Good afternoon and welcome to rising together black sororities in pursuit of leadership and service i’m sarah curaton executive director of the new jersey historical commission and it’s my honor to welcome you to today’s program which is offered in celebration of women’s history month the historical commission is a state
Agency located in new jersey’s department of state it is dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge and preservation of new jersey history established by law in 1967 its work is founded on the fundamental belief that a nuanced inclusive understanding of our past is essential to sustaining a robust democracy
To get our program started it’s my pleasure to introduce tahitian way new jersey’s 34th secretary of state and the moderator for today’s panel as secretary of state ms way holds one of the nation’s oldest constitutional offices and leads a department with a diverse portfolio she serves as new jersey’s top
Election official overseeing the state division of elections and its work in securing our democracy and ensuring broad fair access to the right to vote in addition to this critical work ms way also oversees the state government offices supporting new jersey’s vibrant arts culture history and business communities throughout her career secretary wade has
Devoted herself to public service prior to becoming secretary of state she was an administrative law judge for the state of new jersey in 2006 she also served and was elected to the passaic county board of chosen freeholders and served as its freeholder director in 2009. secretary way is a graduate of brown
University where she served as vice president of the collegiate chapter of the naacp president of her alpha kappa alpha sorority iota alpha chapter which she joined in 1991 taught religious education and was a radio announcer for wbr ufm ms way also holds a juris doctor from the university of virginia school of law
At charlottesville secretary wedding thank you sarah and good afternoon i am so pleased to welcome everyone to today’s women’s history month program rising together black sororities and pursuit of leadership and service now i have been so excited about today’s event and it is so apropos to have this session during women’s history month
Because the storied history of alpha kappa alpha delta sigma theta zeta phi beta and sigma gamma rho isn’t just black history it is women’s history as we know in recent months we have seen an uptick of interest in black sororities with the election of one of my and tamla’s own alpha kappa
Alpha sisters kamela harris as vice president of the united states people across the u.s and around the world want to hear more about the ladies of the divine nine and today we are excited to share what makes these organizations powerful essential and historic three of the four black sororities were founded
At howard university the founders of alpha kappa alpha the nation’s first black sorority came together in 1908 to establish an organization of sisterhood that would celebrate black culture and take action on critical issues facing the black community delta sigma theta was founded in 1913 and their very first act as an
Organization was joining the march for women’s suffrage in dc zeta phi beta was also founded at howard and would eventually become the first black greek organization to establish a chapter in africa finally in 1922 seven young educators at butler university founded sigma gamma rho the only black sorority to form
On the predominantly white campus simply be put these four historic sisterhoods haven’t just shaped young black women for the past century they have helped transform our nation in between pursuing academic excellence and enjoying the bonds of sisterhood black sororities have fought to make this country live up to his promise of liberty and
Justice for all working to secure voting rights enact anti-lynching legislation and establish fair access to housing jobs and health care we also take pride in knowing that the first black person to win an oscar hattie mcdaniel was a sigma gamma rho that novelist zora neil hurston was a zeta phi beta
That congresswoman shirley chisholm was a delta and that coretta scott king was an aka it is in that spirit that we host today’s panel to share experiences and the appreciation for this legacy so without further ado i’ll turn things back to sarah c who will introduce our guests for today’s program
Thank you so much secretary way and it is a distinguished panel i’m excited to introduce them to you and let me add that today’s program is also streaming on facebook and is being recorded for future posting on our youtube channel so first tamala edwards joined six abc in january of 2005.
She’s the weekday co-anchor of action news mornings from 4 30 to 7 a.m and is a regular co-host of inside story conducting probing interviews with a wide variety of news makers as well as moderating many election debates prior to joining 6abc ms edwards was the anchor of abc news
World news now and world news this morning she was also an abc news correspondent based in the network’s washington dc bureau covering education religion and culture for world news tonight and other abc news programs before coming to abc ms edwards was a staff writer at time magazine
While there she wrote on a wide variety of topics ranging from the changing dynamics surrounding love and marriage to house and senate races and international affairs she’s been honored throughout her career by among others the education writers association vogue magazine and folio magazine born in georgia and raised in texas
Edwards graduated from stanford university with an honors bachelor of arts degree in international relations she pledged xy beat a chapter of alpha kappa alpha at stanford in the spring of 91 and was a member last year of omega omega the oldest and largest of three philadelphia area chapters
And still considers them her home chapter corey davis porter is the senior vice president of content and business operations at the nba with an exceptional and varied career there ms davis porter’s innate knowledge of the sports and entertainment industry has allowed her to flex her considerable business acumen and hone her operations excellence
In high visibility large-scale projects over her almost 30-year tenure with the organization in her role as senior vice president of content and business operations she drives strategy and innovation ensuring that the organization responds quickly to the rapidly changing environment and shifting priorities in this year of constant change ms davis
Porter led the highly visible and large-scale social justice content plans and initiatives for the 2020 nba season restart she has a reputation throughout the organization for bringing positive energy to any situation and for effectively resolving problems corey davis porter holds an mba from fairleigh dickinson university and a
Bachelor of arts in communications and sociology from the university of michigan she’s a sought-after speaker award-winning producer and groundbreaking thought leader who champions women and priorities and advocates for dei she joined delta sigma theta sorority inc new chapter at the university of michigan in the spring of 1991
And is currently a member of central jersey alumni chapter kimberly davis is the manager of the bureau of aeronautics and multi-modal safety programs at the new jersey department of transportation which oversees three units the bureau of aeronautics that fosters the development of an efficient air transportation system njdot’s office of fixed guideway which
Is designated as the state safety oversight agency and superlode njdot’s unit that issues permits to an online permitting system on behalf of the new jersey motor vehicle commission prior to coming to njdot kim worked for alcoa helmet castings as a process engineer and team leader overseeing the multi-layer
Ceramic slurry and silica sand mold building technology for producing super alloy castings helmet castings is a world-class producer of our aero engine and industrial gas turbine components specializing in producing internal components for jet aircrafts both military and commercial and industrial grass turbines kim holds a bs degree ceramic materials science
Engineering from rutgers university school of engineering she joined the ada epsilon chapter of sigma gamma rho in 1990 at rutgers university new brunswick and finally as if you aren’t impressed enough by those panelists we have lauren f nance lauren f nance is a business consultant and certified meeting professional and the chief executive
Officer of nance communications llc in paterson new jersey a firm that serves a very diverse list of clients recently ms nance was elected to serve on the board of directors of meeting professionals international new jersey chapter as the director of education she is known as the nicest conference planner you’ll ever meet
Ms nance uses her kind and passionate spirit to maintain valuable business civic and community relationships using these connections often to help others excel lauren nance understands well that service is the rent she pays for her place in the world each year she commits hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to charitable
Programs in her community she also mentors new entrepreneurs students and women who serve in ministry ms nance is an ordained elder in the christian faith a jersey girl all her life ms nance is a 31 year member of zeta phi beta sorority incorporated she was initiated at rutgers university
In new brunswick in 1989 as a graduate member of the sorority she continues to serve in local elected leadership roles and has previously served on the state regional and national levels in appointed positions in 2000 she organized a local zeta chapter road tao zeta to serve passaic bergen and morris counties
The underserved residents of these counties benefit from zeta’s participation in service programs college-bound females receive financial scholarships each year too in 2003 the chapter established the lauren francis nance scholarship award for leadership excellence in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the organization so that is our panel for today’s secretary way
We’re all eager to hear what they have to say indeed saren thank you again so welcome to this distinguished uh panel and we’re going to just dive right into it much to discuss now the first thing i want to ask and i want to start with you kimberly because i recall
Um learning about black fraternities and sororities uh through uh my my family and i had two members at the time my uncle was and is an alpha phi alpha and my aunt is a delta and growing up when i would visit them in north carolina the one thing that struck out to me
Is the way they underscored that their organizations valued a public servant heart and i know when i got on campus i saw how um sorority uh sisters of mine um were impacting communities through mentorship of young girls iota alpha swords and even neighboring chapters pi theta so my question
