have had hundreds of thousands of black women from all over the world have tuned in to hear the wise wisdom to learn the ancient rituals to celebrate the traditions of our mothers and their mothers and their mothers before us to remind us that we

Have been here and are prepared for a time such as this it has been more than 10 years in the making which has helped men how long we have been doing this movement and I want to say a specific thank you right now to every woman in

This movement who is a part of a sorority who organized in their chapters who made phone calls who sent emails who walked and organized and prayed that this moment would happen when I tell you that Morgan and I hold in reverence in reverence these four women who are

Coming onto this call tonight when I tell you we don’t want to act up or get nothing right that we was praying y’all praying before you come on Harper going oh somebody pray for me right he’s probably hurt yeah yes I was gonna ask evany to show a picture

From 20 years ago of us time but just now we wouldn’t unless there already we didn’t make the cut you all so please please forgive us for saying the right or whatever because we have the deepest reverence for first of all everything black because we’re survivors and we are

A family but we have a deep reverence for sororities and black institutions who have survived for centuries and so we’re not going to say everything right tonight we’re going to ask questions from our since listen serious parts of our hearts we want to maybe ask questions that you’ve been wanting to

Ask these presidents for years we’re going to give it our best please trust our intentions and give us grace like you all have me after what I look look I’m doing I’m doing my I’m the daughter of women who’d be like don’t don’t act don’t mess up don’t mess up so

We got God Satan not today babies let’s say things before we get started before we introduce the women first of all some folks have come through for this campaign over the last couple of weeks Morgan and I just want to hit a film right now a quick little montage who has

Been holding down and hashtagging daughters up this is a movement we want a million black women to say online who are you the daughters of name your mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s names as far back as you could go use hashtag daughters up so let’s just show who has been supporting this campaign

Right now okay the daughter of Rita and one of her biggest health care secrets for me he’s laughing got a laugh and smile even when it’s tough you know not to get you through laughter is the best medicine my name is Kofi in the son of Kochi I would say my mom stop

Care probably self-love you are saying it’s really like this yeah yourself make time and space be yeah I’m saying the Abrams daughter of Carolyn Abrams and his health care tip she taught me it’s to pray in the morning to meditate to think about what I want from my dad

When I do everything my name is Leila Hathaway you Lalah Hathaway to be exact I’m the daughter of you Leila Hathaway who’s the daughter of you Leila van who was the daughter of Martha data Parker the most important lesson I ever learned for my mother was to be myself I’m

Calling on all of my girls to join me and girltrek and telling your daughters of story with her whole government name she said you Lalah Hathaway listen so many who supported this as Vanessa said a little earlier nearly a million have watched in my hope in sincere I just want to name

My intention for this conversation that just as many women from all of the sororities and the sisters who are not in sororities but who believe in black sisterhood and who are tuning in because they understand that this is a moment in time like no other when we have to come

Together and rally I want to name that intention for this moment it’s going to be historic please tag everybody you know black sisters are coming together the black sororities are uniting tonight girltrek is going to be talking about a health movement where we can all step out on

Faith together in this year 2020 and y’all know we need it more now than ever before this is what the founders of all of those sororities hoped and dream that we would have the capacity right now the fortitude the organization the mothering and the good sense to act when our

People needed it and they need it now so I am super excited to just set that intention and I personally want to dedicate tonight I didn’t know anybody in this room already growing up and I that’s why I have so many questions because I just I grew up I didn’t grow

Up in a proximity to anyone who went to college before me and so I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to to actually marry a couple of classes up and my ex-husband who stole my dear friend lived next door to this woman named mrs. Jones and mrs. Jones recently

Passed and I was just think when I was preparing for this I was like what would mrs. Jones want me to say and why would she want me to act she was such a beautiful woman and I just want to say for every woman of this caliber who has

Dedicated her life to service it does not matter what sorority you in I just thank you for leading the way and I just thank you for for leading our community sorry miss like mrs. Jones just even as from last week when we were with dr.

King mrs. Jones said one time when I was in Boston I drove Martin Luther King down for a job interview in New York City I was like Marilyn not Martin Luther King she was like yes because I knew Coretta she met him at a party so

She was such a socialite and such a light and it made me want to know more about sororities so I’m so excited this is for you mrs. Jones I love you let’s get started Vanessa so Morgan we are getting ready to bring on the presidents

Of the Divine nine I want to just remind everyone who’s watching tag a sister tag a sister have them join this conversation tag a young girl especially and Morgan if we hit 10,000 views tonight we are going to dedicate $10,000 from girl tricks gives back fun to women

In our community who are in college we know especially there in the era kovat that our students might be struggling with housing with books with all sorts with transitions and so girltrek wants to be able to support them and so we’re going to do that through the emergency fund that we have

For women and we so and we want them to be a part of this conversation because we know some jewels are getting ready to be dropped so with that if your sister out there or if you are a student out there who is in need of emergency

Funding for some of the things Vanessa said please visit us at girltrek org underserve you’ll see girltrek gives back and we’ve added a line especially tonight for young people who need emergency aid for education so if they mean there’s small micro grants we’re a non-profit it is the best we can do but

In this time we really want to give back to people in need so tag everyone you know let them know here’s the party and starting here yes all right ready yes I think we’re gonna learn their daughter love stories of the introduction awesome you Welcome welcome welcome welcome oh good light welcome Morgan I wouldn’t get us started by one of my very favorite poet says give our daughters difficult names meaning that let’s take the time to like honor the names and the titles and I actually want to read every single with honor and love

The women who are on this call today and just introduce them with my actual note so that we get this right so I did one first welcome to this call the national president and CEO of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated Beverly Smith I want to welcome yes how are you how are

You I want to welcome to this call the International president dr. Glenda Glover of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated I want to welcome to the call the International Centennial president of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Valerie Hollingsworth Baker to the call how are you sister yes yes yes and I

Want to welcome to the call Sigma Gamma Rho sorority international president Deborah catching Smith how are you women today wonderful wonderful it’s good to be here yes so I’m gonna give you I’m gonna give you all in everybody watching just a quick overview of what tonight is gonna

Feel like we are gonna start with something fun so just let your callers down we’re gonna I as soon as you came on I set up I was just like okay it’s your posture right trust you me that that ain’t gonna last for more than five minutes I’m setting expectations for

Everybody out there but we’re gonna do something really fun where we want you and everybody in the audience to answer 20 questions like hot seat then Vanessa and I are gonna excuse ourselves and we want you to have an intimate conversation with each other it’s what everybody’s been waiting for then

Vanessa and I will have the privilege of interviewing two of you each and we’re really going to do deep dives on some of the the pressing issues in our community and really really the state of black women’s health is what we really want to understand and talk about and really

Build on together and then we’re gonna end with the most important part the people’s interview where people from all over the country will be able to come in and ask you a question dreams are gonna come true tonight we’ll also be able to read some from the comments so if you

Have questions you can put them in the comments and we’ll try and get as many and as we can how does that sound everybody sounds great yeah sounds good all right all right here are the rules for 20 questions vanessa is gonna just make somebody’s name it’ll be on the hot

The only thing you gotta do the culture is tell the truth ain’t nobody gonna judge you at all not us if you don’t know the answer just say pass that’s fine people in the audience we want to know what you think for all of these questions too so write it in the

Comments as well it’s going to be fun Vanessa are you ready I am ready I could kick us off with the first question and you could just jump in with your answer this is like we around the dinner table everybody wants to know what is the favorite meal that you have cooked

During this quarantine think I cooked when you cook it yourself when you my chapter did a great thing my local chapter so my poor husband he talks all the time about the fact that he never gets a meal because I’m never here so for Mother’s Day they actually got a

Gift for him they contacted a chef and ordered five meals so that he would actually get food that was the bet on who that chef is I’ve asked for his name it was incredible but it was so nice because they know how busy I stay and they know that sometimes he needs bro

Gets kinda locked out so they did that and it was just extra special so that really was the best meal I didn’t have to cook it he was happy life was good always well so I would say my Mother’s Day gift from my chapter very to Roswell in terms of

Providing chef meals for four days was my best meal lately there you go Vanessa president Smith said don’t be asking the president you she could did you ask for President Barack Obama home cookin tuna fish and passing recipe has relish or if you got onion so I’m just

Trying to know cuz that’s what we do if it homemade tomato fish is what he got today I think I can safely say that mine was a lamb chops I do very I do a mean set of lamb chops and I had like beans

And my cabin I do and I make it and that and that’s how I keep them satisfied because sometimes you know it’s not like I’m cooking all the time but at least if he gets his lamb chops he’s okay we’re gonna have the recipe Instagram please

We don’t have to get the recipe I would say my best meal during koban 19 has been stuffed pork chops that I think yes I don’t my husband is the chef in the house because as like my other fellow presidents or Wars we’re on the go all the time

So it’s a prepare meal every day even with colvett going on we’re still on the go because we’re on a number of come about numerous amounts of teleconference calls and meetings so it’s still pretty tough [Laughter] In the south in Memphis and so my fix my husband and myself more cata more myself so I’m for shopping for the stove you be the brown gravy this mother 4000s potatoes the first difference already here’s the first difference already when we talk to Angela Davis and Nikki

Giovanni Angela Davis was a vegan or vegetarian or some then we talked to dr. King and and Betty Shabazz Billie NASA iliaster Shabazz I don’t know if they call her doctor professor ill eásá but she’s Illya awesome oh she is so dope but she’s vegan this panel was like smother points today

Okay have another question I have another question this is a hard one and we ain’t gonna judge you because we know the Lord loves you but if you could go on a walk with one historic figure and I’m gonna give them to you you just have

To pick would you go on a walk with Harriet Tubman or Jesus Christ great and we love her we emulate her but the comparison is kind of Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is the Savior I don’t want to I don’t feel like I could go for a walk

I know it’s okay to philosophical here we go okay here’s the deal I think oh yeah I think I’d go with Harriet Tubman well let me say this I hope we all walk with Jesus every day okay so I asked you a costume anyway okay but that community

Harriet Tubman could probably give me some hints for how to work with these sores so you know making sure we’re on the right path on the right way follow me oh this way that would be so easy I [Applause] [Laughter] would well again I too want to always

And do always walk with Jesus Christ I would also select Harriet Tubman because Harriman Tubman is the epitome of grace her fortitude dedication commitment and focused she didn’t care what anybody said what the distractors had to do she did not let anything keep her from her mission

So I think that that in its courage and strength and so that’s why I would walk with her to get those tips on serving in a leadership role thank you so much for not letting me hang out there International president of the Sabres say you ain’t have me out here like this

My sisters but for Harriet Tubman yes that would be for me because one of the lessons my mother taught me was courage on the fire and I feel that for what Harriet Tubman had to go through she had to go through courage under fire because

Every day of her adult life that she was struggling to make sure that she could get to free her people and the things that she had to face if she didn’t have that courage on the fire she would have never got through that force she would never got got through that Underground

Railroad because she had to be persistent and she had to persevere and I want to feel that those are the kind of things that I want to try exemplify in leadership because if you don’t have that courage on the fire if you don’t have that perseverance you’re

Not going to get too far because it’s rough out there them adorned streets so you really got to know how to deal with people how to get them to what they really need to be and that’s why I personally would like to have met Harriet Tubman and walked in her shoes

Harriet Tubman that’s fine but she then wake me up this morning I want to ask Denzel Washington or Idris Elba but we might get that to that later but I’m going to ask one quick so fair question so let’s say quarantine is over tomorrow you are going with your girls on a

Self-care vacation where are you going where is your first place you and your girls are going on a self-care vacation Arizona I’m going to the spa and I’m staying there for a week and I want to be pampered from Kiko every day until I can’t even get up off of the mat thank

You very much Arizona okay we got a whole post conversation vacation happening right here I’m going to Fort Lauderdale or somewhere south long I didn’t hear the question I’ll kick me off internet now where we were going on our self-care vacations and I agree going somewhere sunny and we are all

Going somewhere where we can get a massage and lay on the beach or at least in some Sun so we’re going we’re actually going to transition because this campaign about daughters of is about hearing the stories from these women who are you the daughters of what

Lessons have they taught you how do you help to prepare us for what’s ahead and the future so I want to kick it to your daughters of stories act right now all right who do we have first I am Glinda Baskin Glover I have the daughter of Callie made Baskin

I am the granddaughter of Mary Lysa Brown and the great-granddaughter of makeup Liza Collins and they taught me my story they taught me was to to be honest to be nice to people to be educated and to love God because he makes a difference in every circumstance oh these are life

Oh I am the daughter of well I do my Evans she is the daughter of Edna Heim Duma and she is the daughter of Corrine Haim and one of the most important things he taught me I think for example in terms of what she did is always see

Your cup half full she had a tough life and a lot of times it was help half-empty but living that life it’s a life half-full understanding the gifts God gave you and using those gifts to make sure that you’re living the purpose in your life that you have be self-fulfilled be happy

Hello I am Valerie Hamza faker and I am the daughter of Velda Mavis Kane Hollingsworth and I am the granddaughter of Montel Eliza Davis and they taught me perseverance to believe in yourself and courage under fire hello my name is Deborah ketching Smith and I am the daughter of love iya Patten the

Granddaughter of Ruby Rebecca Belle Harper and the great-granddaughter of Amanda Harper and one of the most significant lights lessons my mother taught me was to always operate from a place of integrity because integrity and your word is all that you have nothing else is greater than your own personal integrity and

Making sure that you hold true to who you are and that always you must be operating in a place of intention whatever you decide to do it must be intentional otherwise why are you engaged at all yes for all of the women who are at home right now I want you to

Start to name the names of your mothers and think of their powerful stories and the lessons they’ve told and Morgan look we know that our girl trip romaine got our back and they’d love to hear from us but women have called in and dialed in and are zooming in from all over the

World right now because they want to hear from the four of you in this historic moment for the two the four of you to have a conversation so I know you have prepared questions for each other and Morgan we’re gonna just get to sit back in our living rooms with our hot

Team and we just sit at your feet and learn and listen get take notes get your pins out you’re ready to tweet we are so excited for this all right who is going to be up first with their question okay I think you asked me to ask a question to delta

Sigma theta so I will my first floor are Beverly I want to company you and the members of Delta Sigma Theta are your social justice program given all the pressing issues and we have them facing our communities in our country in particularly and the urgent need to learn to effectively advocate for

Ourselves so to what do you attribute duxelle success in moving the needle on social justice issues you were kind you were kind I didn’t know what was coming you know I think as we always talked about we were founded on social action at first act marching in the

Suffragettes March kind of set the tone for Delta in terms of where we were going to go and what we were going to focus on I think because that vision has always been there to make sure that we are working for the unfortunate and weak

As we talked about so much we’ve kind of tried to stay track regardless of what each of our presidents will do and there were 25 before me the focus is never varied from that bent on social action even though it was in the community service have been tied to it so you know

The things we do in the community we try to focus on the social action aspect of it in terms of what congressional things we can do during our sisterhood our focuses and supporting sisters that are running for office I think we we are consistently on that because we have

Always made that consistently on message people who are drawn to us and know when I came into the organization I was drawn because of our social action spent I spent my childhood integrating schools and focusing on social action that was kind of the mantra that my father had

And we tried to do that in terms of where we’re doing so I think it’s because it’s been a very consistent message for us and it’s built on the fortitude that we believe is in place if we empower others we can be better for others and do better for others and

Thank you for that question my sister Glenda well thank you so I have a question for so for Grandville as her sorors call her you know and it’s interesting you mentioned fortitude because when I thought about a question for you and I thought about the fact that this was your hundred year and

Because of the pandemic you had to make the tough decision not to have that centennial convention and that having had to make a decision with the hurricane last year I know it was difficult but this was different this was not a regular convention this was your centennial and even though you had

That fabulous celebration that I went to in January still this would have been a big moment it was a tough decision to make so how do you personally as a leader as one who is really working to make sure that celebration happens deal with the stress

That goes with that and how do you maintain what is your secret for resilience because you’re there smiling lots of things were going on with the pandemic but as we’ve had our conversations you’re always up how do you do that whoa that’s that’s a loaded

One well maybe what I can say here is that this hasn’t been easy I’ve been home since March 15th I’m going out twice at my house it’s been difficult because I’ve had to deal with my sisters who are there they’re upset they’re they’re hurting this is their 100th

Anniversary and they’re not going to see another one and we did such a tremendous job at building this up that it’s hard it was hard to tell them on that date that we couldn’t have one because it was canceled but I think about I think about the founders I think about the

That I knew personally that lived six blocks away from me here in Brooklyn New York I found a family petty watts I was very close with her and I always remember some of the things she used to say about leadership and you know it’s lonely when it’s when you’re at the top

Because you have to make hard decisions that everybody might not want to hear or they may accept but they still are not satisfied you got a deal with the criticism you got a deal with what people think that they can do better but if you believe in the Almighty and I get

Down on my knees every day and I pray that I can be a better person that I can wake up and I can try to make it better for my sisters I’ve been working very hard each day to try to do that to try to see what we can do we’ll never be

Able to make up for what has been lost but I try to be there for them I try to talk to them I give them my personal attention everyone has my phone number they call me when they need me and I try to explain to them that even though this

Situation has happened in this year on our 100th anniversary don’t think that it that that means that life is that comes to an end because we had 100 years and we’ll get we’ll get to do more for Zeta because this is just showing us that we need to be resilient we need to

Be able to bounce back because they’re better things ahead for the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated and that’s what I am trying to do for them now trying to show them that as a leader I can’t be sad I can’t be upset I can’t

Throw my hands up in the air and cry no because I told someone just today I promise you this is going to be a better day and we’ll get to the other side of this pen Demi and we’re going to be better for it we’re gonna be stronger

For it we’re gonna do more for it and that’s when I know that just like just like Glinda said every morning God gets me up in the morning and you know what that’s the best experience for anything and anybody can ask for because it gives

Me another day to go out there and tell my soul roars it’s going to be a better day and I think because of that I’ve learned that you cannot give up and I know that there are better things for us in the long run so I’m I’m happy with

Knowing that that’s how I try to be resilient every day that’s how I try to be there for my sisters and that’s how I try to when you all called me in and and keep me going it’s it’s about it’s about sisterhood all the way around and being

There for each other and I think that’s what keeps me going so thank you there you go you go girl amen well I got a question for you all right okay that now that we are in this pandemic and with the programs and the and and all of the

Things that that you all do how are you dealing with trying to mobilize your sisterhood when making sure that they are still energized and getting and doing what they have to do to push the needle to help those in their communities do do that work that is still needed because there’s so much

That needs to be done and there’s so many different programs that you have that you that when we’re together and we’re face-to-face it’s it’s a lot easier how do you make that happen when we’re sitting at home Thank You grand Val centennial grand baffle is for the

Question I do want to first start off by saying to the wider audience all of these four women that you see during this girl trek program we are sisters real we all support each other as black women first and then as black women who happen to serve in the highest roles of

Our respective organizations as leaders and so I can first of all say I love each and every one of you I miss not seeing you but at least we have an opportunity to see each other virtually and so that is the best case scenario at

This time due to Kovac 19 so I just wanted to say that first how much I love each and one of my fellow presidents and I will also add a little out of pocket here we are line sisters we are the presidential nine sisters of the infancy

I just had to tell our secret we are we’re being Valerie what we have done is Sigma Gamma Rho knew that this pandemic is impacting as you said very much so not only our own membership internally was all of these substantial community service programming that we do every day

