Heraldry in the Wild

I've said it many times before, and it continues to prove true:

You can find heraldry everywhere!

The most recent occasion for me was on one of my regular visits to a local gym. (At my age, I've got to do what I can to keep my body from deteriorating further, so I try to get there four times a week: twice to work on building up the sometimes painful right shoulder (one of my docs thinks it's got arthritis) and a half hour of cardio; and twice for the aqua fitness program that helps me stay flexible.)

Anyway, as I said, there I was in the gym parking lot early one morning and right there out in the "wilds" of Cedar Hill, Texas, I saw this:

On a custom automobile license plate, the arms of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and just in case you didn't quite catch it, the plate was surrounded by a license plate holder proclaiming the driver to be a "proud member of S[outh]W[est] D[allas] C[ounty] A[lumnae]" Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.

The Chapter's website notes that: "SWDCA is known for its diversity and leadership within the community. Our members are leaders in every facet of life within Delta Sigma Theta and their professional careers. With Service, Scholarship, Sisterhood, and Social Action at the forefront of our mission, SWDCA is a welcoming space for all members."

Delta Sigma Theta is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman, regardless of religion, race, or nationality.

And here's a clearer image of the sorority's coat of arms, taken from Wikipedia:

As heraldry, sure, there can be some quibbles about the design and choice of colors. (For example: The cream color used here has the same issue as Pope Leo XIV's recently announced coat of arms; is it supposed to be argent [white] or or [gold/yellow]? On the other hand, it is certainly no worse, and in many cases is distinctly better, than the "arms" of many other American collegiate fraternities and sororities.

Still and all, it was fun to run across a coat of arms unexpectedly, out in the "wild" of a local gym parking lot.