The Utah chapter of Delta Sigma Theta is celebrating its 35th anniversary this month — and its lasting legacy in Utah is reflective of the sorority’s roots. UtahDST
The Utah chapter of Delta Sigma Theta in August 2022 at a retreat in Park City, Utah.When Michelle Mooney moved to Utah from Hawaii, she found being a Black woman in a predominantly white state to be a “rude awakening.”“This community of women made me feel so at home in Utah, and I never thought I would feel that way,” said Mooney, who is an equity manager in the office of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
For DST, those goals stem from the areas of scholarship, sisterhood, service and, most of all, social action. Since there are no historically Black colleges or universities in Utah, the anniversary of Delta Sigma Theta is even more significant, members say. “That was important to me to know that we would make a difference in the Black community, especially with the young Black ladies and girls,” she said.
In a way, the very existence of Delta Sigma Theta challenges the narrative of what it means to be a Black woman in Utah. It sounds crazy, she said, but Delta has taken her all over the globe in ways the Air Force didn’t. Her current job takes her to military bases across the country, and while talking at a base in Florida, she came across a young woman that her daughter once babysat in Utah. The young woman, she said, ended up joining DST.
“[Delta] is a symbol of unity [and] a symbol of what the real narrative is,” Mahon-Reynolds said. When members are out in the community, helping out and setting an example, it dispels the harmful and false stereotypes often associated with Black women — that they’re loud, aggressive or fearful — she said.Mooney, who works in the mayor’s office, said the Utah chapter is small but mighty — particularly with members like Rep.
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