Throughout the country and abroad it’s also impacting our community of those who we serve and so what we did was we created a six series webinar called we are Sigma strong it was another way of outreach to our sisterhood by having our four wars and other community sports

Within the community to come on and conduct these webinars on a myriad of topics first isolation and depression people are struggling with isolation and depression and being separated because we are we’re human beings and it’s our nature to want to hug and love and kiss each other and be together we can’t do

That at this point in time in the volume that we have always been accustomed to doing throughout our lives and so we had webinar in that area we had a webinar with regard to how to be safe with your money how to be smart with your money don’t

Pull out of the stock market right now because it’s any financial adviser will tell you right dr. Glover its its waves its herbs and flows we also talked about personal health care how you get out and still walk even in the kovat 19 environment you can get out and walk

Take your mask with you and still have social distancing and create that another different path for how you engage in your own well-being as far as your physical health and your mental health and then we talked about homeschooling because so many of our soul Ward’s have never homeschooled

They’re not trained educators and yet they were thrust into that as well as our wider community so what we did with the myriad of topics in our six series webinar which is posted on our national website is we engage the wider community they are open to the public when we ran

The videos from March until the first part of April and then now they’re posted for the tape recordings of all six videos are out there with the q and A’s and handouts how two black women take care of their hair so this is my Colvin hair because again we’ve been

Sheltering in place couldn’t go to the beauty salon as I normally do so this is my colvett hair so we talked even about hair care for black women it’s a real deal right and so we found ways of addressing service in a different way virtually by having these webinars open

To the community and then in addition a lot of our chapters have been v very creative we’ve had virtual use symposiums we had a chapter the gist did one last week where it was done using zoom and they invited the wider community we’ve had virtual walks for

The March of Dimes which is one of our philosophies as most of us have in our organizations to support the March of Dimes so we have come up with some creative ways of reaching the community until such time when we can have those face-to-face interactions yeah yeah yet last question I have is

For Mike for dr. Glover we are all busy individuals the mountains of meetings work engagements partnership developments working collectively in the MPAC as sitting on the Council of presidents and we have careers I know that dr. Glover your career as president of Tennessee State University again the grand supreme basileus the

International president for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority you are a mother you’re a grandmother you have family how in the world do you balance all of this how do you do it you make it look so simple we do make it look easy but it is not easy

But the way to do it is to make sure that you want understand time management and to there you’re surrounded with competent people you has a sorority level I mean you get the best corporate office in Chicago that a president can asked for they do the work there are no

Public face of a sorority but the work is done behind the scene at the corporate office at Tennessee State University the same thing you have a president’s counsel this issue and yes it’s hard working yes we work day and night it was something run give it to a

Busy person and I gotta tell you as Florida when I was seeking the office and we had a panel they did ask for that question and they’ve asked us to meet at times my first response is we never ask a man how can you do both things because

Men do it all the time it’s for women go out there and women have three jobs at for jobs and run the family and run a university run a sorority and and you active in your church all the guys and then others in the community want to start whispering and saying she’s doing

Too much and and how you gonna get that done we’ve always had more than one thing to do your mother my mother my grandmother’s they worked in the fields they work the rest of they worked in the school system they worked they didn’t have a choice if I’m

Gonna do this one thing they did it all and we’re doing it all all of us have our roles that we play in society we have the role we play in our community we sit on corporate boards you know we in the fields of law we in fields we in

Various fields they’re called for a lot of work a lot of action and if you want something done you must give it to a busy person give it to a B as a woman I should get it done that’s so good thank you so much thank you so much thank you

So much people who are taking notes tweeting and I have great news we met the benchmark over 10,000 people are watching now 12,000 people are watching yes we’ll be giving away 10,000 in emergency fund to college-age girls for so thank you for everybody for tagging audience you’re fantastic so we’re gonna

Hop into a few deep dive questions in an audience be prepared we’re going to go to the people’s interview all right so Vanessa are you first or am i first I think I’m first all right so we’re gonna talk about the state of black women’s health and before we before we

Hop into that segment I just want to frame this for everybody one thing that we know for sure is that black women in this country are dying faster and at higher rates than any other group male or female in this country and during the time of kovat it’s even more exaggerated

And we’re dying from preventable diseases that really stem from the weight that we carry in the world I mean it’s a lot of what the presidents were just talking about you need something done you ask a black woman to do it and historically our labor has been our

Worth and so we have worked ourselves to the bones y’all and right now we are we we just are dying faster than we ought to be our life expectancy is short and so Vanessa and I thought if we could talk about one thing it really would be

The state of black women’s health with these women and get their advice on what we need to do collectively to move forward it is not just physical health or physical wait it is being immobilized it is being stuck it is feeling isolated it is being laden with social justice issues it is

Mental mental disease mental issues depression anxiety stress we all know a little bit something about it and so an it’s cross-cutting across class lines in fact the more you achieve oftentimes the more you are saddled with some of this some of some of these issues but now so

Did you want to say anything before you hop right into this segment oh you’re on mute you’re mute this is a heavy topic the state of black women’s health and the way that we have been talking about health in our country and black women has been ingest and part of what

Girltrek is here to do is level set and to create a new brave courageous narrative around our health and our healing that centers black women the love for black women and that says that and reminds us that we are everything that we need to survive that we have if

We just look back to our history but in order to do that we have to have some real conversations about what is happening Morgan so I’m so proud of us I’m so grateful for the presidents for sharing in these intimate conversations and the people who came before the

Healing starts with us talking so let’s really get into this this deep dive alright so yeah presidents if you haven’t seen our TED talk Vanessa and I had the honor was it three years ago to stand on the world’s largest stage and to talk about the state of black woman’s

Health and we were just so grateful we brought all the ancestors on the stage with us we was like listen the Fannie Lou Hamer is in the back and we set a statistic that every single day 137 black women will die from a preventable disease which is heart disease and I

Told the audience that that’s like a plane filled with black women crashing to the ground every day and no is talking about it you add heart disease stroke diabetes all sorts of cancers that are stress-related and it becomes untenable that this there is a health crisis facing black women and we

Need to do something about it and Vanessa and I understand that it is not about will it isn’t really about diet no matter what people tell you it is about the systemic pressures that we are fighting against every single day so we wanted to just talk a little bit about

That Vanessa do you want to start with one question or don’t me to start go ahead yeah yeah one of the one of the things that I’ve been thinking a lot about is is there one thing we can all do together and so dr. Bernice King last week she made a really profound

Statement she said you know my dream I would really love for all of the kind of storefront churches to come together in collective action or all the HBC’s to come together in collective action and I was thinking about that when I was thinking about this call and I was

Thinking what could possibly or what could we do collectively and so I asked you dr. Smith what could we do collectively if we if all of the women on this phone got together and decided to do something about health what what like what could we advance together can

We just brainstorm what that might be oh you’re I think you’re on mute dr. Smith I mean I’m president Smith president Hollandsworth maker are you able to talk because I’d love to hear from you while we get her audio I’m can you hear me yep I can I can yes okay

Well I know for for us collectively we are trying we try to do things that we can now be come as one instead of being at being in you know that Britt organization is doing separate things I think um having something now or dealing with health would be extremely positive

Because I don’t think that we all understand exactly how treating each other and trying to help each other would be a benefit to us on a healthy positive tip I think that’s something that when you talk about if it’s those silent killers but what what do they

Stem from it stems from stress it stems from it stems from yes you don’t get enough exercise yes you don’t you don’t eat properly but it also is how we interact with each other and how that and how what stress you know what how that that causes certain distress I think we need

To be able to come together and really have some internal symposiums about what we do as how we interact with each other and how we interact with our families in how and what we can do better to make to make it a healthier existence mind body

And spirit that songs I love that I because we as with Zeta we have our Z hope which is Dave is helping other people excel in my body in spirit and I believe that that’s something that in coming together as a group we have to really think about that the purpose is

That if you’re healthy in the mind and you’re healthy in the body and you’re healthy in your spirit that’s gonna really that’s gonna really let you live longer but the things that we have to do to do that and really come together and guarantee and learn what

That means you see that that’s the whole problem with us because if you can’t if you can’t come together about that learn to face things see that’s going on it was it was enough so I really would like to see us more dealing with coming together as a unit and having those kind

Of discussions and then bringing on those professionals that could even help us more come together I know that we do that singularly here and there but I think that if we’re promoting that because in as a as a strategic effort collectively I think that does a lot

More because you know we we have a million voices so if you yeah and your number just like how you said look out 12,000 already are listening to this segment that the whole thing about this is that it’s powering numbers and people want to hear this and now that we’re in

This particular time that we are we’re at home staying in place I think now you have more of a captive audience to really understand what we would want to do and how we would want to go about that and that is really something that we really need to focus on because

There’s so much that is happening that I can see that that’s causing a lot of stress it’s cause it is causing your illness because we because we are afraid of the unknown because we don’t know what’s going on because the things that are happening every day is there’s gonna

Be there’s domestic violence’s up and you know that now you’ve got now blood pressure is up and hypertension and everyone is everyone is like on pins and can we now get going so that we can talk about this and kind of soothe soothe them too to talk to them too to

Understand that we are powerful together and we need to come together we can’t be crabs in the bed listen preacher we’re not you know we’re strong women and sometimes when people are strong they forget that they can just you know no one looked after you nobody says anything to you because they

Feel you you’re doing everything you’re good yeah their health yeah you don’t know what inside what is going on inside and we need to have someone that’s going to be able to to talk to us to to help to help each other we’ve got to have

That that help in hand we got to reach out we gotta touch each other we don’t do enough of that thank you thank you thank you well listen we’ll have a call to action for everybody we can reach out we can touch we can be a sister’s keeper

