‘We stand proudly on their shoulders’: Sorority pays tribute in the fight for equality
A local African American sorority will begin Women’s History Month with a reenactment of the 1913 Women’s Suffrage March, paying tribute to women who have fought for equality.
In March 1913, thousands of women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the day before the presidential inauguration in protest of women’s disenfranchisement in elections. The Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will conduct its reenactment while celebrating its 112th anniversary and honoring the organization’s 22 founders.
The reenactment will start and end at the Tarrant County Courthouse, 100 W. Weatherford St., beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 1. The theme will be “Women’s Equity & Equality: Revisiting Herstory, A Path Forward.”
Demetrice S. Thompson, Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter president, said the reenactment will connect generations and educate the community on the ongoing struggle for women’s equality. It will also acknowledge Black women’s contributions, which have too often been erased from history, she said.
“Despite facing the racial discrimination even within the movement itself, they persisted in their fight for equality,” Thompson said. “Our founders, we consider them to be bold, even back then in 1913 that they joined the suffrage movement to assert their right to vote and their right to be seen. So we stand proudly on their shoulders.”
As a show of unity, 22 women in the sorority will wear clothing like what was worn by the organization’s 22 founders, white tops and skirts. There will also be speakers focusing on topics from maternal health, wage gaps, and voting rights.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization with over 350,000 members, and over 1,050 chapters.
In 1913, 22 women from Howard University became the founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and in the same year made their first public act of service at the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington.
The Fort Worth Chapter was chartered in May 1938. It provides various programs and services to those in need, including college scholarships, voter registration and education, and programs such as their Delta Academy, which focuses on the social and emotional development of young women.
Proceeds the event will benefit F.L.Y. Girlz Academy, a local nonprofit that empowers and uplifts young ladies to be responsible, caring servant leaders who will make a positive impact on those they serve and the society they live in.
“We felt, what better way than to honor our 22 founders by giving a portion of the proceeds to an organization that is really doing the work,” Misty Wilder, social action chair of Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter, said. “So that these young ladies that are part of F.L.Y. Girlz program will have an opportunity for their programming to continue and to be enriched right here in our own community.”
The event is open to the public. Registration is $40 to walk in the march, and the cost includes an event T-shirt. People can attend to provide support for the event without paying the fee.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 11:35 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the number of members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