To you is why did you choose to join your sorority and how has being a member impacted your life overall thank you very much uh good afternoon secretary and it’s a joy to be with everyone uh fellow panelists and to be able to represent sigma gamma rose sorority incorporated in this women’s
History month panel discussion your question as to why did i choose to join my sorority um like you when i went off to college i had actually never heard of my sorority before i came to rutgers um and but one of the beauties about rutgers university and
Runclick uh there was an active chapter of all uh d9 organizations at the time it was elite eight plus iota by data for gardening um and that afforded me the ability to be able to observe all the organizations and learn about each one and not come in with a preconceived notion
And being that you know i was uh this nerdy engineering student over on bush campus i could walk around indiscriminate and observe everything all activities and functions and they don’t know they’re being watched you know at some point in time once they know about you they’re watching you so um paying close attention
I saw how they represented themselves on campus i saw how strong they were in their representation and their carriage and literally they called to make um there were similarities um for example their mascot deemed a pool uh i was born and diagnosed um in my infancy with asthma and severe allergies
So my mom you know sought to find me a companion and play me and when she did her research um the hyper allergenic breed of dogs being a poodle was what she was allowed to purchase for me as my companion so i grew up from before the age of three
Having a poodle and i said oh what a coincidence um my mom is very uh grounded in community service and giving back and so their motto greater service greater progress called to me because of the understanding of importance of giving back and knowing as my mom would say but by the grace of
God it could be us in an unfortunate situation and then the other reason why was because they’re to be different um i was the engineering major um with rutgers at the time my graduating class there was only 13 african-americans and on my graduating class of almost 500 engineers at that time
And of that uh no three definite there might have been four or five african email uh engineers that graduated with me so being different being unique um seeing their carriage seeing how they were mighty and impactful is what called me to join sigma gamma rho sorority and everything with my experience has been
Wonderful okay observing impactful and being different corey i turn to you same question thank you thank you for having me also um very excited and happy to be a part of this amazing discussion and to be here for delta sigma theta sorority incorporated i share a lot of those same words
That you used just observing and impact for me i didn’t have anyone in my family that was a member of a sorority a little bit of history i’m originally from the midwest grew up in the suburbs of chicago and my first year of high school my father’s job transferred us to puerto rico
Where he was sent to be over a plant there and so i had to learn a whole new culture it was just my parents and myself so i didn’t have any siblings and i had an older brother out the house so those four years were absolutely amazing once i
You know got over kicking and screaming that they took me away um but clearly when i got to college i was just ready to be you know to to i went to the university of michigan as you as you heard um and i was just ready to take it by storm um
Just ready to get actively involved and so immediately when i got to school i i started observing delta sigma theta sorority we had active chapters in all of the divine nine on campus um i was just observing once again the impact that they were having both on campus and globally
And started to just learn more about the organization and really just knew at that point i wanted to be a part of it their values aligned with mine the service they were doing i just had longed to be able to do for my community but i was in puerto rico
So i was very anxious to get back into that from a public service standpoint but also to know that i could do it collectively with um sorority sisters so the sisterhood really really drew me in and i feel like everything um since i’ve joined just laid a foundation for how i am
As as a leader leader in my organization um you know just really you know wanting to continue to push and and and be there and be an example for um for those coming before me so for that reason i’m ecstatic to be celebrating 30 years in delta smith theatre sorority in april
That’s a beautiful thing especially 30 years being part of as you’re saying an organization with values committed to service sisterhood and the understanding of leadership so turning to you lauren what was the impetus for you to join zeta phi beta um i believe i could sum it up in a single word
And that word would be belonging belonging i was the youngest child or i am the youngest child um um of my parents or two older brothers and so being a baby girl was um a bit a bit different because there weren’t a whole lot of females that i was around in my family
Um at one cup one first cousin that she and i were very close but as i grew up and went through high school then got to college there was a sense of belonging that i felt i was missing from my my cypher it seemed that at academics
Straight and and i was glad to be at college but there was a a gap for me and then i met winifred sumter wendy sumter was a woman of zeta phi beta sorority she was the only zeta at rutgers university at the time now you know rutgers new brunswick five campuses
Big place you know uh kimbrell knows it well what um what blew me away about wendy is that she was really truly holding it down for zeta all by herself on that university campus service project scholarship she was highly visible very sweet highly intelligent and there was
Just so much about her that impressed me i felt like we had a connection as i got to know more about wendy as i got to know more about zeta i started to certainly feel that sense of belonging that i’ve been searching for and so here we are 31 years later and
