Consideration, DevaSTating Divas! It’s time to throw up your ‘mids for the 2025 Honorary Members of your prestigious sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.!
Throughout day two (July 9) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s 57th Nationwide Conference, eight extraordinary girls have been proudly welcomed into the 2025 Honorary Member class of the traditionally Black Sorority, representing a dynamic vary of fields, together with politics, leisure, enterprise, schooling, athletics, and advocacy. Amongst this 12 months’s honorees are Grammy-winning rapper and actress Queen Latifah, whisky connoisseur Fawn Weaver, and Oscar-nominated actress Danielle Brooks, girls who exemplify Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.’s dedication to excellence, service, and social influence.
“This 12 months’s class of Honorary Members represents a powerhouse group of barrier-breaking girls throughout politics, leisure, enterprise, sports activities, and social influence,” stated Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Worldwide President Elsie Cooke-Holmes, in a press launch printed Wednesday. “From a trailblazing political strategist to an acclaimed actress and vocalist, a legendary Olympic athlete to a pioneering tech govt, these girls embody excellence, service, and the unwavering pursuit of justice and fairness. Their collective affect spans boardrooms, phases, and grassroots actions — every one a drive in her area and a mirrored image of Delta’s enduring mission.”
The Honorary Membership is the Sorority’s highest honor, reserved for ladies who’ve demonstrated distinctive achievement and made lasting contributions to their fields and society. Every inductee’s work displays the mission and values of Delta’s 5-Level Programmatic Thrust: financial growth, instructional development, worldwide consciousness, bodily and psychological well being, and political engagement.
These eight girls signify the spirit of Delta Sigma Theta Inc.: daring, visionary, and pushed by goal. Let’s meet them.
Meet the 2025 Honorary Members
Queen Latifah (Dana Owens) – A trailblazer in music, movie, and tv, Queen Latifah has earned Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and NAACP Picture Awards. She broke new floor as the primary feminine rapper to obtain a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame and continues to champion illustration throughout leisure. Outdoors of music, Latifah has been a staunch advocate for well being and housing. In March, the “U.N.I.T.Y” rapper was a key determine behind the Reality About Weight marketing campaign, spreading consciousness in regards to the risks of weight problems and heart problems, in response to USA As we speak.
The hip-hop legend was additionally an important drive behind the RISE Residing venture, an reasonably priced housing neighborhood that she launched alongside a bunch of actual property buyers in her hometown of Newark in 2024, NewsOne beforehand reported.
Donna Brazile – A legendary political strategist and New York Occasions bestselling creator, Brazile broke boundaries as the primary Black lady to handle a U.S. presidential marketing campaign, working the marketing campaign for former Vice President Al Gore. She twice served as interim Chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee and led the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute, in response to her web site. At the moment, she continues her service on the DNC’s Guidelines and Bylaws Committee.
Brazile is the creator of the bestselling political memoir Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics (2004) and Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-Ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump within the White Home (2017), a New York Occasions bestseller. She additionally co-authored For Coloured Ladies Who Have Thought of Politics, which earned the 2019 NAACP Picture Award for Excellent Literary Work, Nonfiction. Her newest contribution seems within the upcoming anthology Wake Up America: Black Ladies on the Way forward for Democracy.
The 65-year-old trailblazer has additionally prolonged her knowledge and data to the classroom, serving as an adjunct professor within the Ladies and Gender Research Division at Georgetown College and as an educator with the King Endowed Chair in Public Coverage at Howard College. She has lectured at almost 250 faculties and universities, instructing informative matters like range, fairness, and inclusion; girls in management; and civility in American politics.
Danielle Brooks – The Oscar-nominated actress rose to fame together with her breakout position on Orange Is the New Black and earned important approval for The Shade Purple.
A Juilliard graduate, Brooks can also be a vocal advocate and co-founder of Black Ladies on Broadway. The initiative, based in 2020, celebrates Black girls in movie and theater by offering mentorship and fellowship alternatives, giving them the instruments to excel within the trade.
Fawn Weaver – Because the founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc., Weaver made historical past as one of many few Black girls to construct and lead a billion-dollar firm, upon coming into the spirits trade in 2017.
The enterprise titan owns Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which is produced out of a 323-acre distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the place they make batches of their flavorful bourbon for purchasers, as famous by MadameNoire. The model has obtained over 450 awards, together with the 2022 Greatest in Class Distiller Award and the 2022 Gold Medal Award from the Denver Worldwide Spirits Competitors. Uncle Nearest is bought in each state all through the nation and in 12 nations, too.
A best-selling creator and entrepreneur, Weaver can also be a outstanding voice for inclusive enterprise management. The enterprise maven has made a dedication to take a position in feminine founders and BIPOC liquor manufacturers via her enterprise program in an effort to diversify possession inside the spirits trade.
Hit the flip to see extra of this 12 months’s honorees.
Janice Bryant Howroyd – A self-made enterprise icon, JBH is the founder and CEO of the ActOne Group, a world workforce and expertise enterprise. She was the primary Black lady to construct a billion-dollar firm and is a revered mentor, creator, and advocate for ladies in enterprise.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee – Broadly considered one of many best athletes of all time, Joyner-Kersee is a six-time Olympic medalist and a champion for youth empowerment via her basis.
Her legacy goes far past the monitor, impacting schooling and neighborhood management.
Swin Money – A Basketball Corridor of Famer and WNBA legend, Money is now a number one sports activities govt and media entrepreneur.
She based She’s Obtained Time to raise girls in sports activities and leads philanthropic efforts via her nonprofit, Money for Youngsters.
Toni Townes-Whitley – As CEO of SAIC, Townes-Whitley leads one of many nation’s high tech and engineering companies. A former Peace Corps volunteer and tech trade veteran, she champions public-sector innovation, tech ethics, and girls’s management.
The thrill is way from over. From July 8–13, 2025, greater than 20,000 members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., will collect in Washington, D.C., for the 57th Nationwide Conference on the Walter E. Washington Conference Heart, joined by a further 13,000 on-line members. With a concentrate on neighborhood empowerment and sustained influence, the Sorority is boldly getting into the longer term, guided by goal, unity, and unbreakable fortitude.
Congrats to this 12 months’s honorees!