Alpha Kappa Alpha

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Alpha Kappa Alpha
ΆΚΆ
The official crest of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
The official crest of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Founded (1908-01-15) January 15, 1908 (age 116)
Howard University
TypeSocial
ScopeInternational

 United States,  Germany,  Japan,  Bahamas, Liberia,  Jamaica,  United States Virgin Islands,  Bermuda,  Canada,  South Korea
MottoBy Culture, By Merit[1]
ColorsSalmon Pink █ and
Apple Green █
SymbolIvy Leaf
FlowerPink Tea Rose
PublicationIvy Leaf
Chapters900+
NicknameΆKΆ
Headquarters5656 S. Stony Island Ave
Chicago, Illinois
USA
WebsiteAlpha Kappa Alpha official website
For almost a century, Alpha Kappa Alpha has answered the call to solve the world's intricacies by working to create service initiatives and programs to improve communities.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΆΚΆ) is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. The organization remains a predominantly Black sorority. The sorority's membership, however, includes women of Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic descent. The sorority serves all mankind through a nucleus of more than 200,000 women in over 950 chapters.[2] Alpha Kappa Alpha women can be found on every continent in the world.[3] Alpha Kappa Alpha has responded to the world’s increasing complexity and continues to empower communities through service initiatives and progressive programs which have a direct impact on the Black community.[4]

Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded on January 15, 1908, in Miner Hall on the campus of Howard University (38.923019°N -77.021721°E / 38.923019°N 77.021721°W / 38.923019; -77.021721 Coordinates: longitude degrees < 0 with hemisphere flag
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid longitude) by nine college students. The sorority gives back to the community through service projects primarily relating to education, family, health, and business. Members can join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university, or after acquiring a degree through a graduate chapter. The current International President is Barbara A. McKinzie. The sorority is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

History

Students gathering near Miner Hall at Howard University in 1870.[5]Miner Hall was the site of Alpha Kappa Alpha's founding on January 15, 1908.[6] The building was demolished in 1961.[7]

Beginnings: 1907–1912

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.[8] — Sorority Creed

The efforts into creating the sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha were led by Ethel Hedgeman in 1908 at Howard University. Hedgeman was persuaded by Ethel Robinson, a faculty member at Howard who also shared her sorority experiences with Lyle at Brown University in 1907.[9][10] Hedgeman was also inspired by her then high school and college sweetheart George Lyle, a charter member the Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Howard in 1907.[11] In order to proliferate her idea in forming a sorority, Hedgeman began recruiting interested classmates.

A 1921 Certificate of Membership from the Gamma Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [12]

Eventually nine women, along with Hedgeman, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Lucy Diggs Slowe, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Marie Woolfolk Taylor, Anna Easter Brown, and Lavinia Norman were involved in the instrumental phases in organizing the sorority.[9] As the main founder, Hedgeman was also the temporary chairperson of the sorority in the organizational phases.[10] In addition, Lucy Diggs Slowe was influential in writing the organization's constitution and, later, was elected as the sorority's first president. The nine also organized the sorority's motto, colors, as well as the name.[9] The first initiation was held in Miner Hall of Howard University on February 11, 1909. The first initiates were Ella Albert Brown, Mary Clifford, Lena Jenkins, Mabel Gibson, Ruth Gilbert, and Nellie Pratt Russell.[13][12] Later, seven other sophomores expressed interest in the sorority. These women, Norma Elizabeth Boyd, Alice P. Murray, Ethel Jones Mowbray, Sarah Meriweather Nutter, Joanna Mary Berry Shields, Carrie Snowden, and Harriett Josephine Terry were accepted without initiation.[9]

The "Twenty Pearls" are representative of the founders and the incorporators of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[1] Pearls were first introduced to the sorority in 1921.[14]