I’m still feeling that sense of belonging that sense of sisterhood that sense of connection and those common values and things that we share in common everything from you know loving the color blue to to travel to civics to having great conversation mentoring everything that i felt
I needed then and then there are certain things that i feel i do now all found in my participation and membership with zeta phi beta and that truly makes my heart glad that’s so um pointed we said um lauren because when you think about the history of all
Uh black sororities it is that underpinning of belonging because even as um growing up as uh young black girls i don’t know if the the four of you also you know would walk into a a toy store simply to a toy store and try to find uh a doll an african-american doll
For your identity which also ties into belonging so thank you for that and now pamela the floor is yours well secretary soror thank you for that and i want to say thank you to all the other ladies who are participating it is a joy and a blessing to see your faces because
I’m sure you agree with me that while we may have taken different paths we are all headed in the same direction and i continue to be inspired by the level of sisterhood i see not only among the ladies of alpha kappa alpha but among the ladies of all of our sororities that
When it is my founders day my doll to sigma and zeta sisters can’t wait to say congratulations and i to them so it is an honor to be with you and to answer secretary wade’s question for inspiration you know the sororities where i grew up in houston texas it was
Not as much of a family issue even though i had one uncle who was an alpha and one uncle who would be an omega but none of the ladies were involved either with my mother or my father but my brother’s godmother who had been friends with my father going back into college
She was a lady of alpha kappa alpha and what was stunning about polly turner is every child was her child though god didn’t bless her with children when you went to aunt polly’s house she was always at that dining room table filling out invitations and other things usually having to do with
Young people events galas scholarships you name it young ladies coming over because she was having programs to help them in some way or the other the fact that this woman dedicated her life through alpha kappa alpha was stunning to me and i admired her so much that i think my
Mind was made up at that point and then when i got to stanford you know we had all the sororities all the fraternities they were all incredibly impressive but i think my heart was always with aunt polly so when i stepped onto campus i think i knew which way i was going
But i got to tell you it was tough because all of them were so impressive and what i loved the most was the way they showed up for each other that they weren’t just happy and thinking about themselves you could barely hear about them before they were like well let me tell you
About my frat let me tell you about masoor and it was that way across all of them and so i think it was that level of service and that level of true inspired sibling relationship almost that made me say i want to be involved and i knew up front
This was not about four years of fun this was about decades of commitment and that meant something to me exactly it’s you know it’s good to have uh you know sisters you can have the fun with that’s what we all look for but it is a lifetime of service
Understanding to uplift others so i’m thankful that uh there’s an aunt holly in your life hopefully for viewers out there that there too are these um aunt polly’s that they could look to to inspire them also to become you know excited and interested in the black sorority greek life now
Turning to your membership let me just ask how has being a member of your respective sorority shaped you you know as a leader and professional i can truly say that uh part of um we hear from alpha cap alpha this is a serious matter i truly believe whatever i do we can ask
My four daughters my husband my dog everything i take to heart is a serious matter and how um i handle things so i’m going to start with corey okay and answering this question sure um i mentioned it before just the foundation that joining the sorority
Has laid for me i think in my career and just having the support of the sisterhood you know everywhere anywhere you go deltas have an impact um it gives me the confidence it’s given me confidence giving me confidence to continue to grow and also a sense of responsibility to bring others
You know with me spend the time with others educate them and a lot of cases in my career um i’m the only right i work in a male dominated industry um and so i feel it’s my responsibility and i i take charge of you know trying to help others
You know get in that pipeline and get those opportunities and so i find myself as that person you know i’ve been at my organization um a little over 27 years wasn’t planned i can’t believe i s when i say it every time um so i started
As a game logger i started entry level and and i i really there weren’t many black women there’s one black person one black female executive when i started and now i’m i can happily say that there’s a community of black people and a community of black women small community of of deltas
So we lean on each other we support each other we push each other and i believe all of those values you know um definitely delta sigma theta sorority incorporated and just being collective with all the sororities have have a place in that and now more than ever with everything that we’re going through
Um we’re just getting closer and leaning on each other more so um and proud to you know see and be with people like us that look like us in order to push these changes and help each other up you know we need that now yes exactly and it’s all about leadership meaning
Um moving things forward as a leader so lauren the impact zeta has had on you i would sum it up with preparation preparation i remember looking for my first job when i uh left rutgers in 1991 and the heart the person who was hiring at cornell university’s alumni affairs office
Was able to not only look at my experience on my resume but specifically look to the fact that i was involved in a sorority to make his decision to hire me i was able to come into that place of work in any place of work since then already equipped with some basic
