Sorors in the Spotlight
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin’s rousing performance of Samuel F. Smith’s “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. - celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States - was an extraordinary moment (and she certainly was wearing an extraordinary hat). But it was also one of many, many milestones in her long and illustrious career.
Franklin, 66, is universally recognized as the greatest female soul singer in history. She has won 21 Grammys and has had a long string of hits stretching back to the mid-1960s, including such classics as “Respect,” “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” “Chain of Fools,” “Rock Steady” and many others. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1993 she performed at the inaugural gala for President Bill Clinton. But January 20, 2009 marked the first performance at an actual inauguration.
- Marcia L. Fudge
On November 19, 2008, Representative Marcia L. Fudge took the oath of office for the 110th Congress completing the unexpired term of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and becoming the second African American female in the state of Ohio to hold the position. Rep. Fudge has modeled her life after her mother, Marian Saffold, and practices the principles of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. where she served as 21st National President.
