For Immediate Release
Contact: media@deltagamma.org
Delta Gamma Announces Positional Statement on Contextualization
Columbus, OH – Taking a cue from many college campuses undergoing contextualization efforts, Delta Gamma explored and evaluated its own history. In doing so, the organization announces a positional statement on contextualization:
Delta Gamma supports engaging in organizational contextualization efforts. Delta Gamma acknowledges the importance of exploring uncomfortable aspects of our history and examining these with historical authenticity and candor. We commit to providing an open and honest dialogue regarding our full history, even those aspects that may not portray our organization in the best light.
These contextualization efforts have led to new training opportunities for leadership and members about implicit bias and recognizing and reducing microaggressions.
“Today, we seek to view items through a modern, 2020 lens. It is important to recognize the climate and circumstances surrounding our founding in order to provide context in which people can understand the very complex and discriminatory issues of the past and how they have shaped the present,” said Fraternity President Wilma Johnson Wilbanks, Alpha Psi-Mississippi.
This positional statement on contextualization supports the Fraternity’s commitment to inclusion. Delta Gamma Fraternity does not discriminate in its membership selection on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, physical disability or other characteristics protected by state, provincial or federal law. Membership is open to all individuals who identify as women. Those selected for membership in Delta Gamma must have good scholarship, be of good character and standing, have an interest in activities that will enhance the academic atmosphere at the college or university, and have a sincere desire to contribute to the work of Delta Gamma.
Read the contextualization article, “Confronting Our Past: Understanding the Barriers to Inclusion,” in the winter issue of the ANCHORA.
About Delta Gamma: Delta Gamma Fraternity was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi. The Fraternity’s primary purpose is to foster high ideals of friendship, promote educational and cultural interests, create a true sense of social responsibility and develop the best qualities of character. Delta Gamma has more than 250,000 initiated members, 151 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. Delta Gamma Fraternity Executive Offices is in Columbus, Ohio.