Things that um is going to make each of you smile as i say them we think about governance for example robert tools of order parliamentary procedure time and project management programs activities and that type of strategic planning that was already part of my package as i stepped into the office to interview
Whether it’s there or now when i go into uh land a contract that confidence and that preparation that zeta has given me has followed me all these days of my professional career and that that is priceless to me priceless to me um the fact that not only did i have these um
Other women trained me in such a way but now that i’m a business owner i’m in a position to pay that back to other ladies who come behind me and prepare them in the same way so that they can experience the same type of success so true preparation is key
What’s the saying um proactive strategies are always better than reactive ones and you’re so right lauren with robert’s rules of order i i recall um my first position with my chapter was for actor keeper of the door and even as keeper of the door robert’s rules and
Order you really had to know and procedurally moving forward it assisted in other positions in life so thank you for that pamela i do want to thank lauren because if you can make it through some chapter meetings you can do anything that is so true um for me what comes back
Looking ahead is sisterhood is so powerful um i think of our sores on the national level some of the ones from my chapter who have gone on to achieve great things and they set a standard but i also know the story behind the story all the sores who have held them up
Been there for them starting with being online and that you know sometimes we may not believe that we can do it that we can’t achieve that goal or make it through a tough time but you have a line of ladies who say uh we’re doing this
And you also have a line of ladies who say there’s a way that you will be treated and i know my stores here uh when you think of some of the people who have been in the public eye vice president harris also corey i’m sure you think on loretta lynch or marcia fudge
Or we have had some other people who were sigmas or zetas you don’t come for one of us without getting all of us and we were very clear in those fights that those women deserved to be in those office that they had achieved those goals and that you’re gonna have to deal
With a whole bunch of people and when it was time for confirmations you saw a sea of red or sea of peak and green you’d see a sea of blue and white a sea of blue and yellow that it is powerful that as we achieve those positions
We never stand alone and that is a wonderful message for our young ladies who may be coming from any sort of background to realize that through these organizations they will gain so much knowledge and empowerment but they will also gain sisters who keep their arms around them and help push them forward exactly
Exactly so true sisters who definitely wrap their arms around you no matter what organization they’re in to propel you forward and ensure that once they are pulling themselves up that they taking you um with them so kimberly if you want to round us out oh yeah i want to piggyback on uh
Pamela’s comment that you come from one you come for all um that’s a testament even to helping to shape and elect you know vice president kamala harris into office um it was it was all of us you know you come for one eight tests something negative say
You saw all four of us there you know marching and and being there and galvanizing and rallying and you know doing what we had to do you know women being strong and when you ask the question about you know how our respective sororities have shaped you know us as leaders
And as professional i want to also add even personal okay i can trace every life decision back to you know what i learned through my initiation process um you say preparation i know we were good for you know talking about this poor plan and you know we had to always
Be planning to make sure we get something done uh we had to think outside the box all the time um everything at how i represent myself currently how i project myself and my career um i’m used to being an only you know i’m used to uh being unique and being part of my
Sorority helps to strengthen that and not detract from that you know i graduated from a pwi uh another testament to what you know sigma gamma real called to me as and being only three african americans to graduate in my in my graduating class um unique uh going to my engineering
Classes in the morning and i’m the only african-american uh uh in my engineering class in my thermodynamics unique and so everything with coming through and strengthening me um has helped me with this sorority and my organization’s responsibility of being tenacious in setting my goals uh prioritizing my objectives
And ensuring proper planning um in order to reach in engineering it isn’t like corey said is male dominated um my professors at rutgers were not women friendly you know they didn’t think one more cut out for the engineers and and you know maybe they’re more politically correct now but when we was
Coming through they came right out and stated it and and they said it and they made it clear um that you know uh we couldn’t handle you know the heat um and then with personal i realized just how impactful uh my sorority was in the values and expectations i instilled in my children
Um how i have uh set goals for them and and plan even their high school path what classes they take how they should approach life um i realized just how impactful uh it was when my son was in eighth grade and he was in his history class and the
Teacher was fussing with the class about how they weren’t getting their assignments done and he was sick and tired of excuses and he said y’all understand you know i’m tired of all these excuses and my son decided to pep up and recite excuses not knowing the teacher was an alpha i have been
Outed and he tells my son you tell your mother to call me so of course i call what did my son get in trouble for now and he said why does your son know excuses but it was because i would instill in him you know we don’t accept excuses you’re going to
