Zora Sanders, a rising senior at Howard University, has gone viral for publicly denouncing Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated just weeks after joining the organization's Alpha Chapter. Sanders, a Pre-Law Political Science and History double major, took to Instagram earlier this week to post a detailed letter explaining her decision, which has since gone viral.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded on its campus of Howard University on January 13, 1913. Sanders was initially revealed as part of the Alpha Chapter's Spring 2024 line, the first and oldest chapter of the sorority.
Sanders's letter denouncing Delta Sigma Theta, which has garnered over 19,000 likes and 6,000 comments on her Instagram account, reveals her reasons for stepping away from the sorority.
“Before I was invited to join the organization, despite all the research and information I had gathered, I was not aware of the specific requirements needed to become an official member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated,” Sanders wrote. “As I detail these requirements, I want to emphasize that they were my non-negotiables from the beginning and that while I did initially compromise on them, this is not something I am willing to continue compromising on under any circumstances.”
The letter goes on to state that her decision to denounce the sorority is driven by her religious convictions. “This conviction has been placed within me by the Holy Spirit, and I must obey,” she asserted. “Please inform me of the next steps or any paperwork necessary for me to be formally removed from the organization. This letter constitutes my official letter of denouncement. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for honoring my final decision.”
The reaction to Sanders's public denouncement has been mixed. Some commenters have applauded her and come to her defense for her public letter.
“So when you ANnounce its amazing, but when you DEnounce its for clout,” posted @yasminereigns.
“Zora denouncing should not upset yall so much…like it really shouldn’t. If she decided to denounce because the Lord told her to, then thats what she did but questioning her relationship with God? Attacking her in comments??! Yall better get your mouths off of God’s chosen ones,” said @theejarx.
“grown ass women in these comments are talking about her so horribly. Zora has more courage than anyone that casts judgement upon her. she is speaking her truth and if you don’t like it MOVE ON! yall more upset at the fact that she’s telling her TRUTH rather than the situation itself,” posted @groovy_lu.
“This is much bigger than her denouncing an organization, this young lady was Chosen by God Himself to save those who have been lost, the spiritual whelm and truth is unfolding right before us and because God still loves you regardless of all the ugly things you’ve said to His daughter Zora, he still gives you a choice. Will you still walk the way of the world that is wide and leads to destruction or will you pick up your Cross and enter by the narrow gate. Matthew 7:13, God bless,” said @la4rie.
“I will never understand why people are SO aggravated by someone else's decision that they made to be in alignment with God. For those that are Greeks that we call ‘sister and brother greeks' that are under this post commenting. We should be meeting this sister with love in her departure NOT hate regardless of personal opinions. And if your saying she exposed some secret info like pls bf discretion went out the window a long time ago all this stuff is public knowledge at this point there are enough videos and exposed documents to back up her claims. And the reality of it is rather you agree or NOT enough individuals have come forward for us to at least agree on the fact that these rituals are an issue that have conflicted with many people's core values. Denounced, or undennounced, Let's stop pretending that we cannot see what is right before our eyes. This speaking from a current member of AKA, something must change. At what point is enough enough,” posted @iamsimonebryant.
However, others have criticized her for potentially disclosing confidential information about the sorority and the action other denouncing the organization in itself. The comments section of her Instagram post is filled with varied reactions, ranging from words of encouragement to harsh rebukes.
“We can disagree without being hateful. I think people just want you to take down sacred information,” posted popular Greek Instagram page @dawgsanddivas.
“No hate but please delete! As a member of Delta Sigma Theta, I don’t appreciate our sacred info being shown to the public,” posted @jeidhaguzman.
“A lot of scriptures were used to support to your claims and beliefs in this letter. I think it would have been beneficial to have applied the word to your situation prior to crossing. It sounds like you may have felt conviction when you started your journey but continued anyway and you’re now addressing your ‘disobedience'” posted @rachel.jonee.
“Your interpretations of the process and proceedings are your own but it’s unfortunate that you took the place of a young woman who would have understood the sorority for what it is, not what radical religious tropes make it to be. Peace be unto you,” posted @ebonysips.
