On February 3, 1921, nine graduates (Charter Members), realizing the need for a closer and stronger relationship with other members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. petitioned the Grand Chapter in December 1920 at the Second National Convention. Soror G. Dorothy Pelham Beckley is credited with assembling the chapter. The chapter was officially recognized by Grand Chapter on February 3, 1921 and became Beta Beta Chapter. As the second graduate chapter chartered in 1956, Beta Sigma became the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter.

Mary Church Terrell, Nannie Helen Burroughs and Gabrielle Pelham, among the first honorary members of Delta, were brilliant and indefatigable workers for human rights. Their spirit broadened the base of service programs both nationally and locally. During the first fifty years the Chapter reflected the goals, values and aspirations of the national body in which various Five-Point Programs have historically encouraged social and individual concerns as well as national and international interests. The present National Five-Point Program has these emphases; Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness and Involvement, Physical and Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement. Combining concerns for physical and mental health with economic development, the Washington Chapter planned and constructed Delta Towers, a multi-million dollar, ten-story, 150 bedroom unit residence for seniors and the handicapped, including commercial use space. Delta Towers is located on Florida Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. and was opened for occupancy in 1980.  It is administered by the Delta Housing Corporation. The Delta Housing Corporation is embarking on the construction of Delta Towers 2 at the same location.

The activities of the Chapter in those early years are very similar to those engaged in today, except the scale was much smaller with a total membership of twelve. Those Sorors were dedicated to a program of sharing membership skills and organizational service in the public interest. Washington DC Alumnae Chapter maintains that spirit in its programming today.

The Washington DC Alumnae Chapter has consistently utilized the talents, skills, training, and other resources of its entire membership to implement social, cultural and service programs, which sparked Delta's founding. It has executed local and national projects, which reflect community and national life.

Today, with a roster of more than 500 members, Washington D.C. Alumnae is the second largest chapter in the Sorority. The National Headquarters of Grand Chapter is located in Washington, D.C.

.Dorothy Pelham Beckley
Grace Coleman
Louise F. Denney
Edith Brinkley Howard
Jennie Baer Shief
Eliza Pearl Shippen*
Elsie Brown Smith
Florence Letcher Toms*
Wilma Green Williams
* Founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.