Be an a a growth a grown man with responsibilities and expectations so you’re not to rest on them so that’s just to say you know everything i can you know go back and say i can pinpoint back to coming into my organization having those things um instilled in me
I will say i was a solo i wasn’t only one but my explorers rallied with me and they help me and whenever i fall short or i have one of those rough patches you know um there’s a few of them that know they will get that 607 am phone call in the morning
Saying i i just need to talk and they’re there they’ll come on grumbling they’ll say oh my god early in the morning are you serious but then you know what we buckle down and we’re there for each other um i don’t have other sisters biologically but i’ve got thousands of sisters and soros
All over i can go anywhere and know that um i i have a sister somewhere and with my children they can go anywhere and i can tap into somebody somewhere uh that says you know my daughter’s in alabama there’s some swords in alabama if there’s an emergency and my child is stranded
That’s what sisterhood is or i can call a delta’s friend of mine who has a family member that lives down there in alabama and say nothing but the word i will call myself my aunt and they will come and take care of pick up your daughter so that synergy that we share
That bond that we share that network of growth and development i can tell you in my career um my previous manager adelpha mentored me um friends there’s very few of us that comes through that has the careers that we excel at currently at the department of transportation the highest leadership position for an
African-american woman is a manager um there’s only four of us african-american females that are and management and leadership right now and so we talk to each other and um all you know we stay grounded and we communicate i am the only one that’s in engineering and planning
So um it once again i travel alone but i don’t use that as a detraction i use that to reach back and see how i can bring the next one up with me and that’s what you know being in my sorority does we all reach back
And bring that next one along with us and we support each other and we build each other so from a personal from a professional and as a leader um we have that responsibility thank you kimberly and what you’re underscoring is basically the strength that we find within these organizations
Um and i would just say you know no matter what political spectrum you’re on that photo that we probably all saw of all four black sororities lined up to stroll to the poles regardless in of itself i was in tears when i first saw it i was in tears because
It just resonated more to me the power of the black sororities and it’s not just the power of us being an alpha kappa alpha delta zeta sigma it’s just the power of change that we are able to accomplish and this leads me to my um next question for each of you and i’m
Going to start with you lauren what sorority initiative are you most proud of i can honestly say especially serving as a new jersey’s chief election official it’s the voter registration uh drives which my sorority participates in now and even before generationally so i’m going to start again with you lauren and
If you could just quickly let us know what sorority initiative you’re most proud of sure thing connected to um your passion um in the impact of voting that you just mentioned we have a program called z-hope zeta’s helping other people excel part of that um very strategic multi-multi-dimensional multi-generational
Um outreach initiative is social action so that’s the census and that’s voting and that civic engagement and all of those things that are needed to make certain that the cause of all people especially black people underserved people um poor people are um handled through the service initiatives that our sorority puts forth we
We um pride ourselves in holding up the arms of other service organizations and even the government in our communities and reaching the places that we have direct impact to you know on a on a city level um there might be certain impacts that are made but we’re really able to get
Deep into the neighborhoods and into the blocks and truly affect change in people’s lives through our z-hope initiative we also done some things internationally where we built uh water wells in ghana over 60 wells have been built um as a a few years ago and two of those wells were funded
By new jersey state zetas so zetas helping other people excel would be that initiative that’s dear to my heart thank you pamela uh you know i often will think back to 1908 and imagine those 20 women and where was black america at that time all the things that they were faced with
And then with each set of founders everything around them told them that their children were in peril that their community was in peril that they were in peril and yet they stood up and showed up and i think that continues to be the story in our sororities initiatives and
You know secretary way i know you’re talking about you know programs like when we all vote that we did this year last year with michelle obama’s organization here in philly there’s an effort to join with the naacp and phone banking realizing that for a lot of first-time voters you were asking
Them to do a lot when somebody couldn’t come to their door put them in the car take them where they needed to go that with covid and all the changing rules around online voting that how could we get to people and help them and that’s what they did
I also love seeing that polly’s legacy lives on that there’s so many programs focused on our young people hbcu for life a continuation of wanting to fund and help our historically black colleges and universities stay alive and also hashtags that wherever a child is whether it’s needing some help figuring
Out how to apply all the way to making sure they actually enroll and matriculate that there’s a helping hand from alpha kappa alpha to be part of that and there’s so many more but that’s the one especially the education as it was in 1908 for our founders they knew that was the way
You get enough alphabet letters behind your name they can’t take it from you and we continue to try to do that with our children like that like that kimberly um i would say our swim 1922. uh i love love love love that program um growing up in uh trenton