Cession and formation of Delta Sigma Theta: 1912–1913

Main article: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

To expand the sorority at Howard, new members were initiated. On October 11, 1912, seven officers were chosen for the sorority: Myra Hemmings, president; Ethel Black, vice-president, Edith Young, secretary; Jessie Dent, corresponding secretary, Winona Alexander, custodian; Frederica Dodd, sergeant-at-arms, and Pauline Minor was the treasurer.[15][16] The group began to be dismayed at the progress of the sorority and wanted to nationalize.[17][18] According to Giddings, the group wanted to "establish a national organization, enlarge the scope of activities of the sorority, change its name and symbols, and be more politically oriented."[18] When the word was spread to Nellie Quander, a graduate member, about changing the sorority namesake, she was said to be "horrified" at the proposal and gave the women who disagreed with her a deadline to terminate the efforts of reorganizing the sorority.[19]

However, the seven women declined the offer, and formed Delta Sigma Theta with fifteen other women on January 13, 1913.[20] Later, Quander led the group which incorporated Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as a perpetual body on January 29, 1913.[21] Quander, along with Nellie Pratt Russell, Julia Evangeline Brooks, Norma Elizabeth Boyd, Ethel Jones Mowbray, and Minnie B. Smith incorporated the sorority.[13] The organization was nationally incorporated in Washington, D.C., as a non-profit under the name Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on January 30, 1913.[22] During the same year the sorority began using Greek names for officers.[23]

A 1934 issue of Ivy Leaf, Alpha Kappa Alpha's official organ[1]
A close up of a Alpha Phi Alpha delegate badge from the 23rd Boulè. Held in Kansas City, the tri-convention — consisting of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi — was held from December 27 through 31st in Kansas City, Missouri.[12][24]

World War II and the Great Depression: 1920–1940

The sorority continued to grow in membership with additional resources. The sorority's pledge was written by Grace Edwards and was adopted by the 1920 Boulè.[25] In addition, the sorority's crest was designed by Phyllis Wheatley Waters and accepted in the same Boulè.[26] A year later, at the 1921 Boulè, the Ivy Leaf was designated as "the official organ of Alpha Kappa Alpha."[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, founded 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, helping Southern Blacks adjust to North society, and volunteered at the Freedman's Hospital.[29] In April 1933, soon-to-be eight Supreme Basileus Ida Jackson visited All Saints Industrial School in Lexington, Mississippi. The principal described the deplorable conditions around the Mississippi Delta — such as teachers not having an education past the seventh grade and African-Americans settling on plantation land.[30][31] In the summer of 1934, the Summer School for Rural Teachers was initiated. Twenty-two students and 243 school children were involved. In addition, night classes were held for forty-eight adults.[32] Furthermore, Jackson attained 2600 books for the school's library, making the library "the largest library owned by white or colored in all Holmes County."[32] In the second summer, Jackson focused on the region's poverty and adopted a health clinic. In December 1934, Jackson had acquired $1,000 from the Boulè for funding the project.[33] The health clinic eventually evolved into the Mississippi Health Project, with Jackson serving as the founder and Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee as the director.[33]

The Mississippi Health Project operated for six summers to bring primary medical care to the rural Black population across the state of Mississippi.[34][35] The Mississippi Health Project is recognized as the first mobile health clinic in the United States, and noted for its work to eliminate diphtheria and smallpox and improve nutritional and dental practices throughout rural Mississippi.[36][37]

File:Akams2.jpg
Dorothy Ferebee (center) and the Mississippi Health Project staff, 1937.[34]

Under the leadership of Norma Boyd, Alpha Kappa Alpha also established of the American Council on Human Rights ("ACHR"), the first sorority or fraternity organization recognized as an accredited observer by the United Nations. The ACHR was eventually reorganized to include other members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

File:AKAMedicineheritage.jpg
"Women in Medicine" was the fourth pamphlet published in Alpha Kappa Alpha's The Heritage Series in 1971.[38]

Civil rights, technology and educational training: 1950–1970

File:AKAEyeBeholder.jpg
Alpha Kappa Alpha: In the Eye of the Beholder by 15th International President Marjorie Parker. The book was published in 1979. The cover shows a picture of the founders' memorial window in Rankin Chapel at Howard University.

Throughout the era including the 1950s and 1980s, the path was paved for members to sponsor job training, reading enrichment, heritage, and youth programs.

