via Pixabay
Gladys Merritt Ross loved her profession and her community.
While others just shook their heads at how segregated schools restricted resources and opportunities for Black school children, she modeled her next move after other racial justice organizations, such as the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes (later renamed the National Urban League), to bring about lasting change for Black folks in the inner city.
By the spring of 1923, Merritt Ross progressed her idea for a sisterhood of educators that could organize around their shared struggles against racism and sexism in the teaching profession, scarce resources in their communities, and an urgent need for political power and youth advocacy.
She invited eight fellow educators to join her quest.
Nearly 100 years later, Phi Delta Kappa Sorority, Inc. is still a desperately-needed bond nurtured among its membership that includes over 130 chapters across the U.S., as well as Liberia and Barbados.
Members remain focused on supporting each other within roles inside and outside of the classroom, their community, and with students through service projects and political advocacy, and being vocal about the needs of Black children in conversations surrounding the impact of political decision making.