Phi Delta Kappa (sorority)

This article is about the professional education sorority for African-American women. For the co-ed professional education fraternity, see Phi Delta Kappa. For the now-dormant general American collegiate fraternity, see Phi Delta Kappa (fraternity).

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.

Phi Delta Kappa
ΦΔΚ
Founded	May 23, 1923; 102 years ago (1923-05-23) Jersey City, New Jersey
Type	Professional
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
Emphasis	African American, Education
Scope	International
Colors	Scarlet red and   Gold
Publication	The Krinon The Courier
Chapters	146
Members	5,000 lifetime
Headquarters	8233 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois 60619 United States
Website	www.nspdk.org

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.^[1][2] Phi Delta Kappa was officially incorporated on May 23, 1923, as a sorority for women in the field of education.^[1]

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.^[1] Because the founders were all minors, their parents and guardians became the sorority's trustees.^[1] Attorney J. Mercer Burrell helped the group to become incorporated.^[3]

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.^[4] In the 1970s, the sorority formed a youth group called Xinos to support academic achievement, community service, and leadership amongst high school girls.^[2]

As of 2024, the sorority has 5,000 members.^[5] 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.^[6]

Chapters

As of July 2022, Phi Delta Kappa has 146 chapters.^[7] Following is a list of chapters, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.^[8][7]