Between 1968 to 1972, Alpha Kappa Alpha published The Heritage Series.[12] The Heritage Series consisted of five pamphlets, consisting of biographies of top African-American women in judiciary, politics, medicine, business, and dentistry.[39] In 1978, during the sorority's seventieth anniversary, the Memorial Window at Howard University was dedicated to the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Designed by Lois Mailou Jones, the unveiling of the Memorial Window was seen by surviving founders Lavinia Norman and Norma Boyd.[40] Almost five years later, in 1983, portraits of the founders were unveiled. The oil portraits were painted by Ernest McNealey.[41]

Bridging Towards the Twenty-first Century: 1980–2007

In 1999, the sorority adopted a strict anti-hazing policy which is against "underground hazing, financial hazing, pre-pledging, post-pledging and post-initiation pledging."[42] However, on September 9, 2002, after undergoing a ceremony at Dockweiler State Beach (Pacific Ocean), twenty-two year old Kristin High and twenty-four year old Kenitha Saafir were swept into a ten foot surf, killing them.[43] The Los Angeles Police Department determined that the deaths were accidental.[44] The two California State University students were interested in joining Alpha Kappa Alpha through an unauthorized chapter which was not recognized by the national organization nor the university.[43]

As a result of the incident, Kristin High's family filed a US$100 million wrongful death lawsuit on September 23 in Los Angeles District Court.[43] The suit claimed that the two women lost sleep while performing tasks for the members of the underground sorority, carried out physical exercises on the beach, wore jogging clothes and tennis shoes.[45] According the lawsuit, which was reported by CNN, the two women were "blindfolded and tied by their hands and their bodies and led into the rip tide conditions of the ocean."[45]

In 2007, Alpha Kappa Alpha supported NPHC member Alpha Phi Alpha in the denunciation of the film, Stomp the Yard for unauthorized use of the Fraternity’s symbols and trademarks. The support from the sorority aided in a resolution to the satisfaction of the Fraternity, producers Rainforest Productions, Sony Pictures and Screen Gems.[46] The sorority continues to assist the community by contributing to education through the "Ivy Reading AKAdemy", service related projects, and serves as a community organ. With the assistance of Habitat for Humanity, the sorority helped build a house for a family that survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans during the summer.[47] Recently, the sorority has supported the efforts of justice for the Jena Six.[48]

Centennial Celebration: January 15, 2008

By Culture,
By Merit

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Motto[1]

Alpha Kappa Alpha will celebrate their centennial anniversary of founding with a yearlong commemoration, will consist of a week of recognizing accolades in Washington, D.C. The celebration will also concur with the sorority's biennial Boulè.[49] In addition, the organization will be celebrating their centennial by making a pilgrimage to Howard University from January 12 to January 15, 2008.[49][50]

The sorority has connected to the past by associating with African Ancestry.[51] African Ancestry's DNA testing will be used to find genealogical chronology for families of sorority members. The purpose of the partnership is to trace familiar relativity throughout the world as well as in Africa so as to fully embrace the self recognition of the African-American culture and the community at large.[52]

Membership

Further information: [[:List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters, Honorary members of Alpha Kappa Alpha|List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters, § honorary Honorary members of Alpha Kappa Alpha]]
Alpha Kappa Alpha's National Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois

Alpha Kappa Alpha asserts that membership is "comprised of over 200,000 college-trained women from around the world. The sorority has an active membership of over 49,000 members who represent a diverse constituency of women, from educators to heads of state, politicians, lawyers, medical professionals, media personalities, and decision-makers of major corporations. Graduate members constitute the largest percentage of membership."[2] Alpha Kappa Alpha has 950 chapters located in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan.

