ENROLLED Page 1 of 3 Regular Session, 2014 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 23 BY REPRESENTATIVES BARROW AND HUNTER A RESOLUTION To recognize Thursday, March 13, 2014, as the thirtieth annual Red and White Day at the Louisiana Legislature. WHEREAS, it is appropriate to commend Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, for its outstanding achievements and generous community service for one hundred one years and to recognize Thursday, March 13, 2014, as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated's Red and White Day at the Louisiana Legislature; and WHEREAS, the Louisiana Social Action Committee of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, would like to acknowledge the vision of Red and White Day at the Louisiana Legislature that began in 1985 and has resulted in Red and White Day growing from a Louisiana tradition, to one observed by many of the sorority's thousands of chapters throughout the country and held annually at the Nation's Capital in Washington D.C.; and WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913, by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University who were eager to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence, to provide scholarships and support to those in need, to educate and stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy, and to highlight issues and find solutions to problems in their communities; and WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrates its centennial anniversary of exercising its collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to the community; and WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was incorporated in 1930 and is a private, nonprofit organization that provides assistance and support through established programs in local communities and throughout the world; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 23 Page 2 of 3 WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is the largest African- American Greek letter sorority, a sisterhood of more than two hundred thousand predominantly African-American college educated women, comprised of more than nine hundred chapters located in the United States, England, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Haiti, the Bahamas, and the Republic of Korea; and WHEREAS, the members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, stand on the shoulders of giants such as former state representatives Renee Gill Pratt, Rosalind Peychaud, Jalila Jefferson Bullock, and the late Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson, Senator Karen Carter Peterson, and former state senators Diana E. Bajoie and Cheryl Gray Evans who have left an incredible imprint on this state's history; and WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, uses its Five-Point Program Thrust of Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness and Involvement, Physical and Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement to uplift, encourage, and develop the global community; and WHEREAS, the organizational structure and governance of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is invested in the Grand Chapter, which meets at a biennial national convention, and regional conferences are held in the seven geographic regions of the organization during nonconvention years; and WHEREAS, the success of the public service programs of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, has depended upon its commitment to community service and academic achievement as well as its quest for excellence in all endeavors. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby recognize Thursday, March 13, 2014, as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated's thirtieth annual Red and White Day at the Louisiana Legislature does hereby commend the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, for their exceptional achievements and manifold contributions, and does hereby extend enduring appreciation to the organization and its members for the tremendous honor and pride that they bring to their local communities, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America. ENROLLEDHR NO. 23 Page 3 of 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the president of the Grand Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and to the regional director for the Southwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES