Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Presents An Anthology of Sisterhood THIS SUNDAY!

Hello World,

As you can see just from the home page of my blog, I love my DST! Being a part of  Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated has enriched my life more than I anticipated when I became a giddy member of DST in Spring 1995! And that is hard to imagine! The day after we were presented to the University of Georgia campus, I proudly wore a Delta baseball cap, a t-shirt with two hands formed in a huge pyramid, dangling golden elephant earrings and the matching necklace and Delta socks (if I am remembering correctly). Although my line name is “Comet,” I was nicknamed “Triple Nalia” by line sisters because of all the Delta paraphernalia I wore that day and the days afterward. It was a fun time…Since then, however, my understand of sisterhood has grown much deeper beyond all of the hype that comes with being a Delta!

Soror Ruby Dee

And this year, the year of Delta’s centennial, I am especially proud to be a member of a sorority that is just as committed to sisterhood, scholarship and service as it was when it was founded in 1913 by 22 women at Howard University! And to commemorate our centennial, some of my sorority sisters joined together to create An Anthology of Sisterhood: A Compilation of 22 Shades of Red. The anthology is the brainchild of my Zeta Psi Chapter Soror Dr. Francene Breakfield. The book sprang forth from her dissertation in which she conveyed the meaning and importance of Delta sisterhood in her life from the “big sister” that mentored her as a high school student to a high school student that eventually became a “little sister” because of her influence. In fact, sisterhood has so inspired Breakfield that she formed a “support group of dissertation-challenged Deltas called ‘Doctoratebound.'” In the anthology, Breakfield, along with her co-editor L.D. Wells, coalesced 22 Deltas from 10 states who contributed more than 100 original poems, essays, short stories and lyrics. And Soror Ruby Dee, the world renowned actress, wrote the foreword and contributed a poem of her own!

“Each chapter of the book highlights a different author and allows her to share her voice and unique experience of sisterhood. Topics include positive relationships among women, spirituality, friendship, sorority life, sibling rivalry, and gender equity,” says Breakfield.

From left to right, Sorors Francene Breakfield, Neicy Wells and Katreisula Bryant Graham, contributors, along with Soror Taria Ellis Brittian, center

One of my favorite stories is about the “Sistagurl” that all women have on the inside…This is the woman that warns us when we are dealing with no good or trifling man but we continue to entertain his foolishness anyway, hoping that somehow he will change or we will change him…In this story, the author recounts morphing into a CIA agent to spy on her man to make sure he was not seeing another woman. “I would get out of my car and lay on the pavement to look under the small crack at the bottom of his garage door to see if I could see another set of wheels next to his truck. I jumped his fence to see if I saw shadows in his bedroom window.” I’m not proud to say I have been an CIA agent a time or two in my dating career…LOL…

If you would like to buy your own copy of An Anthology of Sisterhood: A Compilation of 22 Shades of Red, join contributors at Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Southwest Branch, 3665 Cascade Road, Atlanta 30331, this Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m.  for their book launch! Books are $22. If you cannot make the book launch, you can also buy the book at sisterhood.biz, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

Football Player Proposes Marriage at Church (VIDEO)

Hello World,

I’m a church girl through and through…As my grandfather was a pastor, my father is a pastor, and several uncles are pastors, I guess I came by my love for the church honestly…I’m also a hardcore romantic…Not sure how I came by my love for all things romantic, but next to blogging about my faith in God and the church, I love to write about romance, love and relationships…

So when I came across this video of a University of Georgia lineman Chris Burnette (Shout out to Georgia, my beloved alma mater) proposing to his girlfriend Arielle Haynes at Athens Church last weekend, I just had to post it…He is quoting scripture and erething…Take a look and tell me what you think…Would you like to be proposed to at church?…Congratulations to the two of them, and I pray that God blesses their union 🙂 Awww…sooo sweet…

Click on this link to see the video: http://youtu.be/bynG8Wt3fpU

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

I Heart My DST…

19 D.R.S.

Hello World!!!

What is a DELTA?

A DELTA is

What an Aka ain’t.

What a Zeta wants to be.

What a Sigma can’t.

What an Alpha likes.

What a Kappa loves.

What a Que Psi Phi can’t get enough of!

OO-OOP, OO-OOP, OO-OOP, OO-OOP, OO-OOP….

As you can probably tell, this post is dedicated to Deltas all over the world, and we are…But specifically, I want to congratulate the Zeta Psi Chapterof Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated, the beloved chapter where I was made. This weekend we celebrated our 40th year of existence at the University of Georgia. 

Zeta Psi working on a Habitat for Humanity home.

I remember when I first decided that I wanted to be a Delta. I was a college sophomore. An older cousin who I admired had pledged DST at another school, and she talked about her sorority with such love that I started to consider whether pledging DST was for me. Then I had a summer internship at a local newspaper where my boss was a Delta. She was smart, career-oriented and kind. In fact,  I got so close to her that I mentioned that I was possibly interested in pledging the sorority the following school year. At the end of the summer, she gave me a beautiful key chain with a crystal-like elephant (elephants are one of our symbols.) attached to it. As she handed the key chain to me, she whispered, “I know I shouldn’t be giving this to you since you’re not a Delta, but I know you will be one day.” Shortly after, I read the book, “In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement,”  by Soror Paula J. Giddings, and I made the decision that I had to be a part of this grand sorority.

Zeta Psi are some steppers...

Since then, our lives have grown and changed. Some of us have gotten married. Some of us have gotten divorced. Some of us have become mothers. Some of us have become doctors. Some of us have become educators.  Some of us have moved cross country. Some of us have stayed put. Some of us have acquired property. Some of us have cut our hair. Some of us have grown locks. Some of us have grown apart. Some of us have gotten closer. And we’ve even lost one to breast cancer…And I expect more changes as time passes and we continue to grow…

Being in a sorority isn’t everything…like in all close relationships, there are misunderstandings and misdeeds…but there is something about being a part of a sisterhood that lasted and grown for decades – since January 13, 1913 to be exact – a sisterhood that was built at a critical time in this country’s history when black people – particularly women were marginalized. And through the support of this sisterhood, many of us have been able to accomplish feats that we were unlikely to accomplish alone.

And without even planning it, many of my best friends outside of my collegiate chapter happen to be Deltas! All I can say is like attracts like.

Zeta Psi, I salute you for 40 years of sisterhood, scholarship and service! Continue to encourage your members to achieve their highest potential and be a home away home on that colossal campus!

I Heart MY DST!

Any thoughts?

Zeta Psi is on YouTube!!!