In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement

GIDDINGS, Paula

ISBN 10: 0688057756 / ISBN 13: 9780688057756

Published by William Morrow and Company, New York, 1988

About this Item

First edition. Octavo. Fine in fine dustjacket. Inscribed by the author on the half-title to Barbara Jordan: "August 1, 1988. To Ms. Barbara Jordan, I hope you enjoy this. And a speedy recovery. Sincerely, Paula Giddings." Jordan, who is mentioned in the text as a sister of Delta Sigma Theta, was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, and the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. An uncommon first edition, seldom found signed, and especially with such an important association. Seller Inventory # 463953

Bibliographic Details

Title: In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta ...

Publisher: William Morrow and Company, New York

Publication Date: 1988

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Traces the history of Delta Sigma Theta, a Black sorority and assesses its role helping Black professional women

From the Back Cover:

This history of the largest block women's organization in the United States is not only the story of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (DST), but also tells of the increasing involvement of black women in the political, social, and economic affairs of America. Founded at a time when liberal arts education was widely seen as either futile, dangerous, or impractical for blacks, especially women, DST is, in Giddings's words, a "compelling reflection of block women's aspirations for themselves and for society."

Giddings notes that unlike other organizations with racial goals, Delta Sigma Theta was created to change and benefit individuals rather than society. As a sorority, it was formed to bring women together as sisters, but at the some time to address the divisive, often class-related issues confronting black women in our society. There is, in Giddings's eyes, a tension between these goals that makes Delta Sigma Theta a fascinating microcosm of the struggles of black women and their organizations.

DST members have included Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Church Terrell, Margaret Murray Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and, on the cultural side, Leontyne Price, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Judith Jamison, and Roberta Flack. In Search of Sisterhood is full of compelling, fascinating anecdotes told by the Deltas themselves, and illustrated with rare early photographs of the Delta women.