BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Alpha Kappa Alpha
| Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| ΑΚΑ | |
 | |
| Founded | January 15, 1908[1] Howard University |
| Type | Social |
| Emphasis | Service to all mankind |
| Scope | International |
| Motto | By Merit and By Culture[1] |
| Colors | Apple Green[1] |
| Symbol | Ivy leaf[1] |
| Flower | Tea Rose[1] |
| Publication | Ivy Leaf magazine[1] |
| Chapters | 983[2][3] |
| Headquarters | 5656 S. Stony Island Ave. Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Homepage | aka1908.com |
Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. Membership is primarily for college educated women, but not all members have attended college.[4] The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of twenty students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African-American women in areas where little power or authority existed due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early 20th century.[5] Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913.
Consisting of college-educated women of many diverse backgrounds from around the world, including, but not limited to, African,Caucasian, Asian, Native American, Hispanic and Indian descent, the sorority serves through a membership of more than 250,000 women in over 900 chapters in the United States and several other countries.[6] Women may join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or they may also join through a graduate chapter after acquiring an undergraduate or advanced college degree.[7]
After the organization's establishment over a century ago, Alpha Kappa Alpha has helped to improve social and economic conditions through community service programs. Members have improved education through independent initiatives, contributed to community-building by creating programs and associations, such as the Mississippi Health Clinic, and influenced federal legislation byCongressional lobbying through the National Non-Partisan Lobby on Civil and Democratic Rights. The sorority works with communities through service initiatives and progressive programs relating to education, family, health, and business.
Alpha Kappa Alpha is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). The current International President is Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, and the sorority's document and pictorial archives are located at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.
History
Beginnings: 1907–1912
In spring 1907, Ethel Hedgeman led efforts to create a sisterhood at Howard University. Howard faculty member Ethal Robinson encouraged Hedgeman by relating her own observances of sorority life at the Women's College at Brown University, even though she was not a member of any sorority while a student at Brown.[11][12] Hedgeman was also inspired by her mentors at Howard. To implement her idea, Hedgeman began recruiting interested classmates during the summer of 1907.[13]
Eventually, nine women including Hedgeman were instrumental in organizing Alpha Kappa Alpha in the fall of 1907.[11][13] With Hedgeman serving as the temporary chairperson,[12] the women wrote the sorority's constitution, devised the motto, chose the favorite colors, and named the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.[11] Later in 1908, seven sophomore honor students expressed interest in joining and were accepted without initiation.[11][14] The first initiation was held in a wing of Miner Hall on Howard University on February 11, 1909.[15][16] On May 25, 1909, Alpha Kappa Alpha held its first "Ivy Week," a celebration that included planting ivy at Miner Hall.[17]
Struggles and Incorporation: 1912–1913[edit]
Alpha Kappa Alpha continued to grow at Howard. By the end of the 1911–12 school year, there were more than twenty members of the sorority and the organization had become an influential part of student life at Howard.[18] Following the annual celebration "Ivy Day" on Howard campus in Spring 1912, founder and former Basileus Nellie Quander learned that several other newly initiated members of the sorority planned to change the colors, letters, and constitution of the sorority, and to make it more active outside Howard University. On January 13, 1913, the entire twenty-two-member undergraduate chapter voted to transform the original Alpha Kappa Alpha into Delta Sigma Theta. Quander actively worked to maintain the integrity and tenets of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She, along with the women who had become ΑΚΑs during the four years of the sorority's existence who had since graduated, elected to remain Alpha Kappa Alpha. Quander set up a three-person committee that successfully petitioned to incorporate ΑΚΑ as a perpetual entity. Alpha Kappa Alpha was nationally incorporated on January 29, 1913.[19]
| Alpha Kappa Alpha Officer Titles[1] | |
|---|---|
| "Basileus" | President |
| "Anti-Basileus" | Vice-President |
| "Grammateus" | Recording Secretary |
| "Anti-Grammateus" | Assistant Secretary |
| "Pecunious Grammateus" | Financial Secretary |
| "Tamiouchos" | Treasurer |
| "Epistoleus" | Corresponding Secretary |
| "Hodegos" | Hostess |
| "Philacter" | Sergeant at Arms |
Expansion and initial implementation of programs: 1913–1940[edit]
Alpha Kappa Alpha continued to grow nationally. A second chapter at the University of Chicago was chartered in fall 1913.[21] The sorority played an active role in voicing concerns of the day. The women, former members who started Delta Sigma Theta, participated in the 1913Women's Suffrage March.[22] In addition, Alpha Kappa Alpha helped to support members by providing scholarship funds for school and foreign studies.[23] Alpha Kappa Alpha began to unite members at the annual Boulé, the sorority's governing body.[1] The sorority's pledge was written by Grace Edwards and was adopted by the 1920 Boulé.[24] In addition, the sorority's crest was designed by Phyllis Wheatley Waters and accepted in the same Boulé.[24] A year later, at the 1921 Boulé, theIvy Leaf was designated as "the official organ of Alpha Kappa Alpha," and Founders' Week, paying honor to ΆKΆ's founders was established.[24][25] Pearls were first introduced to the sorority in the same year.[24] The sorority membership pin was accepted in the following Boulé in Kansas City, Missouri.[26] At the 1947 Boulé, pins for honorary members were designed and approved.[27]
