University of Alabama Sorority Elects First Black President

Hannah Patterson AlabamaSigma Delta Tau, a historically Jewish sorority in Alabama has elected its first Black president, Hannah PattersonĀ (pictured), according to WSFA 12.
Sigma Delta Tau placed Patterson in the position last week, only a year after she joined the sorority. Patterson, who bonded with the other women and is one of only three Black members, denied race was a factor in her election.
ā€œI just did it because I wanted to help my sorority. The girls voted for me because they saw my leadership skills and everything. I guess that was kind of a coincidence. But I didnā€™t think they looked at my race,ā€ she said.
Speaking with the Huffington Post, Patterson added, ā€œI never saw color or race or ethnicity. Itā€™s never been in the front of my mind. I tried to never let it hinder anything I did or judge people on that. I guess I never really thought about, Oh, Iā€™m the first African American that has been president. Iā€™m just excited for my term and to see where my chapter has gone and where it is going to go.ā€
Pattersonā€™s sorority sisters Ā said her active work in the group, not her background, factored in to her winning.
ā€œWe know that Hannah is going to be the best for the future of our chapter at this time,ā€ Ā Sigma member Erinn Forbes said.Ā ā€That has nothing to do with her ethnicity, but it is definitely a really cool thing. I think our chapter is happy to be a part of the change thatā€™s going to be happening here.ā€
ā€œShe was just the best for us. She is so pro-active in our sorority,ā€ member Kristen Feyt added. The organization also reiterated it is inclusive of members from all races.
ā€œWeā€™re welcoming of any girl that wants to join our chapter and best fits our chapter,ā€ Ā former president Regina Broda told The Crimson White, the schoolā€™s paper,
ā€œWe were founded by seven Jewish women because, they, in 1917, couldnā€™t find a home. They were discriminated against. They werenā€™t allowed in to sororities. Sigma Delta Tau nationally does not discriminate because it goes completely against our founding principles.ā€
Though the school has taken steps to make sorority recruitment more inclusive, after the Crimson White wrote an expose on the issue, some say racism is still endemic on campus.
ā€œIā€™m slightly concerned that now it looks potentially to the national media like the problem is solved and the University of Alabamaā€™s not racist after all ā€” thatā€™s not the case,ā€ said Henry Perkins, a member of Mallet Assembly, an intellectual living society on campus, in a recent documentary.
ā€œThereā€™s much more work we need to do.ā€

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