Murphy, Vashti Turley

Impact on the world

Co-founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at Howard University in 1913 and marched with her fellow founders in the segregated collegiate section of that year's Women's Suffrage March in Washington, D.C., before going on to found the sorority's Baltimore alumnae chapter and serve on the board of directors of that city's YWCA; her marriage to Carl J. Murphy, publisher of the Afro-American newspapers, one of the most influential Black press chains in the country, placed her directly within one of the era's most consequential Black media families.

Life & background

A stylish graduate of Washington, D.C.'s Dunbar High School pursuing a career as a teacher, Murphy joined 21 fellow Howard University students in founding Delta Sigma Theta on January 13, 1913, and weeks later marched in the historic Women's Suffrage parade as part of the sorority's first public act, an event in which Black women marchers were deliberately segregated to the rear of the procession by white organizers despite the march's own stated commitment to expanding women's political rights. After her education, she founded Delta Sigma Theta's alumnae chapter in Baltimore and served on the board of directors of the city's YWCA, continuing the sorority's founding emphasis on public service over mere campus socializing. She married Carl J. Murphy, publisher of the Afro-American newspapers, a chain of Black newspapers that became one of the most influential Black press operations in the United States, placing her at the center of one of the era's most significant Black media and civic families; she remained active in her community and sorority's affairs until her death in 1958.

Sources

1. Washington Post (Deltas: Black sorority faced racism at suffrage parade); Fran Becque (Fraternity History & More)