Make sure especially the strong ones are cared for and loved I just appreciate everything you said tweet all of that and I think president Smith are you are you there am i there I have so many questions but I got off track the technology so let me

Just ask you something I’ve just been like okay here’s here’s the thing there are women all over the country right now who want to prioritize themselves but I tell you it is it is difficult it’s it is difficult to prioritize yourself and even thank you by the way for saving me

With Harriet Tubman and Jesus Christ you came in as a sister’s keeper I appreciate it let’s talk about Harriet Tubman one of the things that she taught us is that when nobody else wants to go you got to go alone and when you find the way you can then come back and get

Your sisters and show them the way and then you can come back and get your community and show them the way it is the hardest thing in the world to practice self-care when there’s so much need around us I want to know how you do it I read that you’ve been married for

What 40 over 40 years I know I see how we’re ready years 48 I’m gonna know what this secrets are can you tell us like how you order your day how you prioritize and really speak to all of the black women out there now who have kids at home who

Are exhausted who got more zoom meetings now than they ever had in their entire lives they might be working harder they haven’t had any time for themselves how do they make time well I have to tell you my stores out there probably laughing right now that you asked me

That question so I’m just going to be honest about it it is very tough making sure that you make yourself a priority at the same time you’re doing the other things that you did is is not always easy and you know you have to try and find a balance for everything you’re

Right I’ve been married 48 years we’ll be 49 years this year I have two children and five grandchildren and have had multiple careers that I work on and travel as the rest of us do all the time the and you really have to find some time you know that 42 that delta sigma

Theta has makes a huge difference it is partially a mental game I have to be honest with you you can’t stop and think about it a lot if you stop and think about it and this is where that cuff half-full comes in if you feel you can do it and you

Know you have a focus in a specific area that helps you mindset helps a lot in terms of creating balance and trying to figure out where you’re going and what you’re doing so making sure your mind is straight in terms of understanding that having the support of your family I

Cannot tell you now I’m very blessed to have the family I have and as I mentioned this poor man who never gets any food he is so supportive and when we first got married we talked about the fact that we both want to have careers and to do things and made an agreement

That we would support each other and whatever we do we’ve had times when we move twice for me we moved three times for him we always take whoever has the best deal and that’s where we go we have very heavy always had very flexible children but you know we never missed

And I will say this any occasion they may had was important regardless of the travel I have a boy and a girl I can remember when my daughter flew up from brownies to Girl Scouts I was in New Jersey to me because I was an executive with AT&T and

We lived in Atlanta I literally left my meeting got on a plane flew to Atlanta made sure I got to her fly up brownie ceremony and then flew back so that I would not miss my meeting but I knew I could not miss what there was for her

And as they’ve grown up with their children they have reminded us and always said you were always there when we needed you and always there at the important moments and I think that’s where priorities come in you have to find a way to play some balance with

That in terms of self-care go take the first thing the first thing that I am blessed with is good genes because that’s 72 I should really be tired right now in terms of what I’m doing but I I do have a lot of stamina I try to walk

As much as I can sleep doesn’t always come but you know I’ve come to know how much sleep I need and how much sleep I can’t have and if I reach a point where I don’t get at least that four and a half hours then I’ve got a problem and I

Know you’re probably screaming when I say four and a half hours but over time I learned myself and I think that’s important in terms of learning yourself and what you can handle and what you can’t and sometimes it’s trial and error I can’t say that there haven’t been

Times when I’ve been tired and gotten sick and my doctor will say you know you’re sick because you fly too much and because you’re not getting enough sleep and I think if we learn our bodies in the rhythm of our body that that makes a difference as well so making sure you’re

Communicating with your loved ones making sure you all have an agreement with each other so the stress levels when they come here they’re to support each other but there’s no surprises if you have children and spending those important moments now and not with the quarantine 24/7 sometimes that can be

Too much but making sure that you’re that they know that they’re a priority with you even though you might not be there all the time at least gives them that sense of satisfaction in that sense of knowing that they’re loved and cared for you know my big issue actually is my

Weight and it goes up and down one of the concerns I had and in the sorority and for black women in general is the fact that we do not take care of ourselves and I decided that when I became president we were going to have a program called Delta care and that focus

Is on our physical mental and spiritual health in terms of what we’re working on we are too heavy we have too much hypertension we have too much diabetes and so that caring for ourselves physically is most important we have made a deal with Weight Watchers we are the only

Organization to actually have a partnership with them where our members get a discounted rate the Executive Committee our officers we all decided we were going to go on the plan together to be an example for our sores so they could see that we were doing it and we

Were participating so you know I put them all on notice so that means we have to make sure that we are physically fit by the next time we have a convention or they’re going to know we cheated so we force that upon ourselves to make sure

We were an example for others we got aid we’re working on a contract with a fitness company because fitness companies don’t tend to make clothes our size and so we said we’re going to go into a deal with a fitness company and we are going to make sure that they

Expand the sizes because we tend to be larger in some cases than fitness companies you know it’s made for people who are fit not for those in our so we got a deal to have a fitness program so that we can actually make sure that that

You get the gear that you need to do what you need to do and if don’t call that we need to help provide that for you and that’s what we were going to do so I think the other thing is example women have to see each women doing what

They need to do they need to participate together with women they need to get in groups together and not just have a party to go out and have have a drink or two but to have a fitness party but or to talk about it with each other and be

Open about the concerns we have we have to rely on each other when problems come up and be open to discussing the things that we don’t want to discuss we have made depression and mental health a no-no and a bad thing that you don’t talk about and we’re trying to do

Something with some of the programs we have to be more open about that we have a series on mental health for sores to explain it’s a part of life it’s not something you have to hide it’s not a hidden thing that you have to do but we

Have to be open and willing to talk about it this job is not always easy and when I talk to soar Xiaofei this ain’t easy I’m not always doing so hot I think if they know I’m not and it’s okay for them as well so it’s sharing or

Communication I think perfect thank you so much for that answer and when you get your fitness line we have a store we would love to support and help you distribute it and we welcome the Zetas the deltas the aks SG roads and every single woman out there to get some of

That sisterhood through girl track and to walk like presidents yeah walks for better or better health we just invite you all into our community as well so that we can get to a million black women walking because then we can leverage some of these ideas because we will have

Collective mass walking together and talking together so thank you so much for both of those answers they were both so rich and we’re gonna move on to the next part of the interview I just really appreciate you both Thank You Morgan we are the daughters of black women who got good genes

That was my we need to do better we need to walk need to do all these that they were both saying beautiful an internal conversation thank you so much for that I’m I know I know everyone at home is excited and I’m excited to talk to president catching Smiths and president

Glover so if you if you’re ready I’m ready okay how are you ladies doing great how are you I’m doing wonderful I’m doing wonderful so I’m here in Washington DC and I have a minty she’s a young adult woman who aged out of foster care and she’s doing

Amazingly just finished her GED and she’s excited excited about the possibility of applying to Howard and I was talking to her recently about how she should consider joining a sorority and she told me something that felt heartbreaking and also something that resonated with me as a woman who also wasn’t innocent

In college and she said I don’t really think they’re for me and she went into this whole story about how she had this whole perception around how she didn’t have the right pedigree she didn’t have the right background didn’t have a mom or auntie who had pledged she didn’t

Have this thing and legacy and tradition are so important and such found foundations of the sorority community that they’re important and yet I wonder what do you tell the young black girls out there who are building legacies from ashes what do you tell them about starting the legacy with them and how

Sororities really are a place for those black girls who are listening right now what do you say to them I’ll start first I would say to them that we have to be more transparent I believe is black women because all of us didn’t come with the quote pedigree the right pedigree in

Joining any of the sororities and so I can speak from my personal journey my great-grandmother Amanda Harper was a sharecropper my grandmother worked the fields my grandmother took care of other people’s children she cleaned houses she cleaned restaurants my mother initially early on as a young girl worked in cleaning

Alongside my grandmother so I did not come with the quote right pedigree but what we all come with is from a richness in our heritage of strong black women it doesn’t matter if you grew up as you would say on the wrong side of the tracks or you didn’t come from wealth or

You didn’t come from a family that had all of the boxes checked and they had all of the pedigrees and education and they did well and their professions if you don’t come from that particular error in your own journey you decide what path you want to take and so I

Think that as it relates to joining a sorority the sorority is the best place a young woman like that can join why because when she joins that sorority she’s going to get training she’s going to be mentored she’s going to get life lessons that she would never get

Anyplace else it kind of takes me back to when you look at the black church the black church place then a lot of our children learn in public speaking the Easter speeches right and we’re it not for scenarios like that where you have a loving caring and compassionate

Environment and the mothers of the church and others are egging you on and praising what you do every day and telling you you can be all that you can be the sorority offers those same tenants opportunities for leadership opportunities to excel and whatever your passion is and then to actually take

Those skills and they’re transferable to the workforce what you learn in the sorority I can’t tell you how many times through my journey and I’ve been a member of Sigma Gamma Rho for it since 1978 I have used my skills that I’ve learned and developed as an undergraduate in Sigma Gamma Rho

Sorority into corporate America that has been a part of my journey conversely I’ve also acquired skills in corporate America that I’ve transferred back to my leadership in the sorority throughout the years so this is definitely an opportunity for that young woman to consider sorority life how you

Can give back to the community and make a difference and be a trend setter start on your journey to be the first in your family to get a college degree and bring a lot others along with you to make a difference thank you that’s helpful god

That’s thank you and I hope that there are so many and I know there’s so many intergenerational families right now who are watching this conversation where that is hitting home with a young girl dr. Gabbe do you what would you say to the young black girls out there who just

Don’t see themselves in this space but we want them in this space well first you said she’s graduated from high school and she wants to she’s going to college I would first tell her the benefits I’m going to Tennessee State University same is good we talk about