The term "soror," which is Latin for "sister," is used between members of the sorority. Membership of the Directorate includes the Board of Directors. "Omega" is amended to graduate chapters (chapters which consist of college graduates). "Ivy Beyond the Wall" refers to a deceased member of the sorority. "Supreme" is referenced to international officeholder.[1]

   Αlpha 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

Honorary membership is the highest honor that the sorority presents to prospective members.[2] For example, Jane Addams, was the first honorary member.[53] Eleanor Roosevelt, a former First Lady and wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Senator Hillary Clinton, a former First Lady and wife of President Bill Clinton, initially accepted honorary membership into Alpha Kappa Alpha, but later declined due to the sorority's exclusive requirements which would prevent her from accepting honorary membership in other NPHC organizations.[54]

Membership interest and intake

An "Ivy Leaf Pledge Club" located at Wilberforce University in 1922

The Ivy Leaf Pledge Club was the official pledge club of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[55] The club consisted of potential candidates who were interested in joining the sorority. For example, at Wilberforce University, the Ivy Leaf Pledge Club's motto was "nothing but the highest" and their colors were pink and blue.[56] Interested members would join the pledge club before being inducted into the sorority.[57] 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.[58]

File:Aka1932.jpg
An Ivy Leaf Pledge Club from 1932
File:Akapledgepin.jpg
Ivy Leaf Pledge Club pin from Alpha Chapter of Howard University

In addition, according to Graham, the sorority would have a "Pledge Week", a period where a candidate's grades and behavior were examined by chapter members. Candidates who withstood this period were subsequently initiated into the sorority.[58] Currently, in undergraduate chapters, membership interest is processed by an interest meeting, which is also known as a "rush". After the candidate receives an official letter from the sorority's headquarters, 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.[59]

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, whose combination is well known as "The Twenty Pearls".[60] The Executive Director position has been held by eight members since the office's creation on October 9, 1949.[61]

Original Group
of 1908 		Sophomores
of 1910 		Incorporators
of 1913[21] 		Executive Directors[62]
Anna Easter Brown Norma Elizabeth Boyd Nellie M. Quander Carey B. Maddox-Preston
1948–1974
Beulah Elizabeth Burke Ethel Jones Mowbray Norma Elizabeth Boyd Anne Mitchem-Davis
1974–1980
Lillie Burke Alice P. Murray Julia Evangeline Brooks Earnestine G. McNealey
1980–1985
Marjorie Hill Sarah Meriweather Nutter Ethel Jones Mowbray Barbara A. McKinzie
1985–1987
Margaret Flagg Holmes Joanna Mary Berry Shields Nellie Pratt Russell Nan D. Johnson
1987–1988

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle

Carrie Snowden Minnie B. Smith Alison Harris Alexander
1989–1996
Lavinia Norman Harriett Josephine Terry Emma Lilly Henderson
1997–1998
Lucy Diggs Slowe Carey B. Maddox-Preston
1998–1999
Marie Woolfolk Taylor Betty N. James
1999–Present

International Presidents

The Boulè

The Boulè is the regulating institution of the sorority and currently meets every two years.[1] Throughout the years at the Boulè conferences, notable individuals such as civil rights activists Martin Luther King, Jr. and Roy Wilkins, former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, Johnnie Cochran, First Lady Laura Bush, former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were notable speakers. The following are the list of Boulè conferences which were held by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated:[12]

Notes: No Boulè occurred in 1942 due to World War II. The 41st Boulè was the last meeting which was scheduled around the Christmas holiday. After the 41st Boulè, Boulè meetings were held every two years.

Regions

The nine regions of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority within the United States[63]

Beginning in 1924, after the establishment of 32 graduate and undergraduate chapters, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority organized chapters according to their regions in the United States and abroad. The Boulé determines the boundaries of the regions.[64] The ten regions are each led by a regional director, where she serves a member of the sorority's Board of Directors. In addition to serving on the sorority's Board of Directors, the regional director also follows guidelines, program targets set by the International President, as well as procedures.[64] Almost two-thirds of the sorority's regional directors have been elected international presidents.[64] A comprehensive list of regions is shown below:

Current platform

File:AKAESP.jpg
Alpha Kappa Alpha's ESP logo for Barbara A. McKinzie's 2006-2010 administration

The National Program theme for 2006-2010 administration, led under Alpha Kappa Alpha's International President Barbara A. McKinzie, is "The Heart of ESP: An Extraordinary Service Program." ESP is an acronym for Economics, Sisterhood, and Partnerships.[65] The purpose of ESP is to energize and strengthen service to the community and sisterhood within Alpha Kappa Alpha. The five platforms included in the International Program and implemented in the Ivy Reading AKAdemy are:

