Founded in 1913 on the campus of Howard University, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is a sisterhood of college-educated women dedicated to public service in local communities with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Here in Wisconsin, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. from throughout the state have been making a monumental effort to tackle the critical issue of missing and murdered African American women and girls.
“It’s an issue that really needs attention,” Jessica Strong, a member of the Delta’s state social action leadership, tells Madison365. “This is just an issue that needs to be formally and officially addressed in a state like Wisconsin where we are the worst in the state when it comes to disparities across all sorts of sectors in terms of how it impacts African American people. This is a way that we can continue to draw attention to it.”
As a public service organization with a primary focus on the Black community, the Deltas strive to make a difference in their local communities through programming that improves political, education, and social and economic conditions. For Strong, a member of the Madison Alumnae Chapter of the Deltas, the issue of missing and murdered African American women and girls is a personal one.
“There are Black women in my life who have been impacted directly and indirectly by violence, whether it be family members or members of our sorority,” Strong says. “Anytime you hear that a sister has lost her life or has been injured or impacted any way in this fashion, you automatically want to do whatever you can to eradicate it.
“I know for me, advocacy is one of the ways to do this… it’s almost therapeutic, just being able to learn about an issue, get really involved in the issue, and be able to then talk to others about the importance of that issue and include others in that advocacy,” Strong continues. “This effort is always something that makes me feel like I’m doing my part, at least.”
For the past year, members of the Wisconsin chapters of the Deltas have partnered with State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), also a longtime Delta member, to tackle the critical issue of missing and murdered African American women and girls.
The Deltas were out in full force hosting an “Advocacy Day” on Jan. 17 at the Wisconsin State Capitol around this issue as the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety held a public hearing on Rep. Stubbs’ proposed bill, AB 615/SB 568, to officially create a task force on missing and murdered African American women and girls. The bipartisan bill proposal passed unanimously.
“It wasn’t just January 17, there were months and months of planning and phone calls, meetings, strategizing and ramping this issue up for our members in Wisconsin … really getting them tuned in to what the issue was and making sure that they had the resources and the information that they needed to be able to effectively advocate and lobby for this bill on behalf of Soror Stubbs,” Strong says. “There was so much that went into it … blood, sweat and tears. And the 17th was just the day where we were able to kind of just shine and more importantly, let the issue shine, and really hear firsthand the story of Lasheky Hill.”
Lasheky Hill is a 46-year-old African mother and grandmother from Racine who has been missing since March 26. Her mother, Georgia Hill, gave powerful personal testimony on her behalf at the Wisconsin State Capitol building on Jan. 17.
“It was an amazing day … a very powerful day,” Angela Arrington, the Wisconsin state social action coordinator for the Deltas, tells Madison365. “The members of our chapter and our committee are still talking about how powerful it was to see the testimony and to have the experience to see the legislative process firsthand, but also hear the stories, particularly the story of Ms. Lasheky Hill, and going into the visits with Wisconsin legislators at the Capitol building.”
At the Advocacy Day, State Rep. Stubbs gave a thorough presentation on all of the work that had been done on this issue up to this point and what has been happening with both bills. Strong says the Deltas visited over 25 offices throughout the Capitol.
“It was a busy day. We were all over that capitol building, and having ourselves a very interactive time,” Arlington says. “It was a learning experience for all of us, including myself. I had not ever sat in on a legislative committee hearing before at the state level. And so to see what the process looks like of trying to bring a bill to fruition, it was very educational for all of us.
“We made a point to visit several offices to talk to the legislators and their staff,” she adds. “Both Democrats and Republicans … it was bipartisan. We were intentional about making this bipartisan because we need everyone’s support.”
Members of the state social action leadership for the Deltas include Strong and Arrington from Madison, Kim Eubanks and Tanesha Jones from Milwaukee, Karen Nelson from northeast Wisconsin, and Michelle Brown, the Wisconsin state coordinator.
For the Deltas, the impetus and momentum to begin the work on this issue began almost a year ago at “Delta Days” at the state Capitol, an annual legislative conference to increase Delta Sigma Theta sorority members’ involvement in the national public policy-making process
“We always are looking at what are some pertinent issues in our state, even at our local levels, that are affecting the entire state. And this topic we noticed was disproportionate to African American women and girls … there are very high numbers of missing murdered African American women and girls,” Arrington says. “Our sorority at the national level, we’ve always have had a commitment to the work, especially around the Violence Against Women Act … advocating tirelessly for that to continue to get renewed, even though it should just be permanent law.
“We look at what’s going on in our state and what’s going on in our cities. You can look at Milwaukee, you can look at even in Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, and, there has been an increase in issues around missing murdered and African American women.”
State Rep. Stubbs, who has been doing work in this space for quite awhile, has served as an inspiration for her fellow Deltas.
“She was looking to create a task force in the state of Wisconsin to address this issue and really have it be critically looked at by experts, by people that have a passion and a desire to really look at how we start getting the numbers down and then hopefully be able to eradicate it,” Arlington says. “That’s how that started for us.”
State Rep. Stubbs’s office tells Madison365 that bill AB615 is currently waiting for a floor session date where it will be voted on and hopefully pass. From there it will be sent over to the Senate. For SB658, which is the companion bill in the Senate, it’s currently in the Committee on Government Operations and awaiting the Senate to have a hearing on the bill.
“We’re prepared to continue whatever advocacy efforts we need to … to see it all the way through,” Strong says.