The research she should join a sorority the service aspect you know no one here is missing anything tonight about stepping and all of that because we’ve moved yes that’s a part of our culture we move to away from that narrative the narrative now is how do we serve others

How do we be of service whether program the projects you had a programs a service that will benefit the community and I will tell about the ordinance all the organization’s together how strong we are as a group that yes there’s some competition but there is the one that

Says the gap is it outweighs the competition because collectively if you look at 1.3 or 1.4 1.5 million college-educated african-americans working together you look at one point three four or five million african-americans who are self-sustaining financially we don’t go to our hands out baking for money to to

Sustain us we never go to a begs that give me along so I can make payroll we take care of ourselves we are financially free well you’re financially free you’re free indeed and so I will let her know the benefits of joining an organization like that for United to

Pino anybody else to take care of you and then just explain what the system who the leadership what they’re all about and some of the programs and of course I’ll do a pitch traffic alfalfa tell us how the progress of we’re doing you know the HPC UI you explaining the

Benefit of warranted HBCU and how if ever there was a time but he’s a support that we need to support HBCUs that time is now because the efforts to destroy the efforts to minimize are so great I mean the the it’s just it’s almost unreal sometimes the fights that you

Must engage in just two four we’re the only group the only organization is talking about causes define who you are before you can start the conversation that’s what we will sit with her let her know you should consider going to an America by college or university and

There are a hundred and six phone which you can choose and just and walk her through their path of why we’re needed and what we’ve done and how the model is not why you’re relevant but wow you can take so little and do so much produces good graduates we didn’t

Want to be a part of an organization like that a group of college like that so that’s a pathway that will lead her down yes thank you for that thank you for touching on the HBCUs because I had that as an actual question so I’m glad you actually just reiterated to the

Audience now is the actual time for us to be activating and supporting our historically black colleges and universities but you said something and this leads me into my next question for the both of you you said explain to her about the sisterhood and it’s funny because I had this question for the both

Of you I was thinking about the word sisterhood as we were preparing for this because growth track in itself is a sisterhood that’s near and dear to me and one of this the health statistics is that loneliness is deadlier than cigarette smoking we are alone as black

Women even in houses full of people we are alone and so finding those networks in those communities that we can connect with is so important but I was thinking about the actual word sisterhood and I was thinking about my favorite movie the color purple and I was thinking of

Should Avery singing sista and I was like their sisterhood and then there’s the sisterhood that shook Avery was talking about in that movie that I think is specific to black women and that I see specifically amongst my friends who are part of the sorority community where there is a sisterhood that is something

Special and so I was wondering if you could tell me when you think of sisterhood that the should Avery sisterhood who is the first woman that comes to your mind and what is something that that woman taught you about the power of sisterhood well in college of

Course you had your you had your mentors and the faculty members and their Dean’s who impress the hood like when you may be in a sorority they were all in sororities and I would see them together and they were talking on my campus I actually attended Tennessee State and

And on my campus and I would see them to see people together in their pink and green it was just the – sister the sisters get together and they do things made in a love each other they want to help each other they want to serve together they want to work

Together their project they want to do together it’s you know you grow up in your own family sisters or there were five girls of my family one boy there are five girls and so there was left we wouldn’t do for each other because that’s what sisters do you know there’s a closeness

There’s a family type of closeness where you look out for each other you tell them don’t you know which team to vote I start talk it’s just a way to to do things with listen like-mindedness of a group of people who want to serve together do things to help each other

Help the community hmm thank you thank you what about you when you sisterhood who comes to your mind what did she what did she is a woman is it just your whole sorority like it was for dr. Glover it started off with one woman and her name is Ruth warden Waller and she

Introduced me to Sigma Gamma Rho sorority incorporated when I was in high school she was already in the sorority had already graduated college and knew that I was about to embark on my college journey and she started talking to me about Sigma Gamma Rho sorority incorporated and I started to be invited

To some activities and events and I saw the genuine love caring compassion for each other as women and my personal journey has been that no matter what the situation is or the circumstances I can always call on my source for help and we help each other in its genuine and it’s

Done in a way that is compassionate it’s done in a way that makes sure that we are checking on each other around our wellness whether it be mental wellness or physical wellness and that we genuinely care for each other my family which I happen to be an only child but

My family and my relatives always marvel at the rally around my sisterhood my husband about seven years ago had a massive heart attack at work he was at his desk working and he collapsed in his office and someone happened to come to his office and saw him slumped over and saved his life

Through CPR and my husband left that facility he worked for General Motors at the time as a supervisor he left Andrew motors unconscious taken to the hospital was comatose for seven days but on the seventh day he woke up yeah the doctors were telling me in the family ma’am he’s

Not gonna make it he’s been comatose for seven days we don’t know why he had the heart attack we can’t figure it out because he’s unconscious and there’s only a certain amount of testing we can do my sword wars rallied not never before and the calls the prayers I had a national

Prayer circle going on across the country when they found this happen to my husband so that is above and beyond my own family was like oh my gosh this is amazing these are women some of them I don’t even know personally were praying for me and my husband and my

Family so that is the level of civic power yes it is divine I didn’t mean to cut you off but I was but I just it’s like in church I was like I know the power of that of that level of sister it’s really it’s really beautiful thank

You for for sharing that I have I had one last question for the for the two women who I were talking about I’m actually going to pose this to the group because I think it’s a good transition question the test first of all behind the scenes all four

Of you were adamant that part of this conversation is so that the world knows that you guys are you women as Cicely Tyson would say our sisters this is real there’s not even any competition I experienced that every day in my life and have literally since kindergarten I

Have always had a powerful group of amazing sisters women in my corner supporting me I think that is most black women’s experience and yet I think the dominant story and narrative that is out there is that black women don’t support each other black women don’t have each

Other’s back but I’m like just resource sorority’s just hear the story that you just said about the prayer circle for your husband that’s stretched across the nation we know that’s not true just quickly do any of you have any opinion or perspective why is it this story is we’re cat fighting we’re

Against each other when in fact we know that if we need to call anyone right now we call assistant she’d be here in five minutes you know I have to tell you meet the social media and television does not help us so when you see us on TV on some

Of these reality shows you know you see us fighting I don’t even have to name them you know talking about each other and I think the perception is the stereotype that is seen on TV and what’s most important is that in real life when people see us we have to do something to

Make sure we’re not defined that way we cannot to be fine by those kinds of shows you see that and you know they they dominate because the show is like girlfriends and those others where you really see us coming together don’t get the play they’re the ones that go off

The air first but the ones where the fights are going on and where the issues are happening are the ones you see and I think it’s important for us to create our own narrative and we have an opportunity to create our own narrative to make sure that first of all we

Produce our own shows by gosh and we make sure they’re on there we have our own networks we do those kinds of things that we can do to get in front of that we have girltrek and the importance things that you all do in the community not only with girls walking but people

See you you get involved in social action and you do it as a group of women so I think we have to do something ourselves to turn that tide we have to support each other we have to visibly support each other we have to demand that the shows that appear on TV about

Us aren’t all one-sided and that’s critical we in terms of what we do and how we behave and we have to make sure that our daughters are comfortable and understand that you have to have that kinship a connection with girlfriends with sister girls to really support and

Help you I’m going to three mom’s ready go ahead I’m Sam and we do things together you know we have a divine were all nine organizations do things together take stands together the the five guys took a stand and wrote a paper together the four of us take stands

Together when we need some ricotta seven when L we had Tennessee State’s campus one day I said I mean a national figure to come to campus and and try to unite some of the young ladies and I said lady so I called up rebus notes and Evelyn

Need you to come to campus and be the keynote speaker at Tennessee State they said but you and they came I said I know that she’s a deaf I said well aware of that but she’s a great speaker the national figure and so she went she did

A fantastic job and bang I can’t invite a pleasure dear to well together the more the narrative is told it doesn’t help a lot of regions say it ourselves but we have to see it they have to see the sermon rather than hear it and when a sales working together they see

Girltrek inviting us together and we doing these kinds of of significant appearances together and I think it all helps to show that this is a one great sister yes they’re there for different organizations different sororities but we are we have similar missions similar purpose and we’re all going to work

Together no one’s with the script was talking about healthcare I mean that’s that we all of us have a healthcare initiative so it is we were just working out that one initiative just one mental health there we have the Alpha Kappa Alpha care for the caregivers that’s one

Of our targets we said because we saw the studies are taking care of each other that we don’t take time to take care of ourselves so we’re just we’re fueling the cosmetic industry when we get our eyes you know you get a hair done just but then when it comes to our

Body’s a temple you know God can’t dwell on clean temple we have to kick ourselves together and keep it together and so we could do that as one big initiative for all for sororities and what we can do with ourselves mentally physically I mean I think that’s where we had it to

Show the The Sisterhood the togetherness of all of us as one big group of course you know the divided we have some divisions but yes we’re one big food when it comes to social we’re tackling some big issues right now and together it’s so big that we’re all my friends

Put on a line and say yes we support this we should we should get together on this let’s sign up on this so that’s what we’re doing I think that’s the new narrative they’re seeing in us one big initiative she said we need one big yes

One thing if I could project as well is I know we talked about early on about the systemic issue around healthcare and black women and that’s one of the things that we are all tackling again all four of the national sororities one aspect of that though that is so importantly in

Critical is the US Census because that’s where the federal dollars are placed in the communities that helps with our health care facilities our hospitals our ability for all of our people to be able to get quality health care and when those dollars are not fair because we were never counted then it just

Exasperates exacerbates the problem and so we know we are all committed all four of our organizations with working to promote completing the US census to be counted Sigma Gamma Rho has a national partnership with a 30-second video approved by the US Census Bureau so that we are telling our members we must get

Counted share the information across our rep you know respective communities in the cities and towns where you live because if we’re not counted those dollars are going to go away not only that but then also redistricting as we look at our voting rights and to make sure that we are electing people who

