2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 68
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
A RESOLUTION
To recognize Wednesday, May 10, 2023, as the thirty-ninth annual Red and White Day at
the Louisiana State Capitol.
WHEREAS, the celebration of Red and White Day at the Louisiana Legislature
began in 1985 and has grown from a Louisiana tradition to one observed by more than one
thousand sorority and fraternity chapters throughout the country; a celebration is held
annually at the nation's capital in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, Red and White Day is a celebration of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Incorporated, a private, not-for-profit organization 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; provide scholarship funding; support those in
need; stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy; highlight issues
affecting minorities and women; and find viable solutions to social problems; and
WHEREAS, the members of the first organizing committee of Red and White Day
of the Louisiana Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, referred to as the
"trailblazers" included: Gloria Bryant Banks, New Orleans Alumnae Chapter; Hazel
Freeman, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Maxine Cormier, Alexandria Alumnae
Chapter; Corinne Taylor, Shreveport Alumnae Chapter; Juanita Bradford, Baton Rouge
Delta Alumnae Chapter; Ella Burchell, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Felicia LeDuff
Hany, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Virtle T. Jones, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae
Chapter; Jacqueline Keith, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Thelma Parham, Baton
Rouge Delta Chapter; Velma J. Steward, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Ruth Bailey
Wesley, Baton Rouge Delta Alumnae Chapter; Ruth Crawford, Baton Rouge Sigma
Alumnae Chapter; Jean G. Dyer, Baton Rouge Sigma Alumnae Chapter; Mildred Marcelle,
Baton Rouge Sigma Alumnae Chapter; Corinne Maybuce, Baton Rouge Sigma Alumnae
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Chapter; Audrey Nabors Jackson, Baton Rouge Sigma Alumnae Chapter; Y. Jean Whitley,
Baton Rouge Sigma Alumnae Chapter; Theresa Alexander Earthly, Alexandria Alumnae
Chapter; Aromenta Evans, New Orleans Alumnae Chapter; Hazel Moore, New Orleans
Alumnae Chapter; Jessie Howard, Hammond Area Alumnae Chapter; Adele Minnard,
Lafayette Alumnae Chapter; Phyllis Mouton, Lafayette Alumnae Chapter; and Jessie Taylor,
Lafayette Alumnae Chapter; and
WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is the largest
African-American Greek letter sorority with more than one thousand chapters in the United
States, Canada, Japan, Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamacia, West
Africa, Southern Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Korea represented
by a membership of more than three hundred fifty thousand college-educated women; and
WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated uses a five-point program of
economic development, educational development, international awareness and involvement,
physical and mental health, and political awareness and involvement to assist the global
community; and
WHEREAS, represented in the ranks of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
are such notable women as former state senators Diana E. Bajoie, Cheryl Gray Evans,
Sharon Weston Broome, and Karen Carter Peterson, and former state representatives Renee
Gill Pratt, Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson, Rosalind Peychaud, Jalila Jefferson Bullock, and C.
Denise Marcelle, all of whom have left indelible imprints on this state's history; and
WHEREAS, on this Red and White Day the sorority honors and celebrates all of the
African-American female legislators serving the public who make a major impact on their
respective communities and the state by championing important issues; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to commend Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
on one hundred ten years of service and for its outstanding achievements in the community,
the state, and the world.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby recognize Wednesday, May 10, 2023, as Red and White Day at the Louisiana
State Capitol; does hereby commend the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Incorporated for their exceptional achievements and manifold contributions; and does hereby
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extend enduring appreciation to the organization and its members for the tremendous honor
and pride that they bring to their local communities, the state, and the nation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Elsie
Cooke-Holmes, National President and CEO since 2022; National First Vice President, Pam
Smith, Grand Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; and to Crystal Barker,
Regional Director for the Southwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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