Lambda Psi Delta Sorority, Inc. () was a multicultural, community service-based Greek-lettered

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

founded on March 9, 1997. Lambda Psi Delta (referred to as "LPsiD") was established by a group of women known as the Nine Black Diamonds. Lambda Psi Delta was a founding member of the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) but is no longer a member. As of , active chapters appear to have ceased operations, while alumnae continue to meet. The national website is no longer available.

History

Lambda Psi Delta Sorority, Inc. was founded on March 9, 1997, at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

by nine women who were formerly part of a Latina sorority.Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (December 3, 2022)
Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities
'. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed January 26, 2023. They decided to leave their former sorority and create an organization whose primary goal was the upliftment and empowerment of women and their communities. They formed Lambda Psi Delta, a multi-ethnic, service-based organization, for women by women and about women. Its motto is "sovereignty to the community." The founders are referred to as the Nine Black Diamonds. They are: The sorority incorporated in 1998 in Connecticut. Lambda Psi Delta was a founding member of the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) in 1998 but is no longer a member. The LILies was the official interest group of Lambda Psi Delta Sorority, Inc. The acronym LILies stands for Ladies Interested in Lambda Psi Delta. Lambda Psi Delta chartered undergraduate chapters in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. It also has two graduate chapters. Although the sorority works primarily in minority communities, its members are from a variety of backgrounds.The national headquarters of Lambda Psi Delta is in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Symbols

The motto of Lambda Psi Delta is "Sovereignty to the Community". Its five tenets or pillars are Intellectual Development, Empowerment of Women, Leadership, Cultural Awareness, and Upliftment of Community. The sorority's colors are coal black and lily white. Its flower is the white calla lily. Its jewel is the

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

. Its mascot is the white

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. Lambda Psi Delta's nickname is LPsiD. Its quarterly national newsletter is ''The Tiger's Tale''.

Activities

Lambda Psi Delta activities included public service and political service. Held annually on October 24, its Unity Day was the sorority's designated day to recognize and celebrate diversity on campus. Its Diamond Days was a weeklong event each March that celebrates the sorority's founders with various community service and political projects at the chapter level. Other programs included the LPsiD College Resource Center and the Lambda Psi Delta National Educational Campaign Programs that addressed current societal concerns, such as

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, and

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. Its National Public and Political Service Program focused on changing initiatives, including multiple sclerosis research and STEP UP – SPEAK OUT! Bullying Awareness and Prevention Campaign. The later was a partnership initiative with

Omega Phi Chi Omega Phi Chi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. () is an American multicultural sorority that was established on November 9, 1988 at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. History Omega Phi Chi was established on November 9, 1988, at Rutgers Universi ...

sorority.

Governance

Oversight was provided by a national executive board, consisting of the national executive committee, regional officers, the immediate past national president, and the sorority's legal advisor. The national executive committee included the national president, national vice-president, national treasurer, national secretary, national second-vice president, national recruitment officer, assistant national recruitment officer - Western region, assistant national recruitment officer - Mid-western region, Northeastern regional director, Northeastern regional representative, Southwestern regional director, Southwestern regional representative, web administrator, and two NMGC representatives.

Chapters

In the following chapter list, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are indicated in ''italics'', while the names of those chapters whose status are unknown are listed in plain text. Graduate chapters are indicated with the prefix Gamma.

References