Notable Deltas

Ruby Dee Davis is an extraordinary actress with performance credits on stage, in film, and on television. Not limited to acting, she is a noted poet and social activist.

Mary Church Terrell was one of the founding members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) and was a tireless activist for the rights of Black Americans in the United States. She used her education and eloquence to accomplish many things including the improvement of interracial relations through educating white people on the harsh realities of Black life.

Barbara Jordan was the first Black American to serve in the United States Congress from the South since Reconstruction, the first Black woman to preside over a state senate, and the first Black american to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention.

Alexa Canady, MD, at age 26 became the first Black woman neurosurgeon in the United States.

Osceola Macarthy Adams, a founding member of Delta, was one of the first Black actresses on Broadway. She was the Director of the Harlem School of the Arts and directed the theatrical debuts of Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier.

Johnetta Cole was the past president of Spelman College. She served her students well over the years and was embraced as "Sister President" by the Spelman students. In 1992, she was asked by President Clinton to help set up the nation's educational agenda.

Camille Cosby is a philanthropist and entrepreneur. She co-produced the 1995 acclaimed Broadway show "Having Our Say" while donating her time, money, and energy to worthwhile causes such as helping to fund Black schools.

Fannie Lou Hamer was one of the Founding forces behind the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Her tireless activism helped to secure voting rights for Black Americans through her work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

Nikki Giovanni was one of the nationally recognized and respected voices of the Black Power movement during the late sixties and early seventies. She continues to publish volumes of poetry that are more personal, introspective, and reflective of the Black woman's experience in America.

Rae Lewis-Thornton is an AIDS activist who has been featured on the cover of Essence magazine, as well as in numerous feature stories in Ebony and Emerge magazines, Chicago Tribune newspaper, Chicago Sun Times newspaper, and the Washington Post. She received an Emmy award in 1996 for her WBBM-TV's ongoing series of first person stories on living with AIDS.

Marian Wright Edelman is the founder and president of the leading advocacy group for children, The Children's Defense Fund. she has also been involved in civil rights and public interest issues.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist, advocate of civil rights, women's rights, economic rights, as well as one of the pivotal figures in the anti-lynching crusade. Along with Soror Mary Church Terrell, she helped found the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and continued to document the injustices of race riots in East St. Loui, Chicago, and Arkansas for the last 15 years of her life.

Cicely Tyson has had a successful and dynamic career in the entertainment industry. Her film and stage presence has both delighted audiences worldwide and won her acclaim for roles in films like "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman."