Duke’s First Black Sorority Celebrates 50 years

Delta Sigma Theta thrives after five decades of service

The members of Delta Sigma Theta celebrated their 50th anniversary at Duke last month.
The members of Delta Sigma Theta celebrated their 50th anniversary at Duke last month.

On April 5, 1975, eight young women crossed over the burning sands  into the Lambda Omega Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and stepped into history as the first African American sorority at Duke University.

Last month, more than 250 alumni and their guests arrived at Duke for a celebration of the sorority’s 50th anniversary on campus.

“It’s remarkable,” said chapter member, Noelle Ghoram, a 2014 Duke alumna now living in Houston, Texas, where she works as a business strategy manager. 

Ghoram served on the sorority’s communications committee for its golden anniversary. She noted the sorority was established a little over a decade after Duke admitted its first African American undergraduate students.

“We’re thriving,” Ghoram said. “That was a recurring theme at the celebration.”

The event “provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect generations of Duke alumni with current students and friends,” said Constance Lindsey, a 2002 Duke graduate who co-chaired the reunion’s planning committee.

Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., is one of the historically Black Greek Letter Organizations (BLGOs) known as the “Divine Nine.” There are seven BLGOs at Duke.

The highlight of the celebration was a sold-out gala at the Durham Hilton, “held 50 years to the day of the chapter's chartering on the campus of Duke University,” according to a press release written by chapter member, Nichole Ogojiaku, a 2013 Duke graduate and obstetrician-gynecologist now living in Houston, Texas.

 “From its chartering in 1975 to this milestone celebration, Lambda Omega continues to shape leaders, uplift communities and make history.”

Nichole Ogojiaku ’13

Duke alumna and chapter member, Angela Alsobrooks, a 1993 Duke graduate and the first Black U.S. Senator from Maryland and only the third Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, was the keynote speaker.

 She spoke of perseverance in the face of adversity and commitment to excellence.

At the gala, Durham mayor Leonardo Williams, proclaimed April 5 as “Lambda Omega Day” and read the official proclamation to a standing ovation.

The celebration kicked off on Friday, April 4, with an alumnae-student career panel, and a welcome cookout event at the Karshi Alumni and Visitors Center. The event concluded with a chapter members photo on the steps of Duke Chapel and goodbye reception.

The anniversary of Lambda Omega was not just a celebration, Ogojiaku stated in the news release.

“It was a tribute to the trailblazing Black women at Duke and a reaffirmation of the chapter's ongoing impact on communities across the nation.

 “From its chartering in 1975 to this milestone celebration, Lambda Omega continues to shape leaders, uplift communities and make history.”