Chapter	Charter date	Location	Status	References
Alpha	May 23, 1923	Jersey City, New Jersey	Active	[1]
Beta	October 1924	Washington, D.C.	Active	[9]
Gamma	October 12, 1925	Baltimore, Maryland	Active	[10]
Epsilon	1926	Charleston, West Virginia	Active	[2][a]
Zeta		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active
Eta	March 5, 1927	Camden, New Jersey	Active	[11]
Theta	November 5, 1927	Brooklyn, New York	Active	[12]
Iota	November 12, 1927	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Active	[13]
Kappa		Youngstown, Ohio	Active
Lambda		Charlotte, North Carolina	Active
Mu	1931	Chicago, Illinois	Active	[14]
Nu		Birmingham, Alabama	Active
Xi	December 2, 1932	Chester, Pennsylvania	Active	[15]
Omicron		Ensley, Alabama	Active
Pi	1933	Trenton, New Jersey	Active	[16]
Rho	1934	Wilmington, Delaware	Active	[17]
Sigma		Cincinnati, Ohio	Active
Tau		Indianapolis, Indiana	Active
Upsilon		Tuskegee, Alabama	Active
Phi		York, Pennsylvania	Active
Chi		Detroit, Michigan	Active
Psi		Mobile, Alabama	Active
Alpha Alpha		Kansas City, Missouri	Active
Alpha Beta		Nashville, Tennessee	Active
Alpha Gamma		Jacksonville, Florida	Active
Alpha Delta		Miami, Florida	Active
Alpha Epsilon		Atlanta, Georgia	Active
Alpha Zeta	February 13, 1943	Richmond, Virginia	Active	[18]
Alpha Eta		Evansville, Indiana	Active
Alpha Theta		New Orleans, Louisiana	Active
Alpha Iota		Concord, North Carolina	Active
Alpha Kappa		Tulsa, Oklahoma	Active
Alpha Lambda		Norfolk, Virginia	Active
Alpha Mu	November 1946	Annapolis, Maryland	Active	[19]
Alpha Nu		St. Louis, Missouri	Active
Alpha Xi		Cleveland, Ohio	Active
Alpha Omicron		Tampa, Florida	Active
Alpha Pi		Dover, Delaware	Active
Alpha Rho		Dallas, Texas	Active
Alpha Sigma		Fort Worth, Texas	Active
Alpha Tau		Roanoke, Virginia	Active
Alpha Upsilon		Danville, Kentucky	Active
Alpha Phi		Pensacola, Florida	Active
Alpha Chi		Portsmouth, Virginia	Active
Alpha Psi		Beckley, West Virginia	Active
Beta Alpha		Shreveport, Louisiana	Active
Beta Beta		Montgomery, Alabama	Active
Beta Gamma		Toledo, Ohio	Active
Beta Delta		Dayton, Ohio	Active
Beta Epsilon	2021	New York, New York	Active	[20]
Beta Zeta	1954	Durham, North Carolina	Active	[20]
Beta Eta		Memphis, Tennessee	Active
Beta Theta		Los Angeles, California	Active
Beta Iota		Akron, Ohio	Active
Beta Kappa		West Palm Beach, Florida	Active
Beta Lambda	December 18, 1955 – 19xx ?; December 18, 1955	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Active	[21]
Beta Mu		Gary, Indiana	Active
Beta Nu		San Francisco, California	Active
Beta Xi		Orlando, Florida	Active
Beta Omicron	1957	Jamaica, New York	Active	[22]
Beta Pi		Chattanooga, Tennessee	Active
Beta Rho		Texarkana, Texas	Active
Beta Sigma		Lakeland, Florida	Active
Beta Tau		Salisbury, Maryland	Active
Beta Upsilon		Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Active
Beta Phi		Compton, California	Active
Beta Chi		Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Active
Beta Psi		Knoxville, Tennessee	Active
Gamma Alpha		Columbus, Ohio	Active
Gamma Beta		Kansas City, Kansas	Active
Gamma Gamma		Panama City, Florida	Active
Gamma Delta		Flint, Michigan	Active
Gamma Epsilon		Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Active
Gamma Zeta		Monrovia, Liberia	Active
Gamma Eta		St. Augustine, Florida	Active
Gamma Theta		Brewton, Alabama	Active
Gamma Iota		Sacramento, California	Active
Gamma Kappa		Saginaw, Michigan	Active
Gamma Lambda		Pasadena, California	Active
Gamma Mu		Virginia Beach, Virginia	Active
Gamma Nu		Little Rock, Arkansas	Active
Gamma Xi		El Cerrito, California	Active
Gamma Omicron		Miami, Florida	Active
Gamma Pi		Paducah, Kentucky	Active
Gamma Rho		Shaker Heights, Ohio	Active
Gamma Sigma		Las Vegas, Nevada	Active
Gamma Tau		San Antonio, Texas	Active
Gamma Upsilon		Waco, Texas	Active
Gamma Phi		Fresno, California	Active
Gamma Chi		Charleston, South Carolina	Active
Gamma Psi		Jackson, Tennessee	Active
Delta Alpha		Inkster, Michigan	Active
Delta Beta		Austin, Texas	Active
Delta Gamma		Virginia Beach, Virginia	Active
Delta Delta	September 29, 1979	Jacksonville, Florida	Active	[5]
Delta Epsilon		Dallas, Texas	Active
Delta Zeta		Waycross, Georgia	Active
Delta Eta		Ocala, Florida	Active
Delta Theta		Daytona Beach, Florida	Active
Delta Iota		Lake City, Florida	Active
Delta Kappa		Inglewood, California	Active
Delta Lambda		Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey	Active
Delta Mu		Memphis, Tennessee	Active
Delta Nu		Bergen County, New Jersey	Active
Delta Xi		Long Beach and Carson, California	Active
Delta Omicron		Muskogee, Oklahoma	Active
Delta Pi	June 19, 1982	Hillside, New Jersey	Active	[23]
Delta Rho		San Bernardino, California	Active
Delta Sigma		Jefferson City, Missouri	Active
Delta Tau		Wichita, Kansas	Active
Delta Upsilon		San Diego, California	Active
Delta Phi	April 9, 1983	North Haven, Connecticut	Active	[24]
Delta Chi		Houston, Texas	Active
Delta Psi		Gainesville, Florida	Active
Epsilon Alpha		Somerset, New Jersey	Active
Epsilon Beta		Tyler, Texas	Active
Epsilon Gamma		Plano, Texas	Active
Epsilon Delta		Lawton, Oklahoma	Active
Epsilon Epsilon		Langston, Oklahoma	Active
Epsilon Zeta		Ennis, Texas	Active
Epsilon Eta		New Bern, North Carolina	Active
Epsilon Theta		Beaumont, Texas	Active
Epsilon Iota		Galveston, Texas	Active
Epsilon Kappa		Barbados	Active
Epsilon Lambda		Orange, Texas	Active
Epsilon Mu		Bainbridge, Georgia	Active
Epsilon Nu		Moreno Valley, California	Active
Epsilon Xi		Forest Park, Ohio	Active
Epsilon Omicron		Spokane, Washington	Active
Epsilon Pi		Arlington, Texas	Active
Epsilon Rho		Homer and Minden, Louisiana	Active
Epsilon Sigma		Gastonia, North Carolina	Active
Epsilon Tau		Decatur, Georgia	Active
Epsilon Upsilon		Greensboro, North Carolina	Active
Epsilon Phi		Evanston, Illinois	Active
Epsilon Chi		Spring Valley, New York	Active
Epsilon Psi		Jackson, Mississippi	Active
Zeta Alpha		Mesquite, Texas	Active
Zeta Beta		Port Arthur, Texas	Active
Zeta Gamma		Maywood, Illinois	Active
Zeta Delta		Selma, Alabama	Active
Zeta Epsilon	May 16, 2021	Neptune Township, New Jersey	Active	[25]
Zeta Zeta	2021	Rochester, New York	Active	[20]
Zeta Eta	2021	Westchester, New York	Active	[20]
Zeta Theta	2021	Phoenix, Arizona	Active
Zeta Iota	2022	Upper Marlboro, Maryland	Active	[20]

1. Chapter was chartered at the West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) and later became a post-graduate chapter for female teachers, principals, and counselors actively engaged in the field.

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^[1]
• Barbara Bush (1991), First Lady of the United States^[1]
• Shirley Chisholm, United States Congress^[1]
• 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^[1]
• Zelma Watson George, opera singer and delegate to United Nations General Assembly^[1]
• Irma P. Hall (2007), actress^[1]
• Charlemae Hill Rollins, pioneering librarian, author, and storyteller in the area of African-American literature^[1]
• Anna Arnold Hedgeman, civil rights leader and the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet post in New York^[1]
• Ella P. Stewart, America's first Black female pharmacist ^[1]
• Merze Tate, history professor at Howard University^[1]
• Bazoline Estelle Usher (1950), an educator known for her work in the Atlanta Public Schools

See also

• Professional fraternities and sororities