Have the same mission and platform and things that matter to us so those are the things that all of the four sororities are engaged in and I would also add that I have to say this not being arrogant with being transparent these four it is we are demonstrating not just by

In words and deeds as dr. Glover said we are demonstrating to our respective members how United we are to improve the quality of life of black women children and families and they see that we have all gotten roundings a resounding reviews and commentary from our respective members they speak it it’s

Real wow I can say normally the last person always has to say someone repeat some of what everybody else say but I want to say that it comes from the top this is one group of women I can say from my heart I love them you know I

Really love them because they have they’ve opened their hearts they’ve opened themselves and they’ve befriended me and I know as a leader you have to have other people that you can talk to that you can you can meet up at the airport with or you can ride on the

Plane with or you know sometimes that you got to get on the bus with them you know but wherever you gotta go we can do it together and that’s what we’re trying to do in the two years that I’ve been the president I’ve been serving with these beautiful women these black women

That have strength and courage and foresight and leadership they have taught me a lot and I appreciate that because it because we have to be together we got to pull each other up so whatever we do we try to focus on doing things together we were doing the census

Together we’re doing voter education voter mobilization we’re doing things together we’re not separate and then when it comes to our health we watch each other you know we we check recheck and we want if we want to check on our members the same way we we what we gotta get up there we

We’re down with girltrek we are we are supporters we will weary runners we’re walkers we’re doing what we have to do we have Xena’s have heart we’re out there I totally we gotta get healthy we gotta get fit we got that cell we gotta be able to live long because we want to

See our children on our children’s children on our children’s children’s children and the only way that you’ll do that is that you are a village a community living together working with each other and that’s what we do and I can safely say to all of these that are

Out there tonight that these women did best and I appreciate them I wanted to say we want to make sure that the audience gets to ask some questions so we’re gonna move on to the we’re going to answer the call that you have given that we have your back president with

Anything that you needed that’s health-related and we will support you to the ends of the earth around the census around voting around mental health and all of your initiatives if there’s ever a way we can do it we are there for you so we wanted to tell you

About what our call to action is for all of the thousands of women watching this for all of the women have invited in your organization all the women our organization across the planet we even have I know you all have international chapters we even have six countries in Africa organizing with girltrek

So let’s get a move on let’s see the next one let’s see the next slide and then move to the interview questions yes the Vanessa yes Vanessa let me tell you something I believe this we are seven hundred thousand black women strong with the support of those dynamic women we just came on I know without a shadow of a doubt that we can be at a million black women walking in the same direction for

Our health by the end of this year if you are watching this if you have enjoyed this share this with every woman you know and ask them to join us in a united health movement a demonstration of unity where we will walk together in the streets of our neighborhood and do

Everything we can in the spirit of safety around Kovan and we’re going to talk about that in a second we have a very special challenge coming up for you it is a solo challenge where we want you to get your heart your mind and your spirit together for the days weeks and

Months ahead as our president said earlier on this this season particularly November is going to require us all to be in our best shape ever so that we can protect the rights that all of our foremothers have fought for for over the years so here’s a call to action June

First check your inbox first of all you have to go to girltrek org and make sure you take the pledge the pledge just says I’m gonna walk at least one day a week in solidarity with women of black women across the country so take the girl trek pledge every other

Day you’re gonna carve out 30 minutes a day for self-care if you are like me and you are just really pushing for your mental health if you are a sister who are struggling with chronic illness the prescription for you is to walk 20 days a month that’s five days a week we

Promise you if you do that it will transform your life I know it because I have seen it all across the country so we’re gonna sign up at girltrek dot or wwl check org take the pledge as you take the pledge on june 1st we’re going to issue a very

Special challenge Vanessa do you want to talk about the challenge girl check is the funniest most amazing most hypest crew of black women in over to the streets we wear blue show we are to superheroes stop playing that’s what they need to know no I’m not getting the challenge or to have

Accountability it is going to have inspiration it’s going to have a daily touch point with thousands of women it’s going to have me and Morgan stewarding you through the process we will be learning about our foremothers and who we are the daughters of it will be fun

It will be safe and especially in this moment where we have been inside and we are locked down and we are dealing with the stresses of the world we must get a hold of our physical our mental in our spiritual health and this is girltrek rallying to do that for black women so

Definitely join us for that I’m excited by it Morgan and I’m excited that women coming on to ask questions on this lab I part of because look let’s do it was like we need some real sorority women to come on and ask the questions who are we bringing our prayers Morgan

I’m not sure first we have a Fiat all right uber up there we go oh there you are wonderful I love my girl trek family so I first had to say hello to my girl Trek family there I am out the Elat and Thompson and I am an excited 30-year

Life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated so my question is to you madam supreme president dr. Glover how are you this evening great how are you I am fantastic I know that in 2018 you instituted an unprecedented program called walking with the supreme that allowed members of our sorority to

Strive for 8000 steps per day and to login their steps online more than 70,000 sorority sisters including my golden sour mom dr. Thelma Lawton who is watching us tonight we’re posting pictures and videos of themselves walking with other sorority sisters with friends with family on the walking with the supreme Facebook group what

Led you to start this program because we’ve had health initiatives as platforms within Alpha Kappa Alpha for many years but this was unprecedented so what led you to start that and what impact do you believe that it had not only on the sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority but on the overall state

Of black women’s health across the board well thank you for asking that we know that the black woman’s health issues are we know what they are we know the heart issues and we have had diabetes with high blood pressure and many times because we’re under something simple

Like exercise and so we thought if we just started walking for heart health to take care of my hearts to to walk daily and if we can log-in wasn’t an average but they were saying 8 to 10 to 10,000 steps per day so we said let’s take an

Orion of that and we can raise it you know cut a couple 19 it’s kind of stopped a lot of things but we we’re encouraging people to walk inside your home your house walk through the house walk around the house but outside but right now that I think and because this

This if this disease has taught us anything if komak 19 has taught us anything it is brought to light the disparities in health that happen across the years it’s not yes we you know high blood pressure yes we’re more successful to two diabetes and yes we have respiratory challenges but it’s it goes

Back to why we have this it’s not that we don’t gonna take care of ourselves yes so we can’t really blame myself so much because this is inadequate funding for health care this came about because we just didn’t do we didn’t know sometimes we can accept health care that

Came from Washington there are times when there was such discrimination and in health care and how we treated African Americans and so there are a lot of reasons why the other underlie while we have those those five three or three out of five top five reasons for koban

19 that’s why I tell people do not beat yourself up because you have a wonder the 1 to 5 but but walking is something that every can do if you can if you can walk if you can do if you can take a step you can just walk through your house gonna get

On the treadmill sometimes I can’t get outside I will walk on the treadmill you know my treadmill and talk on the phone and walk and then I took it to my to my University to walk around the football field and the students would join me my

You know Mendham join me just ask me questions about things you know why doesn’t my my window don’t close up a wagon wise am I alone on my account yet you know they asked me but they were still walking with the president I think it because health is just so so

Important to walk everyday it makes you feel much better you know the walk today you just feel so much better and and it’s a mental thing works your mental health also and so we have to continue that can’t wait to this as always once I

Got the house and two so we can get back to walking out five their fresh air thank that’s right thank you so much for your answer and thank you for your leadership thank you I love that and I love Alf because she’s such an important part of our community and actually on

Mondays we do a National Prayer and medication call and she just led meditation for thousands of black women on Monday so I love that she was able to answer us ask that question Morgan yeah that’s great we have our next audience question coming up and I just I wanted

To respond to you that the 18th US Surgeon General dr. Regina Benjamin is on our board and I think she is in there hon non honorary member is something of Delta super famous something really funny yes yes she always talked about I want to get it right but she she’s on

Our board of directors and she one of the things that she used to promote is that walking is the single most powerful thing you can do to improve your health if you did one thing I mean not don’t change anything else but just walk 30 minutes a day that your risk of heart

Disease stroke diabetes would decrease your risk of it by 50 so you’re absolutely right and I’m so glad that I’ll be asked that question that was powerful all right so we have our hack we have our knives yes it’s dr. Kim Sexton loot looter ha ha right good evening everyone

Oh I’m so pleased to be here tonight supporting this sisterhood of girl trekkers and I’m here representing the Concord alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta but I am also a girl trek organizer and I have walking groups here in Kannapolis and Concord and Greensboro North Carolina and we are all about

Helping to reach that 1 million by the end of this year so as I’ve been listening I’ve heard a lot of my questions asked already so so I’m president I just want to ask you I have watched you navigate through these crazy covert times and make decisions that you

Knew we’re going to just disappoint you or come just disappoint your sisters but you had to do what you had to do and you just had to make it work and I just want to ask you what do you think host COBIT times will look like for those of us in

Service organizations out there trying to do the work that we’re trying to do while we’re being encouraged to social distance and stay away wow that’s a good question that’s a tough question what will we do in post over times you know we’re facing a new normal and a new

Normal happens on occasion this is the opportunity to be honest with you for us to expand our reach and as difficult as the situation is and as difficult as far as the changes that are happening you know we’ve pulled our swords to find out what their circumstances and where they

Are and in order to deal with the situation and still communicate we have had to use virtual media a lot in technology what I’ve seen though is because as we are virtual we’re able to reach more people more frequently and I think that’s one of the pluses of it but the

Downside of that and a new initiative or a new focus that I think we’re all going to have to have whether it’s Delta Sigma Theta or other organizations is making sure the community has access to that technology the impact of koban 19 and what we’ve been able to see in terms of

Concerns about our children in areas where there is not technology and where they don’t have internet service and now we’re talking about going back to school and the CDC’s new requirements that you’re so many feet apart in school that only so many students can be in a class

That means more students and our new normal are going to have to be able to use technology and have have access to the Internet to get their education and their training that means we have to as we focus on social actions for example make sure that we have laws and

