The National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. (NSPDK) is an International African American professional sorority for women in the field of education. It was founded on May 23, 1923, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
History Gladys Merritt Ross, a teacher in Jersey City, New Jersey, held an organizational meeting with other teachers on March 30, 1923 to discuss forming an educational sorority for African American women who were prohibited from joining existing organizations due to segregation. Phi Delta Kappa was officially incorporated on May 23, 1923, as a sorority for women in the field of education.
Its founders were Julia Asbury Barnes, Ella Wells Butler, Marguerite Gross, Florence Steele Hunt, Edna McConnell, Gladys Cannon Nunery, Gladys Merritt Ross, and Mildred Morris Williams. Because the founders were all minors, their parents and guardians became the sorority's trustees. Attorney J. Mercer Burrell helped the group to become incorporated.
In the 1940s, the sorority helped finance the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and conducted subscriptions campaigns for The Negro History Bulletin."The Phi Delta Kappa Sorority." Negro History Bulletin 12, no. 9 (1949): 204–204. . In the 1970s, the sorority formed a youth group called Xinos to support academic achievement, community service, and leadership amongst high school girls.
As of 2024, the sorority has 5,000 members. It is a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Phi Delta Kappa's national headquarters is at 8233 South King Drive in Chicago, Illinois.
Symbols Phi Delta Kappa's colors are scarlet and gold. Its newsletter is The Courier and its magazine is The Krinon.
Chapters As of July 2022, Phi Delta Kappa has 146 chapters. Following is a list of chapters, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.
ChapterCharter dateLocationStatusAlphaJersey City, New JerseyActiveBetaWashington, D.C.ActiveGammaBaltimore, MarylandActiveEpsilon1926Charleston, West VirginiaActiveZeta Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaActiveEtaCamden, New JerseyActiveThetaBrooklyn, New YorkActiveIotaAtlantic City, New JerseyActiveKappaYoungstown, OhioActiveLambdaCharlotte, North CarolinaActiveMu1931Chicago, IllinoisActiveNu Birmingham, AlabamaActiveXi Chester, PennsylvaniaActiveOmicronEnsley, AlabamaActivePi 1933Trenton, New JerseyActiveRho1934Wilmington, DelawareActiveSigmaCincinnati, OhioActiveTauIndianapolis, IndianaActiveUpsilonTuskegee, AlabamaActivePhiYork, PennsylvaniaActiveChi Detroit, MichiganActivePsiMobile, AlabamaActiveAlpha Alpha Kansas City, MissouriActiveAlpha BetaNashville, TennesseeActiveAlpha Gamma Jacksonville, FloridaActiveAlpha DeltaMiami, FloridaActiveAlpha Epsilon Atlanta, GeorgiaActiveAlpha ZetaRichmond, VirginiaActiveAlpha EtaEvansville, IndianaActiveAlpha Theta New Orleans, LouisianaActiveAlpha IotaConcord, North CarolinaActiveAlpha KappaTulsa, OklahomaActiveAlpha LambdaNorfolk, VirginiaActiveAlpha MuAnnapolis, MarylandActiveAlpha NuSt. Louis, MissouriActiveAlpha XiCleveland, OhioActiveAlpha OmicronTampa, FloridaActiveAlpha PiDover, DelawareActiveAlpha RhoDallas, TexasActiveAlpha SigmaFort Worth, TexasActiveAlpha TauRoanoke, VirginiaActiveAlpha Upsilon Danville, KentuckyActiveAlpha Phi Pensacola, FloridaActiveAlpha ChiPortsmouth, VirginiaActiveAlpha PsiBeckley, West VirginiaActiveBeta Alpha Shreveport, LouisianaActiveBeta Beta Montgomery, AlabamaActiveBeta Gamma Toledo, OhioActiveBeta DeltaDayton, OhioActiveBeta Epsilon 2021New York, New YorkActiveBeta Zeta1954Durham, North CarolinaActiveBeta EtaMemphis, TennesseeActiveBeta Theta Los Angeles, CaliforniaActiveBeta IotaAkron, OhioActiveBeta KappaWest Palm Beach, FloridaActiveBeta Lambda – 19xx ?;December 18, 1955Winston-Salem, North CarolinaActiveBeta Mu Gary, IndianaActiveBeta NuSan Francisco, CaliforniaActiveBeta XiOrlando, FloridaActiveBeta Omicron1957Jamaica, New YorkActiveBeta PiChattanooga, TennesseeActiveBeta RhoTexarkana, TexasActiveBeta SigmaLakeland, FloridaActiveBeta TauSalisbury, MarylandActiveBeta UpsilonPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaActiveBeta PhiCompton, CaliforniaActiveBeta ChiMilwaukee, WisconsinActiveBeta Psi Knoxville, TennesseeActiveGamma Alpha Columbus, OhioActiveGamma BetaKansas City, KansasActiveGamma GammaPanama City, FloridaActiveGamma DeltaFlint, MichiganActiveGamma Epsilon Oklahoma City, OklahomaActiveGamma ZetaMonrovia, LiberiaActiveGamma Eta St. Augustine, FloridaActiveGamma Theta Brewton, AlabamaActiveGamma Iota Sacramento, CaliforniaActiveGamma Kappa Saginaw, MichiganActiveGamma LambdaPasadena, CaliforniaActiveGamma MuVirginia Beach, VirginiaActiveGamma NuLittle Rock, ArkansasActiveGamma XiEl Cerrito, CaliforniaActiveGamma OmicronMiami, FloridaActiveGamma PiPaducah, KentuckyActiveGamma Rho Shaker Heights, OhioActiveGamma SigmaLas Vegas, NevadaActiveGamma TauSan Antonio, TexasActiveGamma UpsilonWaco, TexasActiveGamma PhiFresno, CaliforniaActiveGamma Chi Charleston, South CarolinaActiveGamma PsiJackson, TennesseeActiveDelta AlphaInkster, MichiganActiveDelta BetaAustin, TexasActiveDelta GammaVirginia Beach, VirginiaActiveDelta DeltaJacksonville, FloridaActiveDelta EpsilonDallas, TexasActiveDelta ZetaWaycross, GeorgiaActiveDelta Eta Ocala, FloridaActiveDelta ThetaDaytona Beach, FloridaActiveDelta Iota Lake City, FloridaActiveDelta Kappa Inglewood, CaliforniaActiveDelta LambdaEgg Harbor Township, New JerseyActiveDelta Mu Memphis, TennesseeActiveDelta NuBergen County, New JerseyActiveDelta XiLong Beach and Carson, CaliforniaActiveDelta OmicronMuskogee, OklahomaActiveDelta PiHillside, New JerseyActiveDelta RhoSan Bernardino, CaliforniaActiveDelta SigmaJefferson City, MissouriActiveDelta TauWichita, KansasActiveDelta UpsilonSan Diego, CaliforniaActiveDelta PhiNorth Haven, ConnecticutActiveDelta Chi Houston, TexasActiveDelta Psi Gainesville, FloridaActiveEpsilon AlphaSomerset, New JerseyActiveEpsilon BetaTyler, TexasActiveEpsilon GammaPlano, TexasActiveEpsilon DeltaLawton, OklahomaActiveEpsilon Epsilon Langston, OklahomaActiveEpsilon ZetaEnnis, TexasActiveEpsilon EtaNew Bern, North CarolinaActiveEpsilon ThetaBeaumont, TexasActiveEpsilon IotaGalveston, TexasActiveEpsilon KappaBarbadosActiveEpsilon LambdaOrange, TexasActiveEpsilon Mu Bainbridge, GeorgiaActiveEpsilon NuMoreno Valley, CaliforniaActiveEpsilon XiForest Park, OhioActiveEpsilon Omicron Spokane, WashingtonActiveEpsilon PiArlington, TexasActiveEpsilon RhoHomer and Minden, LouisianaActiveEpsilon Sigma Gastonia, North CarolinaActiveEpsilon TauDecatur, GeorgiaActiveEpsilon UpsilonGreensboro, North CarolinaActiveEpsilon PhiEvanston, IllinoisActiveEpsilon ChiSpring Valley, New YorkActiveEpsilon Psi Jackson, MississippiActiveZeta AlphaMesquite, TexasActiveZeta Beta Port Arthur, TexasActiveZeta GammaMaywood, IllinoisActiveZeta DeltaSelma, AlabamaActiveZeta EpsilonNeptune Township, New JerseyActiveZeta Zeta2021Rochester, New YorkActiveZeta Eta2021Westchester, New YorkActiveZeta Theta2021Phoenix, ArizonaActiveZeta Iota2022Upper Marlboro, MarylandActive
Notable members Pearlie Craft Dove, college professor Consuelo Milner, scientist, cryptographer, and teacher Lemoine Deleaver Pierce (1957), educator and international and domestic relations mediator. Barbara Sizemore, superintendent of District of Columbia Public Schools
National honorary members Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader Barbara Bush (1991), First Lady of the United States Shirley Chisholm, United States Congress Mary Frances Early (2021), the first African-American to earn a degree from the University of Georgia and namesake of the University of Georgia Mary Frances Early College of Education Zelma Watson George, opera singer and delegate to United Nations General Assembly Irma P. Hall (2007), actress Charlemae Hill Rollins, pioneering librarian, author, and storyteller in the area of African-American literature Anna Arnold Hedgeman, civil rights leader and the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet post in New York Ella P. Stewart, America's first Black female pharmacist Merze Tate, history professor at Howard University Bazoline Estelle Usher (1950), an educator known for her work in the Atlanta Public Schools
See also Professional fraternities and sororities
References