Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated ® (AKA), an international service organization, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-educated women.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated® is comprised of more than 360,000 initiated members in graduate and undergraduate chapters located in 12 nations and territories, including the United States, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, Liberia, Nigeria, South Korea, South Africa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Led by International President & CEO Danette Anthony Reed of Dallas, Texas, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is often hailed as “America’s premier Greek-letter organization for African American women.”
Photos Courtesy of Wikipedia
The original group was comprised of Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgemon Lyle, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Slowe, and Marie Woolfolk Taylor.
With the exception of Ethel, the original group of women was comprised of college seniors. To continue the growth of the organization, seven members of the class of 1910 were invited to join without initiation. The sophomores were Norma Boyd, Ethel Jones Mowbray, Alice Murray, Sarah Meriweather Nutter, Joanna Berry Shields, Carrie Snowden, and Harriet Terry.
The first step of establishing a national body in perpetuity was taken on Wednesday, January 29, 1913, when Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was legally incorporated. The group of incorporators included Nellie Quander, Julia Brooks, Nellie Pratt Russell, and Minnie Smith.
Mission and Purpose
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® was founded on a mission of five basic tenets that have remained unchanged since the sorority’s inception. Our mission 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.”
