Description
- Abstract:
- In this interview recorded during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion, Teresa Cheeks, Renee Hill, and Lori Hollins, members of the Brown University class of 1979, discuss their membership in the historically Black Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and how it impacted their lives during and after their time at Brown. The interviewees begin by explaining their backgrounds and how they decided to attend Brown. Hill talks about growing up in Detroit and expecting to attend University of Michigan until a guidance counselor from another high school introduced her to Brown. Hollins covers her segregated high school in Cleveland, Ohio, and a visit from a Brown student recruiter. Collins speaks to growing up in Schenectady, New York, and the influence General Electric had on her decision to attend Northeastern University before transferring to Brown. They all go on to discuss the concentrations they expected to pursue, the value of the open curriculum, and the educational paths they ended up taking. The conversation turns to focus on their pledges to Delta Sigma Theta. Cheeks, Hill, and Hollins, all mention the friendship, intellectual challenge, and dedication to community service as some of the best aspects of the sorority. They also emphasize the value and necessity of maintaining historically Black sororities and fraternities at Brown and worldwide. They briefly recall race relations and racial tensions on campus in the late 1970s before concluding the interview.
- Notes:
- Biographical note: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is a public service organization dedicated to scholarship, service and sisterhood with an emphasis on Black communities. Twenty-two dynamic Black undergraduate women founded the sorority on January 13, 1913 at Howard University. The Lambda lota Chapter was chartered in March 30, 1974 at Brown University. The Lambda Iota chapter dedicates itself to empowering the Black communities in Rhode Island. Teresa Cheeks, Renee Hill, and Lori Hollins, established their friendship through this sorority. Cheeks earned her SB in material science and engineering, Hill earned her SB in psychology, and Hollins earned her SB in biomedical engineering. They all graduated with the class of 1979.
- Class year: 1979
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Brown University Library
- Digital object made available by: Brown University Library, John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts, Box A, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, U.S.A., (http://library.brown.edu/)
Citation
"Delta Sigma Theta Sorority"
Pembroke Center Oral History Collection.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:728092/
Relations
Has Parts:
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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
- Type: Audio
- Order: 1
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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
- Type: Stream
- Order: 1
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Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
- Type: Pdf
- Order: 2
Collection:
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Pembroke Center Oral History Collection
This collection contains oral history interviews with alumnae of Brown University, which admitted its first women students in 1891. The Women's College at Brown was renamed Pembroke College in 1928, and in 1971, Pembroke College merged with the Men's College …...