The Delta Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, was chartered on May 25, 1946, in East St. Louis, Illinois. In 2021, the Chapter proudly celebrated 75 years of dedicated service to the community.

In the 1940s, after completing their college education, eight women who had been undergraduate members of Alpha Kappa Alpha at their respective universities returned to the East St. Louis area with a vision to establish a graduate chapter in their city. However, their initial request was declined by the International Directorate of Alpha Kappa Alpha due to the presence of a nearby graduate chapter in St. Louis, Missouri. Undeterred, these women—Thelma Barnes Blackwell, Ruth Brinley Brown, Katherine Floyd Fagen, Johnetta R. Haley, Beatrice Burson Miller, Evelyn Moore, Iona Fidler Reed, and Anita Mae Wallace—persisted in their efforts. Their determination paid off when they were finally granted permission to establish the Delta Delta Omega Chapter. Johnetta R. Haley, the last surviving charter member of the Chapter, sadly passed away on January 31, 2021.

With Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in close proximity to East St. Louis, Delta Delta Omega aspired to charter an undergraduate chapter. In 1966, during the International Conference, Delta Delta Omega was granted mixed chapter status, enabling them to organize the Ivy Leaf Club on the SIUE campus in 1967, with seven undergraduates becoming members. The following year, at the 1968 International Conference, Delta Delta Omega’s application for an Undergraduate City Chapter was approved. As a result, in 1969, the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha was officially chartered at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville.

Today, Delta Delta Omega boasts over 150 members who are actively engaged in uplifting the East St. Louis community and advancing Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International Program, “Soaring to Greater Heights of Service and Sisterhood.”