On May 10, 1930, Alpha Kappa Alpha, along with the fraternities Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi and sororities Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta, formed the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) at Howard University.[28] Currently consisting of nine predominately black fraternities and sororities, NPHC promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information, and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions.[28]
Throughout the Great Migration, members assisted the Travelers Aid Society, to help thousands of Southern Blacks adjust to Northern society, find housing and navigate around the city. They also volunteered at the Freedman's Hospital.[25]
In April 1933, during the Great Depression, International President Ida Jackson visited All Saints Industrial School inLexington, Mississippi. She found difficult conditions in the Mississippi Delta. Some of the teachers themselves did not have an education past the seventh grade. African Americans were trying to make a living sharecropping on plantation land as agricultural prices continued to fall.[29][30] In summer 1934, Ida Jackson initiated the Summer School for Rural Teachers to train future teachers. She worked with a total of 22 student teachers and 243 school children. In addition, she held night classes for 48 adults.[31] By obtaining 2600 books for the school's library, Jackson made it "the largest library owned by white or colored in all Holmes County."[31]
In summer 1938, Ida Jackson focused on poverty and established a regional health clinic. She had acquired $1,000 from the Boulé to fund the project in December 1935.[32] The clinic evolved into the Mississippi Health Project, with Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee appointed as the director.[32]
The Mississippi Health Project brought primary medical care to the rural Black population across the state for six summers.[33][34] The program has been recognized as the first mobile health clinic in the United States, assisting approximately 15,000 people in the Mississippi Delta.[35] The project was noted for helping to decrease cases diphtheria and smallpox in the region and to improve nutritional and dental practices throughout rural Mississippi.[36][37]
Led by incorporator Norma Elizabeth Boyd, the sorority created the National Non-Partisan Lobby on Civil and Democratic Rights (NPC) in 1938, later renamed the National Non-Partisan Council on Public Affairs. It was the first full-time congressional lobby for minority group civil rights.[36][38] Throughout the organization's life, the Non-Partisan Council worked with the NAACP, National Urban League, The United Office and Professional Workers of America, The National Association of Graduate Nurses, the American Federation of Churches, the Colored Women's Club, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Auxiliary, and the New York Voter's League.[39] The NPC was dissolved on July 15, 1948, by twelfth Supreme Basileus Edna Over Gray-Campbell.[38][38] A year later, Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first sorority to apply for life membership in the NAACP.[40]
To replace the NPC, in August 1945, Alpha Kappa Alpha established the American Council on Human Rights (ACHR). The council made recommendations to the governmentconcerning civil rights legislation.[41] The ACHR was proposed at the 1946 Boulé.[41] In October 1946, Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first sorority to obtain observer status at theUnited Nations.[42] On January 25, 1948, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho sororities and Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma fraternities were charter members of the ACHR.[43] Kappa Alpha Psi later was included in March 1949.[44][45]
On September 1, 1945, Alpha Kappa Alpha established The National Health Office in New York City.[35] The National Health Office coordinated activities with local chapters and worked with the ACHC to promote health initiatives before Congress, increase the number of student nurses, and improve the state of health programs at historically Black Colleges and Universities.[46] The National Health Office was dissolved in 1951, as its goals were incorporated into the sorority's international program.[47]
Civil rights and educational training: 1950–1970
Throughout the fifties, sixties, and seventies, members helped to sponsor job training, reading enrichment, heritage and youth programs. By encouraging youth to improve math, science, and reading skills, the sorority continued a legacy of community service and pledged to enrich the lives of others. Financially, Alpha Kappa Alpha expanded funding for projects in 1953 through the creation and trademark of a fashion show called FashionettaTM.[27][48] Politically, ACHR continued lobbying for equality concerning civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s. According to Collier-Thomas, the ACHR drew attention to legislation concerning education, transportation, employment, and improving equality in thearmed forces and public places.[49] The ACHR participated in filing civil rights cases in amicus curiae with Bolling v. Sharpe and 1954's Brown v. Board of Education.[50] However, as a whole, ACHR voted to dissolve operations in 1963.[50]
