When twenty-two young Black women came together at Howard University to form Delta Sigma Theta sorority, their goal was to focus on scholarship, sisterhood, and service to the African American community. A review of the sorority's early history indicates that these young women, and the ones who followed them, did exactly that.

Members of Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in support of women's suffrage in 1917, even though our white sisters hardly welcomed us with open arms. We were (and remain) advocates, activists, and excellent scholars.

The roster of stellar Delta women is long and distinguished, and the roster of Delta's accomplishments is outstanding. Our first national President, Dr. Sadie Tanner Moselle Alexander, was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in economics, and was the first woman to enter the Pennsylvania Bar. Under the leadership of Lillian Pierce Benbow, the sorority's Arts and Letters Commission produced a film, "Countdown at Kusini," because we felt that we should control some of the means of cultural production, and the images of African American women.

Delta Sigma Theta's outstanding work complements that done by the other African American women's sororities, and relations between the organizations might be described as "sisterly competition." We all want to be the best, to bring the most to our communities. To the extent that we don't trip over ourselves trying to do the very same thing, and to the extent that we understand that, competition notwithstanding, we are all African American women in the struggle. We are an enrichment to our community.

As rich as our legacy is, though, there are issues of membership intake that all of the African American Greek letter organizations must deal with. These issues often tarnish our stellar record of scholarship, service, and sisterhood. While no undergraduate chapters of the sororities have had incidents as outrageous as those of the fraternities, chapters have been suspended because of hazing incidents that violate the boundaries of dignity and sisterhood. Some of the hazing begs the question of African American women's self-esteem. Why should someone be degraded in order to be my sister. It might be "fun" to dress up in silly costumes, but fun can turn ugly when there is no compassion involved in the pledging process.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has attempted to address some of these issues by changing the membership intake process, but too many young people circumvent revisions with "underground pledging." This unsanctioned activity often includes abuse and physical violence. It is unnecessary, and unworthy of organizations whose purpose is to serve the African American community.

In the spirit of sisterhood, though, it makes sense to review more than illegal activities. We might also review the spirit of what happens as part of the membership intake process. I know too many people whose undergraduate pledging experience was so unpleasant that they have only a peripheral relationship with their sorority now. I know others who are active, but who carry decades-old grudges over something that happened during the pledge process. If sororities say they are a sisterhood, then what are sisters doing to each other to cause all this negative baggage? And what are we going to do about it? (And I don't want to hear that white women have negative baggage, too, because in this context I am not even thinking about white women).

A recently released study indicated that African American women are at the bottom of the happiness hierarchy in this country, unhappier than whites, as well as African American men. Why? Part of it must have to do with the way Black women are unaffirmed in our society. But part of it may have to do with the way that we, Black women, treat each other. If we can't model positive relationships in our sororities, where we are supposed to be "the best and the brightest," then what does that say about our experiences outside sororities? If young women can't feel affirmed in a membership intake process designed by Black women and for Black women, then should we expect to feel affirmed in a larger society that is hostile to us?

To be sure, this can be explained psychologically and sociologically. We can talk about women and competition, about the extra burdens that women often take on when we juggle multiple roles. We can talk about the status of the African American men and the burden attacks against Black men place on Black women. We can talk about the way Black women play status games around issues like skin color, class, employment and even marital status. An infinity of explanations, though,detract from the focus on sisterhood, scholarship, and service. The bottom line is we can do mo' better.

In her book, Sister Outsider, Audre Lord talks about the ways in which the rage Black women direct toward each other often has a special, ugly component. The fact that Black women experience rage is not surprising. The fact that we unleash it on each other is unsurprising, as well. What is disgraceful, however, is the extent to which we unleash this rage while hiding behind a banner of sisterhood. Our legacy doesn't deserve to be tarnished by this distortion of our purpose and history.