Washington, D.C
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority returns to D.C. for 57th National Convention
Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
astevens@afro.com
Thousands of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority gathered in the nation’s capital for the organization’s 57th National Convention, celebrating more than 111 years of sisterhood, scholarship and service. The biennial event, held July 8-13, welcomed more than 20,000 attendees to Washington, D.C., where the sorority was founded in 1913.
Founded by 22 collegiate women on the campus of Howard University, Delta Sigma Theta is one of the largest historically Black sororities, with more than 350,000 initiated members and over 1,000 chapters worldwide. The return to its birthplace marked a meaningful homecoming for many members and served as a powerful reminder of the sorority’s legacy and continued impact.
Elsie Cooke-Holmes, the 27th international president and chair of the board of directors, welcomed attendees and reflected on the significance of the convention.
“This is Delta’s home, and I know for some of my D9 (Divine Nine) brothers and sisters, you’re at home too,” she said. “This convention is more than a convening — it’s a homecoming of strength and purpose. A sacred opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, what we’ve built and the vision we carry forward as we continue to serve.”
The five-day event featured a mix of business sessions, service initiatives, educational forums and cultural celebrations. One of the highlights was the public meeting held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, featuring remarks from civic leaders, educators and national figures who applauded the sorority’s commitment to social action, economic development and public service.
Several awards were presented during the public meeting, but for the AFRO team, the Lillian Award stood out with deep personal significance.
Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, publisher of the AFRO, received the Lillian Award. She is the granddaughter of the award’s namesake and a descendant of one of the sorority’s founders. The honor has been a part of her family’s legacy for generations. Dr. Draper shared a heartfelt tribute to her grandmother.
“‘Be strong. We’re not here to play, to dream, to drift. We have hard work to do and loads to lift.’ That hymn was my grandmother’s favorite — not just a melody, but a mandate,” Draper said. “She didn’t just hum it; she lived it. She leaned on those words through joy and heartbreak, from trials to triumph. She then passed that strength on to her family, her church and her beloved Delta Sigma Theta.”
Media personality Joy-Ann Reid, another recipient of the Lillian Award — named in honor of the sorority’s 15th national president, who championed the positive portrayal of African Americans — also spoke passionately about the power of Black storytelling.
“We have to call our own names. We have to tell our own stories. We have to assert our dignity on our own terms,” Reid said. “It is up to us to make sure that we don’t disappear, that our stories, our narrative, don’t disappear. Storytelling is how we do that, and I’m just honored to be in the business of telling our stories.”
The convention also brought significant economic impact to the region, generating an estimated $50 million for the District through hotel bookings, transportation and tourism.
“I am so delighted that you’re having your 57th national convention here,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. “I was happy to hear that this is your second largest convening. I promptly asked, ‘Well, what was the first?’ And it was right here in Washington, D.C.”
Credit: AFRO Photo/ Andrea Stevens
Mayor Bowser went on to thank the sorority for its long-standing political engagement and for choosing the nation’s capital as its convention site.
“Thank you for your advocacy in City Hall during ‘Delta Days’ every single year for budgets that affect us. Thank you for your advocacy on Capitol Hill. Your legislators must hear from you,” Bowser said. “We appreciate you for spending those long Delta dollars in the nation’s capital, but beyond that, thank you for choosing this city for your convention.”
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
Washington, D.C. (7News) — Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.
Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.
Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.
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