28th Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Heart & Soul Scholarship Fundraiser: The Return of the MAC
Constance Miles (l) is the president of the Madison Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta and Jalesssa Bryant is the Heart & Soul co-chair
by Jonathan Gramling
Like many other community-oriented organizations, the Madison Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority had to discontinue its in-person programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was creative as it continued some level of programming on-line such as its Heart & Soul Scholarship Fundraiser because the need for student scholarships continued pandemic or no pandemic.
But there’s nothing like the real thing. Slowly, but surely, MAC has emerged, running the concession stand at the annual Juneteenth Day celebration and helping out with other community events.
“This year, all of our programs are back in full force,” said Constance Miles, president of MAC. “We had a red carpet event with The Color Purple musical. We had a creative writing conference. Actually today, we were at the State Capitol for one of our social action ventures called Advocacy Day. We advocated for a bill that our soror Shelia Stubbs is trying to get pushed through the legislature focusing on Black women and girls who are being murdered or are missing. We gad an Advocacy Day just today. We have some physical health projects that we are partnering with a Minnesota chapter on. We’re trying to stay healthy and keep our walking going. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, of course we served starting at the State Capitol. We started as ushers. I was humbled to sit on the dais. And at the evening celebration, we also served as ushers during the Call for Action.”
MAC has been involved in many facets of community life, always being there to fill a community need.
“Another event we have every year is the Midwest Day of Impact of Service,” Miles said. “This year, the theme comes down from our grad chapter. It is around Literacy around Black Girls. Every chapter in the Midwest did their own thing. We actually partnered with Black Girls Magic, which is run by one of our sorors. We actually had an event where Black Girls received bags of books.
Another thing that we did. This was almost a year ago now in the midst of winter. We did a dual clothing drive for the homeless, first for the homeless population off of Milwaukee Street. There is a homeless encampment across from S.S. Morris AME Church. We did a clothing drive at S.S. Morris as well as Fountain of Life. We gathered the clothes. The clothes were given out through S.S. Morris, which has a contact to disburse those clothes. In addition to that, we worked with the Madison school district and did a homeless drive that collected clothes as well as personal items for young Black girls. We have been partnering with the Urban League and the American Red Cross for the Sickle Cell Blood Drive.”
“We also have a collaboration with the undergrad chapter at UW-Madison, Zeta Xi,” said Jalessa Bryant, co-chair of the Heart & Soul fundraiser. “It encouraged people to get tested for World AIDS Day and to show off the resources of the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.”
MAC also entered a new area of advocacy spurred by climate change and its impact on economically challenged families.
“We partnered with Black s for Political and Social Action of Dane County on an environmental project,” Miles said. “MGE and Alliant Energy were asking for rate increases. We fought the rate increase. And the decision was in our favor. And of course utility companies are not necessarily with that decision. But a lot of the rate increases impact low-income people of color. That was our rationale for fighting that. We sat in on several meetings. We wrote letters. It was something that we traditionally haven’t gotten involved in.”
Miles and Bryant reflect the values of community service and commitment that go along with being a member of MAC and Delta Sigma Theta. Miles has been a Delta for 40 years and the Deltas have been a constant in her life.
“On May 13, 1983, I was initiated at Michigan State University, Epsilon, Epsilon Chapter.,” Miles said “I’ve been active. I took a little hiatus. I moved to Madison for graduate school, which was a priority then. Once I finished that, I slowly migrated back into the Madison Alumnae Chapter. The series of roles I played include chair and co-chair of the event for five years. I was second vice-president and then first vice-president and now I am humbled to say that I am president of the Madison Alumnae Chapter. I’m a full-time academic advisor at Madison College.”
Bryant became a Delta 14 years ago when she earned her undergraduate degree at UC-Berkeley. She has been active ever since.
“This is a life-long commitment,” Bryant said. “I’m always seeking Delta like Delta is always seeking me. When sorors find out that new sorors are in the area, I was greeted and welcomed into social events to get a feel for the chapter and who is in it. I decided to join. This is my first season back doing active work. I am so happy that I got a chance to get reacquainted with this type of labor again.”
Bryant is currently in graduate school at UW-Madison. And like so many of her fellow sorors, Bryant is active in education.
“I am a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction focused in the multicultural area,” Bryant said. “I study informal learning spaces, which is anything that is not a school, college or university. They are places that are independent, grassroots organizations that have teaching components. I typically work those types of organizations. I found a great deal of them in Madison that are run by and for Black folks. That’s where I have nestled myself academically.”
Due to its education and academic lean-in, the Madison Alumnae Chapter has hosted the Heart & Soul Scholarship Fundraiser being held February 10th at the Madison Club. MAC has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship funds providing needed financial assistance to promising high school graduates.
“Our average scholarship distribution in regular years is about $10,000,” Miles said. “During COVID because we didn’t have the expenses of venue and food, our average was $16,000. We give out 4-5 scholarships per year because of the amount of the scholarships.”
While the objective of Heart & Soul is to raise scholarship funds, the Deltas sure know how to put on an elegant and fun time.
“We’re excited about Heart & Soul,” Bryant said. “We have some really nice entertainment lined up. We have Marcus Adams, an amazing saxophonist and Michelle Bozeman, a wonderful vocalist and amazing DJ Ace who will get the crowd riled up for an evening of enjoyment. Soror Miles has been singing Marcus Adam’s praises. We got the chance to listen to some of his work We are excited to share that with the Madison community. We also have Michelle Bozeman, a local vocalist. She is well-known in the Madison community. We’re excited to have her join us for a few songs. And of course, we have the amazing DJ Ace. We’ll get the chance to listen to the great tunes that she has set up for us.”
“We have identified members in the community who have had a great impact on the Black community in the Madison area to receive Community Impact Awards,” Miles added. “We have a buffet-style meal. There will be a presentation of past scholarship winners. And there will be dancing.”
There are multiple ways for people to purchase tickets to the event and help raise funds for the scholarships.
“Adults are $75,” Bryant said. “Student/Collegiate is $40. Couples tickets are $125. And tables are going for $600. Anyone who is interested in coming to Heart & Soul can take a look at our Facebook page. It is DST Madison Alumnae. We have an Eventbrite link that is clickable. You can also access it from your phone very easily. The information is also on the MAC webpage.”
With Valentine’s Day approaching, Heart & Soul is the place to be because the Deltas put their hearts into creating an entertaining event and their souls are with the students as they navigate higher education. Heart & Sould, after all, is all about the children.