Guidelines that impact us that make sure that we actually put laws in place and put guidelines in place and put money in place through legislative activities that provides more internet service that provides greater access we have less access that we’ve seen through Kovac in terms of our communities getting health

Care concerns about groceries in the neighborhood that’s a part of that census plan that we have what do we do and we have to plan now to make sure legislation so if I take over to social action and I have to do that because I

Can’t help but do that we have to make sure that our new normal and the outreach that we have as an organization extends to making sure those things where we have been negatively impacted that are the people we vote for that the census that we take that we know that we

Have to be counted and make sure there are provisions for equal access for everybody and the effective at the impact the necessity for that is greater than it ever should be so the new normal gives us more energy in terms of what we need to put our arms or well where do we

Need to expand our reach in terms of an organization for all the divine line organizations in terms of what we touch what do we do to make sure we increase the power in our voice so that the next time a crisis happens we don’t find the african-american community suffering

Unnecessarily because we didn’t take the time to make sure we did all we could to guarantee equal access I hope that makes sense in terms of an answer president present it did make sense and president Smith can I ask one follow-up question we are talking about this

Social action right now and I know that there’s an election coming up a huge election for our country in in November we’ve talked a bit and I want to give everyone listening a prescription on social action around that so we’ve talked about the census we’ve talked about really looking at voting or is

There anything else we need to pay attention to we need to do we need to read before that time comes up you know and that’s a good question and you know as we’re sitting here talking about the daughters of and I think of Delta Sigma Theta and the question that I was first

Asked you know where the daughter of Mary McLeod Bethune the daughter of Mary church Tyrell the daughter of Barbara Jordan Delta Sigma Theta is the daughter of shirley Chisholm and all of those women the daughter of the seven women that we have in Congress right now we

Need to make sure our voice is heard and we need to be in those seats that they said it and that’s the one piece we have got to make sure we’re doing we have an initiative or working on now we’re trying to get black women to run Delta’s

To run so that we can be in the seats at the table to make sure that we are taking care of those things we need to do in the environment where in the future it’s it’s difficult to be forgotten if they have to look at you every day and I think that’s important

That they have to look at us every day and understand where we are and it was shirley Chisholm that said if we you know if we can’t get a seat at the table then we have to bring our own seat and make sure it’s at the table that were

We’re speaking loud and speaking our voice so as you’re out there with these young women that you’re working with and all of us that you’re working with and as members of all these organizations we need to make sure especially in the era of black women and I think it is because

I think there’s a lot of strength powering our voice right now that ancestry we have of a history of black women being in front and leading we need to take full advantage of that you know they they always underestimate us that’s one thing I find about especially some

People tend to underestimate us and I always think I always tell my daughter I think that’s a great thing because if they underestimate you they can’t see you coming and so let them do that but in the meantime let’s quietly make sure that we are getting at the seats in the

Table that we need to be so that we can make sure that we are the difference that that and we have a voice in that difference that we’re making I think we have to do that and have to focus on making sure we’re preparing people and we’re supporting each other that we’re

Doing the kinds of things we need to do to make sure the future is what we want it to be we can’t do that if we’re sitting behind the scenes oh I love that answer I love that answer all right we have I was I was going to say the two most

Important issues facing us right now the Census and get not to vote I mean those are so important that we can’t print we can’t stop underscoring that maybe we talk about voter registration that’s great we are rich to fall to vote but getting to the polls that’s what’s

Important we don’t raise anybody else to vote we have enough register right now to win a seat well – we need to win elections so we can get folks with all to vote we got that part down penguin strange but associative voter education the engagement vote immobilization this we

Must do get folks to the polls vote and then we make developments and assistance and I very I’m sorry same again well mr. census so we can’t say enough about never I’m sorry you know it is really under pressure uh-huh you know like this you know that

And we must be counted with innocence determine how many seats you get in Congress and the impacts I didn’t lie to talk about community needs our poverty levels they’re saying you know sisters right over here is greatest one in poverty in Nashville well the census does it have a dish

Subtract it more since less there’s more money helping businesses so the sisters and getting out some vote and yes and that definitely Beverly we must run for office must repair others run for office I just said if you caught you know you know my dad caught himself a politician

He you know he makes me where everybody’s campaigning and so when I grew up when a campaign I never want to rub myself up or run the people who are in the campaign and they’re one of people who want but but anyway we get people prepared to take these offices

And we can’t just say I’m here if you’ve crossed that River and you brought nobody with you you’ve accomplished precisely nothing so you must have somebody else in training there’s somebody else who’s ready to run Tennessee State University not yet there’s somebody else so this is where

To run our camera alpha but you have to keep people in training so they’re ready to move up to those positions the city councilor Maris and comforta the vice president we’re talking about really styling the women to get some item up about that black one on the black one

Oppressors ticket by most men can win you know everyone president is weird now but I’m just saying so get prepared to move on up to these positions you can’t stay where you are and expect African Americans to move up you are the ones who must move up you must take the

Positions you must say within yourself I can win that position I’m gonna run I can proceed I can mobilize and I can run I can win and we must support I must support the younger folks out there running and let them win all right dr. Glover you done told us all somebody

Out there don’t run or local here oh it’s it’s dr. earth coach Robin hi Roman madam cranberry how are you I am well as well as TV um my question well first I want to acknowledge you support you’ve given up in light of the fact that our dream were crushed when

Everything had to be canceled in terms of coming to DC but thank you so much for keeping us encouraged and keeping us notified as to the things that are going on step-by-step but part of what I want to know about is like we’re spending more time virtual world it’s helping to

Bridge the gap between generations but what impact is that going to have on us and the organization our reach and maintaining the hope cohesiveness that we have as sisters because we’re more computers seen each other like we’re connecting more computers now so is there something else that can be done in

Terms of maintaining that sisterhood that feeling of that’s a very good very good question because we’re all facing this a new normal that we’re in and we are reaching so many more members by being in this stay in place situation that we are there might be a new element

Called the the the the zoom the zoom element because we’re all doing zoom we’re all we’re all on WebEx but at least what we’re doing is we’re reaching each other and we’re and and we’re trying to touch through that right now now we’ve got to get ourselves ready for

Post Colvin so what does that mean that means that now that we’ve been sitting here and we’ve been making sure that we where we we have those those Mondays where we’re reaching out with prayer and we’re having those weekly incentives and those those challenges and and the

Things that we can do we can all do that now but what now does that mean as you’re talking about moving forward well moving forward is going to be on the plate of the leadership and for me leadership always starts from the top and moves down how am I going to

Continue to mobilize and keep there involved we have to understand where we are we have to we have to make sure that everybody’s educated number one in safety when we are able to start moving about how we going to do that what are going to be some of the rules how are we

Going to be how are we going to be with each other these are the things that we’re going to continue to talk about we’re going to continue to get the sisterhood ready to do and then we’re going to go out and we’re going to be about the business we’re going to we’re

Going to resume it might not be the same way we’ve done it before Kovac but we’re going to resume activities we’re going to be able to do certain community service what we’re going to be able to to start going back into you know of bringing in new members we’re going to

Be able to start seeing each other maybe in smaller groups not as large as we used to with our regionals in our States meetings and national but we’re going to ease every back everybody back into a different type of situation but what I’m going to continue to preach is that we

Have to have patience we have to listen we have to understand that things that are not going to they’re going to change just like 911 post 9-11 is different from before it is different from pre 911 so you have to look at post Kovac and that is going to be different from pre

Kovac we’re going to have to learn to pivot that’s my new friends with pivot because we’re going to stick we start here and then we’re going to pivot and then we’re going to change direction so what is that direction going to look like that

Is my job to make sure that I am working with the leadership to craft the change the direction the things that we need to do to make sure number one that I am I am sure that my sisterhood is is safe in the things that we’re going to do and

Then I want you all to make sure that the things that we do do the activities the the the the challenges the the social action the the community service work but we still have that in the in the in the top of our mind and that we’re going to be

Able to do that in maybe a different way and we’re going to look and investigate how those ways are going to be so that we can help you and we will have we’re going to have a hotline open we’re going to make sure that we have those that can

Help us that we’ll be able to get us to the next level because that is the job making sure that my sorority gets to the next part and that they’re going to be they’re going to be able to make it post closing and how we’re going to excel by

Doing that because it’s not never a failure is in my vocabulary we’re going to excel because we are what we are here to do we’re here to help God’s people and we are God’s people we’re going to help ourselves and we’re going to help everyone else and we’re

Going to do it in a fashion where it’s going to be safe for all of us and we’re going to work together while we do that thank you you welcome president Hollingsworth Baker that was perfect and you you raise something from me that I actually just want to say directly to

Our members in the video that you saw you saw these beautiful groups of sometimes hundreds of women walking in neighborhoods for our members it is absolutely essential that you practice social distancing our community is adversely affected by this crisis and safety is our number one concern Vanessa and I and the girl treks

National staff we wear a mask we wash our hands and we walk as solo trekkers right now because also what the or the CDC says is that we need fresh air sunshine and exercise but we have to do it in the safest way possible so I will

Certainly be following up with you on president just to make sure that everything is safe because it looked like you you’ve got the standards we have them down because everyone is going that that’s all that’s our job yeah make sure you get our membership you know what they’re going to do and

Like I said sometimes people don’t like everything that you’re going to say but I’m so I mean I want them to be healthy and safe and we’re gonna practice and do what we reach out to you and make sure we meet that bad zeta threshold of safety and keep all God’s children safe

For sure and then the last thing in that conversation before we go to our last question is that coach Robin asked about generations and I just want to make sure that every woman out there knows that you can walk at whatever age with us and that actually our most senior Walker I

Think grandma Anna in Philadelphia is 95 now I think she is and she calls everybody out all the time when she walks five days a week and her whole actually her her whole family her daughters are all aks she may be a KA too but there’s a whole family of aks

