Bringing Zeta’s History to Life
By Dr. Rhonda M. Lawson National Director of Publications and Communications When then-First International Vice President Valerie Hollingsworth contacted me that fateful evening in 2015 and commissioned me to pen an audiobook detailing our sorority’s history, I was excited, but a little intimidated. This would be a groundbreaking project for Zeta Phi Beta, but it carried a lot of responsibility. I would not
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only be writing the Zeta story, educating current and future sorors, but I knew that many of our sorors had seen this history for themselves. I didn’t want to disappoint them. Many know me as a fiction author, but at the time of this project, I was knee-deep in writing my dissertation. I knew what it was like to research. I immediately sat and got reacquainted with Zeta’s treasured Torchbearers of a Legacy by 12th International President Lullelia W. Harrison, which chronicles our history from 1920 to 1997. I also consulted numerous publications and various sorors, all of which helped me fill in some of the gaps as I built on our history decade by decade. The further I delved into the history of our great sorority, the more fascinated I became with the strategy and tenacity of our Five Pearls and earliest members who set out to grow our sorority, knowing that Zeta was bigger than themselves: Past President Harrison sacrificing space in her own home in Houston, TX, giving Zeta our first central office. Past President Jylla Moore Foster, now Tearte, sharing her vision of World Class Service. The birth of our youth auxiliaries, Amicae, and Zeta Male Network. Zeta’s role in social action long before social action was a thing. It was my goal to once again bring these achievements to life and help inspire a new generation of Zetas, so I was disappointed when the audiobook didn’t come to fruition. However, when Past President Tearte contacted me a few years later and asked me to work with Sorors Jorie Goins and Angellic Ross on a documentary, the excitement returned! The manuscript I had written would be used for the documentary, so the history I had chronicled would finally see light. The documentary wasn’t an easy task, but the work Sorors Goins and Ross put in to help bring Zeta’s history to life was amazing! The photos, news articles, and interviews took what was to be an audiobook and made it so much more. I’m proud to have worked with these sorors.
THE ARCHON MAGAZINE • SPRING & SUMMER 2021 REMEMBERING CENTENNIAL 100 (1920 – 2020)