In the urban we grew up there was a public pool in every neighborhood and you know we would go swimming and but through the years over the decades with budget cuts and constraints what you see is the first thing get cut is park and recreation you know and and
Not saying it’s not understandable when you’re looking at you know sanitation and other areas that the city is responsible for but parking recreations get cut the pools are closing you know my first job was as a camp uh person handing out the little lunches at summertime right at the park in the pool
You know and the kids came during the summer for that with swim 1922 we have an increased uh responsibility for educating and increasing the understanding of water safety and uh it’s groundbreaking we’ve partnered with usa swimming and the initiative to seek to increase and strengthen you know swim awareness and thus decrease
Drowning in the drowning rates in the community is imperative it’s a very important um over the years you know i’m hoping at some point the importance of you know swim lessons and swimming and water safety grows back but i feel swim 1922 fills that gap in providing that education and
Awareness especially to our minority community because most of these tools are full filled in and closed down permanently and they’re not going to be reopened so bringing this awareness to the forefront helping parents learn um if you look at the percentages of you know black and brown kids that
Don’t know how to swim um you know they think a pool is probably about the bathtub uh we really need to get that education and and and help them to understand you know sometimes it’s naive that a child will go in and think oh
Swimming is easy all i got to do is this and then they just jump in there’s no awareness there’s no respect for it there’s no understanding so um when my sorority introduced from 1922 and started partnering we’ve got store wars that are on the usa olympic team
Um it is really brought to the forefront and a very important initiative and awareness that needs to be expanded on nice collaboration in corey similar to what many of you said just from a theme standpoint um just historically looking back as you mentioned earlier when we were founded weeks later we
Marched in the women’s suffrage march and fast forward to today just active involvement canvassing the the in the communities and making sure people are educated to vote um combating voter suppression all of those are very you know important now and and more than ever even combining with all the
Sororities which we talked about to be able to push more black women into leadership positions and the same thing it’s educational development you know we have our delta gems our delta academy really focusing on you know 11 through 18 year olds through both of them and obviously health coven 19 so
You know through our physical and mental health programs as well so we all have a lot to be proud of and we share all the same themes as we said before so um it’s hard to pick one okay and you know these are all wonderful um insightful and engagement and
So noteworthy important uh initiatives that the organizations are part of and this truly leads me to my next question because i think that yes there’s an uptick in interest in um the black sororities however i still feel there still needs to be more of the understanding of the value
Of black sororities because you know folk mates might feel that oh you know it’s all about uh strolling or or stepping i know that uh when i’ve been afforded the opportunity um to go to schools especially during black history month i would often times mention um the divine nine because of
The power and value it has so how can we ensure more people understand this power and value of black sororities and i’m going to start with pamela well sir the proof is in the pudding and it might have been a secret to some or not is known to many but i think vice
President harris has put it out there i saw a story today that said enrollment at spelman is hitting record highs the number of applications they’re getting having a vice president who’s an hbcu graduate any number of members of the cabinets other people coming to prominence people are realizing that that is a pathway
And an important pathway and i think it’s going to be the same with our sororities that the more that people realize that so many of these women and men that they admire have had this experience that this is something important to them that causes people to say well what’s
Going on there and to see that it is something to aspire to and something important to be a member of because really it’s choosing a life of service and that decision to be a part of something greater than yourself i think activates something within you
When it comes to what you are able to achieve and finding something within yourself to keep going so i think she number one for all of our sororities um you know young ladies will be like hold on what’s going on with these sigmas and these zetas and these deltas and these akas
It is not just about the party on saturday night those ladies are working seven days a week and i think you’re going to see the young women of character the young men of character who want to be about something you’re going to see a rejuvenation and a regeneration of the divine nine
And just you wait we are going to be so proud because i tell you what who’s going to be down there in georgia and elsewhere next to stacey abrams and in all these states it’s going to be our young people out there saying okay i can’t give you a
Bottle of water in line i’ll give you a bottle of water at the church what do we need to do to make sure we hold on to these rights that so many in these sororities and fraternities fought for were part of those marches so just you wait i think we’re going to be
Happily surprised and i believe the same to uh sora tamla i i truly do because it is an inflection moment um in our national history and we do have vice president kamala harris but you know my hope is also that um our kids will truly dive deep in the the historical
Books and look today and look at the congressional members who too are part of the divine nine and understand that you know again it’s more than just uh and respectfully so it’s more than just one person it is the organization it’s the principles behind each and every one of our organizations to move