Alpha Kappa Alpha contributed programs for inner city youth by capitalizing on political gains in the White House. On August 20, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed theEconomic Opportunity Act, which allowed the creation of the Job Corps.[51] The sorority wanted to operate a job training center for students. Led by president Julia Purnell, ΆKΆ negotiated with the Office of Economic Opportunity to operate a women's center from October 1964 to January 1965.[51] Alpha Kappa Alpha was awarded a US$4 million grant to operate the Cleveland Job Corps on February 12, 1965, becoming the first sorority to operate a federal job training center.[34][51] Beginning in 1965, the Cleveland Job Corps trained female high school dropouts, aged 16 to 21, with job and educational skills. In 1976, the Cleveland Job Corps accepted males.[34] The sorority operated the Cleveland Job Corps until 1995.[52]
The sorority educated the community through highlighting the accomplishments of notable individuals by publishing The Heritage Series between 1968 and 1972.[16] Thesepamphlets were a series of biographies of top African-American women. Altogether, the entire collection contained "Women in the Judiciary," "Women in Politics," "Women inMedicine," "Women in Business," and "Women in Dentistry."[53] Alpha Kappa Alpha also donated $20,000 for preserving Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthplace in Atlanta, Georgia, in the early 1970's.[54] In 1978, during the sorority's seventieth anniversary, the Memorial Window at Howard University was dedicated to the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Surviving founders Lavinia Norman and Norma Boyd attended the celebration of unveiling the Memorial Window, designed by Lois Mailou Jones.[55]
Bridging toward the twenty-first century: 1980–2007
Soon after the sorority's 75th anniversary, Alpha Kappa Alpha contributed funds to decrease Africa's poverty with the establishment of African Village Development Program (AVDP).[56] As a conjoint program with Africare, the sorority sought to decrease poverty in African villages.[34][56] In collaboration with the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), the sorority built ten schools in South Africa after apartheid ended, and it donated computer technology to the region.[34][57]
Throughout the 1990s, the sorority continued to provide after-school mentoring programs, such as ON TRACK.[34] ON TRACK, an acronym which stands for "Organizing, Nurturing, Team building, Respecting, Achieving, Counseling and Knowing," was designed to help the progress of 20,000 third graders who were at-risk of failing their education.[58] Sponsored by Daimler Chrysler, ON TRACK was designated to "improve communication, academics, physical and emotional health, peer leadership, etiquette, and interpersonal relationships."[34][58] In addition, programs such as the Ivy Reading AKAdemy and Young Authors Program improved elementary reading comprehension skills, while P.I.M.S. highlighted programs in math and science.[34]
The purpose of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, to promote unity and friendship among college women, to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature, to maintain a progressive interest in college life, and to be of service to all mankind.
Sorority Creed[60]
The sorority responded to the call for help in fall 2005 afterHurricane Katrina, by raising money for a disaster relief fund.[56] In July 2007, through Habitat for Humanity, the sorority helped build a house in New Orleans for a family that survived Hurricane Katrina.[61]
In addition to educational programs, Alpha Kappa Alpha contributed to drawing awareness to health-related issues, such as AIDS, sickle cell anemia, breast cancer, and the importance of staying in shape.[56][62][63] Recently, the sorority has supported the efforts of justice for the Jena Six.[64] Also, the sorority connects to the past by partnering with African Ancestry.[65] Sorority members may use African Ancestry's DNA testing to find genealogical data for themselves and their families. The purpose of the partnership is to help members trace family connections through the world as well as in Africa, to embrace African-American culture and the larger community.[66]
Centennial celebration: 2008
Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrated their centenary with a year-long commemoration in 2008. The celebration coincided with the sorority's biennial Boulé.[67] Internationally, some Alpha Kappa Alpha members began marking the festivities by making a pilgrimage to Howard University from January 12 to January 15, 2008.[67][68] The activities included sorority members financially donating $1 million in scholarship funds to Howard University,[69] contributing libraries for Middle School for Mathematics and Science and Asbury Dwelling for Senior Citizens, and unveiling a digital version of the entire Ivy Leaf publication.[70] In addition, sorority undergraduate and graduate members who were not available to attend ceremonies in Washington, D.C., held celebrations in local cities.[71][72] On July 11 to July 18, 2008, Alpha Kappa Alpha held their 63rd Boulé. A town hall meeting with the public, a unity march in conjunction with other NPHC members, and a concert featuring R&B Grammy Award winning singer Patti LaBelle were some of the events which occurred at the centennial Boulé.[73] On July 17, 2008, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority set a Guinness World Record when 16,206 members set a record by having the largest-ever silver service sit-down dinner in a convention.[74]
Alpha Kappa Alpha's accomplishments were heralded by the United States Congress, with U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and sorority memberU.S. Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, who both agreed to pass legislation in both houses of the United States Congress to commemorate the sorority's founding.[75] In addition, the toy company Mattel designed a Barbie collectible doll fashioned with a pink and green evening gown.[76][77]