That walk in Philadelphia so I just wanted to know that from our youngest Trekker is maybe on our staff a newborn baby who has a little girl check sure and then our eldest is Grandma an in Philadelphia as we know so everyone’s welcome no matter what part of your

Journey you’re on in our last last last interview please stay tuned we cannot wait is she on the line ready right evening everyone I’m consider to be be with my girl trick sisters I you know I’ve never you guys for quite a while so long to be here to support you in any

Way the scible and I’m a 20s Giro so I consider it especially an honor to be able to speak to Madame grand this the question I have we are preparing an authority to go into our sentir in a couple of year on in 2022 and as we’ve always been connected of diaspora across

The globe with our international sister in what ways as a sorority are are we going to be embraced by the international sister as we continue to move forward and into our next century well first of all greeting sir Thomas it’s great to have you on with us this

Evening and thank you for your question what we are working with as relates to our intern membership again we recognize the fact that’s already been stated throughout this program and in other places the difference that COBIT 19 is having on our daily lives and how we engage and

How we come together as a people in its totality so we are definitely in a position in a place now what we’re going to have to rethink how we engage and so back to previous comments and what we’ve already been doing zoom and GoToMeeting and WebEx and all kinds of tools

Technology tools we’re going to continue down that road for the foreseeable future based on the forecast from our science doctors and other healthcare authorities on what it’s going to look like moving forward even into 2021 and so I would imagine that Sigma Gamma Rho is going to have to make that course

Correction it’s all about adaptability and being sure that we are putting ourselves in a position to recognize where we’re going to have to make those critical changes we can’t continue practices that we’ve done in the past not with cold at 19 in the mix as it

Stands at this point in time and so it also gives an opportunity a welcome opportunity to refresh and reimagine how we engage and how we interact with each other and because of kovat 19 it is really forced us to that place and so we have embraced that place that we sit in

Today recognizing it’s an opportunity to reimagine how we connect with our soul roars at our centennial in 2022 its forced us to rethink how we connect with each other even in current state and how we’re able to navigate through Kovan successfully which we have done very

Well at this juncture and how it be consistent to ensure that top of mind is the health and safety and wellness of our membership and making sure that we’re giving guidance based on scientific fact based on noted educated informed and degreed individuals who have our subject matter experts in the

Place around kovat 19 of what we need to do to protect ourselves and making sure that as members on all of our levels regionally and locally are in gay ensuring that they are also practicing safety wellness and making sure that we are caring for ourselves and each other

In our communities so I think it’s going to be a reimagining of greater extent of Technology as you know several of our chapters and several of our regions actually a couple of our regions we’re all working toward virtual conferences over the next several weeks Sigma Gamma

Rho is going to have our first virtual boule in July so it is really pushing us to reimagine how we connect with each other and we can make it happen we are confident about that for your bank what a rich conversation tonight I want to just personally thank every

Single woman who came here tonight to listen to these wonderful women and to the our guests Vanessa and I just are in constant search of advice and mentorship and prayer and I’m so grateful to have met all four of you and hope hope that you will continue to pray for our

Movement and hope that we can call and ask we have a question about the census or we have a question about social action or we have a question about all the myriad of things that you spoke about so eloquently and one one tradition we have in girltrek is just

Ending with gratitude and just one thing that you’re grateful for now and I just want to encourage the audience to just send out a whole wave of gratitude into the world by first thanking our guests and then just putting one very specific thing that you are grateful for in your

Life this moment to just send some waves of greatness and in celebration of this black sisterhood that we forged so Vanessa would you like to start yes absolutely I’m grateful for the entire team that behind the scenes for months and literally this is project has been

Years in the making has put their heart and soul on the line to make this happen starting with the full-time members of growth tracks national staff starting with Anika Gervais in particular who has been the drum Mei for this sorority conversation to happen she believes so fervently in this

Sisterhood she is an aka but believe so fervently in the sisterhood and has held us accountable to creating this space I want to thank her specifically and just hold up our entire team a shout out to Lilly on our team whose does all the marketing behind the scenes and social

Media it’s her birthday today and I say that really do nothing that we black women without other black women and although you see Morgan and I on the screen trust and believe that behind the scenes there are so many women from chantrelle who did the visual art to

Jewel who does the media to the roshanda and Jada and I could name everybody by name but I’m grateful for them Morgan in this very moment of this conversation and I’m grateful for you and the 10 15 22 years of friendship and sisterhood that we have had personally our own

Little gang gang where we have been growing this girl chick I’m grateful for you awesome and I’ll do mine quickly I’m actually I’d like to I am grateful for for actual grace actually today our team made made lots of things that went right and we made a couple of mistakes and

President Hollandsworth Baker you gave us so much grace and our chairwoman Tulane who helped us navigate it I just this is hard and and if it wasn’t hard if it wasn’t hard people would have done it before and so I just think for all of

The mistakes we made I think all of you for being so forgiving and loving so that we can make this happen and so I just thank God for grace in this moment any other gratitudes what I’m grateful for the honor and privilege to serve and leave such an amazing sisterhood to lead

Alpha Kappa Alpha to serve in this in this present environment I’m grateful that I’m the leader in Coburg 19 in the kögel 19 world because I know that from every challenge comes an opportunity and this is a pandemic and this is the problem what I’ve learned never to waste

A problem never waste a pandemic never waste issue and so I’m thankful to to the divine 9 I’m thankful to the four others for other three leaders of the sororities and the anti girltrek and thank you our bear and Winston so may you be all that God has ordained for you

To be god bless you I have to say the first thing it always comes to mind for me is I’m just grateful to God for the life he gave me it is not always the easiest life but it’s my life it the purpose that he has given me his

One that I’ve tried to fulfill and I am most grateful to my god that he has given me that you know beyond that I am so grateful for my family my husband who calls himself James Bond but that’s a whole nother story but anyhow grateful to to him and my children and my

Grandchildren just so grateful that I have them my leadership team and Delta Sigma Theta is the bomb my staff at headquarters and the leaders I have that manage all the initiatives we have and does it with such grace and power is just amazing to me and my sores I get

Prayer calls all the time from them they are so wonderful they pray for me to keep me lifted we’ve had some interesting times in Delta with tropical storms that we had last year that caused our convention to fall apart with the pandemic this year with all the things

That go on but they are always so supportive and I am grateful to have that and I have to agree I’m grateful to you all I have if if for nothing else but to see my other presidents I have we have not seen each other in a while I guess in

Selma I think we saw each other in Selma and that was maybe it but the opportunity to share broader where we are and who we are and the chance to see their beautiful faces in your faces as well has been a true blessing so thank

You for that man i next i am grateful or the mercy that God bestows upon me every day we don’t always I don’t always get everything right and sometimes that don’t make the best decisions I do the best that I can I’m just grateful for his mercy and for

His forgiveness and then I’m also grateful for my family my husband Robert of 34 years has been on this journey up with me through life career family and Sigma Gamma Rho sorority incorporated and we have an agreement a very strong agreement of support for each other he

Is my number one fan and cheerleader and does all that he can to help me in every leadership role that I’ve held in the sisterhood of Sigma Gamma Rho and in my career professionally and so I am grateful for him and my family because you can’t serve in these capacities and

Have a career and all the other responsibilities and not have the support of your family that is number one priority in order for you to be able to succeed and then I’m also grateful for the love the compassion and the sisterhood the unique sisterhood of Mysore Ward’s of Sigma Gamma Rho

Sorority incorporated who continued to lift me up in prayer we have weekly prayer calls every Monday night it’s open to the public and we have had those consistently throughout kovat and will continue to have them and so we are thankful for the prayers because we all need prayer and then lastly I’m so

Thankful for our presidents that my soror sister lion sister presidents and seeing their beautiful faces us being able to have the conversation to the wider audience to show our love our care and concern for each other and our support that is genuine of each other and then really lastly last last is

Girls trek and Sigma Gamma Rho came together in 2018 you all were at our National Convention in Dallas Texas we had a partnership for a woman’s girls walk run and that was my first encounter with girltrek and I am so excited and overjoyed at the growth of your

Organization and we need to give you all a round of applause for the amazing work you’re doing in our communities on behalf of black women thank you so much I just want to um I just say that I’m grateful to God for allowing me to be able to lead such a

Wonderful organization I get kind of emotional because people sometimes don’t understand how hard things really can be as a leader and who and what and your responsibility for being in charging and and taking care of those that you’re in charge of because that is the duties

That that you’ve been voted into so I thank God for having given me that perseverance to push through push the needle to help my sisters to be there for them because they’ve been there for me I want I want to publicly thank all of my sisters because they they’ve

They’ve lifted me up when I have felt down and they’ve given me true love that I need because I am I am an only child I have come from a family of immigrants and I have and I’ve never had that kind of real sisterly bond that I have had

With Zeta Phi Beta Sorority membership I want to thank my husband who we all lovingly and Zeta called mr. B he’s been he’s been my friend he’s been my rock I can’t do without him he’s there for me every moment of the day he’s a first responder and he works

In in the Bronx no officer I worry about him every day I worry about him every day but I know that I have to be strong for him and I try to exercise and I try to walk and I try to do the things because I know that I can’t I can’t get

Sickening and he doesn’t have anybody to beat with so I thank God that he gives me that much released and I can do that so I can make sure that I am there for him as he is here for me and I want to thank girltrek for this opportunity because I’ve seen

My friends this evening I miss you and I really bringing together black women and telling them how important it is for their health need to be healthy we have to live longer we have to be here for each other so please whatever anybody does remember be healthy see your doctor

Eat right walk do the things you need to do so you can be here for your children and your children’s children I think you all very much thank them thank you thank you with that we will close thank you everyone for joining us we appreciate it goodbye everyone thank you so much

Lovely sisters you

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