Um certain or i should say many uh social issues forward during this time so kimberly it’s your turn uh how we ensure more people understand the value and power of the black sororities right it’s our responsibility um to continue to educate the next generation and the original purpose and importance of our sororities
Like thomas said you know it it’s not just the strolling and the cutesy walk and you know just walking around with all the past familiar on it’s work okay how many of us sit in them chapter meetings it’s worth okay you’ve got to do some deep dive soul
Search and work and similar to the plight of the african-american churches i feel our communities have slowly migrated and moved away from our center and i think uh you know the d9 has a responsibility to help redirect you know through example um that you know that core value and help our community
You know get back to our center i think with the black lives matter i think with a lot of the um unrest that’s going on we’re realizing that that we can’t take you know what we have achieved for granted um that we can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t expect
You know just because we successfully elected our first african-american president and now our first african-american female uh vice president that we’re here already you know we still have work to do and there still is a very important need for each of our organizations to be in the forefront we need to continue to
Partner with naacp and legal women voters and urban league and the national association of university women we can’t just rest just in our organizations okay we have to step out and we need to run for elected office on the local levels on the county levels on the state level
On the national level you know elected vice president kamala harris has let us know we can achieve but a lot of that heavy lift actually starts serving on our school boards you know serving on our town councils you know getting in there so hopefully we get to explain um to our youth
In our next generation that old gospel song that says may the work i’ve done speak for me that’s our purpose and that’s what our responsibility is is that we’re here to work we’re here to have service and may my service speak for me may my work speak for me when i’m done
The best i can and my friends don’t understand may the service that i give speak for me and that’s what the role of our four sororities and all of d9 is for to be impactful for the next generation and future that’s right let the work speak for me corey
I mean i absolutely agree with both what tomola and kimberly said um the only thing i’ll add is just from a personal experience in terms of how we can ensure this conversation is out there um for nba all-star weekend you know we had to continue our business
So we had to have a game but we decided to dedicate it to hbcus and raising awareness on that what came from internal conversations is the importance of denying divine nine in that and um we also you know decided oh we need to tell that story as well so it’s just
Keeping this conversation going in absolutely everything that we do um and combining it with the examples as we said before of those in positions like kamala like marsha fudge and and all of those that could be examples so that our younger generation can see people like us
In these positions and also they were part of amazing sororities in the process thank you and lauren um briefly the elevation and the election of kamal harris vice president kamala harris basically put a period where there used to be a question mark she answered it all she answered it all
When it comes to black sororities in particular preparing you to elevate to such a critical crucial um key role as the second in command of these united states zeta phi beta sorority is an action oriented community conscious action oriented organization zeta for us is a verb it’s all about taking action to make
Certain that the ideals of the sisterhood are uplifted and with that we have a commitment to remain visible we have to be visible in everything that we do because it’s our visibility not only zeta but all four uh black sororities that will help ensure that our value is
Recognized that our power is recognized because folks aren’t going to come and search us out you know we we have always been proactive and we have to continue to be proactive so that we can truly be that example for others to follow to truly be that role model and to truly
Be that change that people need to we’ll be the change that we want to see in the world when people see what we do they’ll want to invoke change as well thank you and i’m noticing the time and this is such an engaging conversation i
Don’t want it to end but we have to but before we do i have one quick question and you guys gotta quickly respond ladies who in your sorority a specific alumna who that is most meaningful to you and i’m gonna start with kimberly and we got to do this quick karen
My current international brand basilisk rashida liberty she is definitely forward thinking and moving us in the direction we need to go in and she is moving mountains and i love her leadership and how she’s guiding our organization okay corey i mean i would say just from a foundational standpoint shirley shirley
Chisholm just laid it out um and enough said lauren new jersey icon deborah cannon partridge wolf educator extraordinaire all you need do is google her to know the impact that my sora had on the state of new jersey excellent and pamela sir i’m gonna have to go with sarah
Rosalind brewer rosberg who is heading up walgreens the only black ceo of a fortune 500 company right now i mean these ladies of alpha kappa alpha they put the standards up here so she is definitely doing it well again thank you uh ladies this has been such a wonderful conversation but
Aside from this panel discussion i truly want to thank each and every one of you for setting aside the time you are each phenomenal leaders in your own spaces and you know just keep um making us proud if you will and the divine nine is so thankful to have you each for
Um all you do so thank you so much and you know safety and well wishes to all thank you madam secretary thank you thank you thank you ladies it was an honor thank you madam secretary it’s been a pleasure thank you
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