Lawsuits, forensic audits, and IRS review of former president
On June 20, 2009, eight Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court demanding that International President Barbara McKinzie be fired for improper use of sorority funds and the money be returned to the sorority.[78] The lawsuit claimed that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated's Executive Board approved the spending of substantial amounts on McKinzie's costs of living, including commissioning an expensive wax model of McKinzie. In response, McKinzie denied the allegations, describing them as "without merit."[79][80][81]
In February 2010, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit.[82][83] On August 18, 2011, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals reversed the previous decision.[84][85]
On March 22, 2012, a forensic audit of Alpha Kappa Alpha's 2010 financial records revealed troubling concerns with past president, Barbara McKinzie's development and access to a "secret" bank account. The audit of the sorority led to findings that supported the claims in the previous lawsuit. The audit also found two former officials continued to use sorority credit cards after their service ended, failing to appropriately document charges. Another lawsuit against the organization, the former president McKinzie and other officials contained similar allegations. The audit found that McKinzie and the other officials secretly created a second set of financial books to get around the sorority's accounting policies. According to the audit, "(n)early $1.7 million in payments were made to the former president, Barbara McKinzie, without authorization. Approximately $282,000 in credit card charges on a second set of books appear to be fraudulent, including personal charges the sorority wasn't reimbursed for."[86]
Also the sorority's tax returns were audited by the Internal Revenue Service. The audit was expected to be concluded sometime in January 2012.[86]
Membership
Further information: List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters
Alpha Kappa Alpha reports a membership of over 200,000 college-trained women around the world. The sorority has over 49,000 active members who comprise a diverse constituency, from educators to heads of state, politicians, lawyers, medical professionals, media personalities, and corporate managers. Graduate members constitute the largest percentage of membership.[6] Alpha Kappa Alpha has 950 chapters, located in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan.
The term soror, derived from the Latin for "sister",[87] is used between members of the sorority. Membership of the Directorate includes the Board of Directors. For graduate chapters, "Omega" is added to distinguish those which consist of college graduates from undergraduate chapters. "Supreme," as a term, is amended to an international officeholder, such as Supreme Basileus.[1] Deceased members are referred to as "Ivies Beyond the Wall".[1]
Honorary membership[88] is Alpha Kappa Alpha's highest honor.[6] For example, Jane Addams, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is among the first honorary members.[89] Eleanor Roosevelt, a former First Lady and wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was made an honorary member. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Senator and First Lady, and wife of President Bill Clinton, initially accepted honorary membership into Alpha Kappa Alpha.[90] In July 2008, Michelle Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton University when she attended. However, Clinton would later decline initiation into the organization due to the sorority's exclusive requirement preventing acceptance into other NPHC organizations, and desired her membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha to be "non-exclusive."[90][91]
Membership interest and intake
The Ivy Leaf Pledge Club was the official pledge club of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[92] The club consisted of potential candidates who were interested in joining the sorority. Interested members would join the pledge club before being inducted into the sorority.[93]
In Our Kind of People: Inside America's Upper Class, Lawrence Otis Graham tells of his aunt's experience in joining the Ivy Pledge Club:
| “ | We had to learn a lot more about the historic beginnings of the AKAs, and we did it by writing long letters of application to the Ivy Leaf Pledge Club—the senior wing of the sorority that regulated the admissions process—and then attending monthly meetings where the older students tutored us on the history.[94] | ” |
In addition, according to Graham, the sorority would have "Pledge Week", a period where a candidate's grades and behavior were reviewed by chapter members. Candidates who withstood this period were initiated into the sorority.[94] Membership interest is processed by an interest meeting, known as a "rush". After the candidate receives an official letter from the sorority, she can participate in the membership intake process. Prospective members must have a C+ average prior to their membership submission as well as have a record in community service. If a prospective member has graduated, that member could be invited to join the sorority at the discretion of the graduate chapter.[95]
Leadership: Founders and Executive Directors
The leadership of the sorority in the early years was derived from three separate groups—the original group, the sophomores and the incorporators, who together were known as "The Twenty Pearls."[1][96] The Executive Director position has been held by eight members since the office's creation on October 9, 1949.[97]
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