This evening when I got to my house, I brought in the grocery from my afterwork Wal-mart stop and placed the items in their places. Retrieving the salad from the refridgerator, I fixed myself a healthy portion of the leftover salad and added more flavor with small strips of chicken breast from the still hot rotisserie chicken I'd picked up on the way home. I settled at my dining room table with a Capri Sun as my drink of choice for an early dinner before engaging in my evening activities.
My sister, visiting for the summmer from VA, plopped down in the seat across from me, watching as I repeatedly lifted the fork from my bowl to my mouth. Between succulent bites she asked me different questions, inquisitive about certain things she'd seen around the house. At some point she looked up at me sheepishly and hesitantly asked "What does Delta do?"
Although interested in her previous questions, this one had my attention, especially considering the fresh appreciation I held for the topic she inquired about. I know what she's heard from a close loved one about the organization and I knew she already had a picture, albeit muddy and somewhat negative, of who Delta is. So this was my chance to share with her something that I have come to cherish and to dispel the previous messages she's heard. A chance to share first hand information as fodder for her to form her own thoughts about it.
Being a history buff (she was just now telling me about napalm, something that WWII soldiers used- yes she also talked about Agent Orange) I began my talk with saying "Delta does community service."
Her immediate next question was "Oh, like the Eastern Stars?"
To which I replied "Both organizations do community service, but they are different."
I explained to her that the first act of these 22 forward thinking women was to march in the Womens Suffrage March in Washington, DC.
"Oh yeah, like with Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton..." she inquired, indicating she had read about them in her text book.
"Yes," I said.
"Oh, they didn't say anything about the black women who marched."
Pregnant pause then I replied "Yes, that's how some of these text books are written. But they were there..."
Then I went into all the programs I could remember that Delta does in the communities nationally. I also told her about the school Delta established in Africa. I explained that Delta women are interested in leaving the world a better place than they inherited for the entire community but especially as it relates to the African American woman.
After hearing all this, she commented "Not to be mean or disrespectful or anything, but do they do anything for the other races?"
Stunned at the depth of her understanding of what I just mentioned, I told her yes, that Delta serves the community and the community involves all races. I mentioned to her the different nationalities that are represented in the Delta sisterhood. I told her my story of recently meeting a white Delta sister at UAB's Spring 2010 commencement. We then called out the names of the family members who are Deltas and I told her about the Deltas who were my mentors in college.
She was smiling by the end of our conversation. "I like that... Aren't you proud to be apart of that organization?"
I smiled back, "Yes, yes I am."
She replied, nodding her head yes "I'm proud for you. I'm glad I asked."
With a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart for my talk with my brilliant little sister, I replied, "so am I."