  • Platform I - Non-Traditional Entrepreneur
  • Platform II - Economic Keys to Success
  • Platform III - The Economic Growth of the Black Family
  • Platform IV - Undergraduate Signature Program: Economic Educational Advancement Through Technology
  • Platform V - Health Resource Management and Economics

On April 21, 2007, Centennial International President Barbara McKinzie announced at North Carolina A&T that the Undergraduate Signature Program, Economic Educational Advancement through Technology, would provide free technology training at ten universities, (five are HBCUs), which include the following:[66]

National programs

Ivy Reading AKAdemy

The ivy is a symbol of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[1]

The Ivy Reading AKAdemy provides programs that encourage the entire community to become involved and serves as an educational and human resource center for programs provided by Alpha Kappa Alpha. Working with No Child Left Behind in mind, "The Ivy Reading AKAdemy", a reading initiative, focuses on early learning and mastery of basic reading skills for by the end of third grade. A $1.5 million dollar proposal is currently pending with the United States Department of Education to fund a three-year nationwide after-school demonstration project in low-performing, economically deprived inner city schools in 16 sites within the continental United States.[35]

P.I.M.S. (Partnerships in Mathematics and Science)

As a college sorority, we've always advanced an educational agenda. We always had high GPA requirements. And more than ever, we're pushing the importance of math and science for our girls. We need more black women in those fields. — Linda Evans, 24th International President.[67]

Partnerships in Mathematics and Science (P.I.M.S.) began as a part of the S.P.I.R.I.T. program during the Linda White administration. The program's purpose is to increase the successes of youth in mathematics, science, as well as technology. Several chapters provided summer camps which consisted of on hand learning through laboratory interactions, field trips to important sites, and speeches from influential experts in specific areas of studies.[35] For example, a P.I.M.S. program at Park Street Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia, consisted of third through fifth grade girls, and provided educational field trips in order to stimulate involvement in math and science.[68]

Young Authors Program

The Pink Tea Rose is the official flower of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[1]

Teaching our children to read is the most critical educational priority facing our country. Children who do not learn to read by third grade continue to find reading a challenge throughout their lives. These expectations increase in amount and complexity each year. — First Lady Laura Bush. July 15, 2004.[69]

In Linda White's administration, the Young Authors Program was born. The purpose of the program is to encourage and raise involvement in reading and writing in kindergarten through third grade school children. Each of the ten regions in the sorority had the opportunity to choose a child's story to be published in a two volume anthology entitled, The Spirit Within: Voices of Young Authors.[35] In 2004, twenty children were honored in the first anthology.[70] The authors were recognized and performed book signings in the 2004 and 2006 Boulés.[35] At the 2004 Boulé in Nashville, Tennessee, First Lady Laura Bush spoke on the importance of reading, and former Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige attended.[70]

Leadership Fellows Program

File:Aka pin.jpg
The green enameled ivy leaf is the official pin of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.[21]

The Leadership Fellows Program is a fully funded event in which sophomore and junior undergraduate members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority from across the nation and overseas are individually training for professional leadership roles as well as are contributing to community service for one week. Thirty are selected for the program annually. One of the selection criteria is that members must have at least a 3.0 GPA.[71] The program initially was planned in 1978. In the following year, the first program was held in Indiana with twenty-nine students.[35] Various cities around the United States have held the Leadership Fellows Program. In the past, Alpha Kappa Alpha has sponsored the event through the Educational Advancement Foundation. The event has also been sponsored by corporations such as Pillsbury, Tyson Foods, and Johnson & Johnson.[72]

Ivy Acres

We determined that there is a need out there, but this will be open to all. We want to be diverse, we want to be multicultural. Anyone who wants to come will be welcome.[73][74] — Barbara K. Phillips, former Vice-President and Project Coordinator for Senior Residences, Incorporated.

Ivy Acres is a retirement center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and sponsored by Senior Residences, Incorporated, a subsidiary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.[73] Ivy Acres is one of the first retirement centers founded by African-Americans and minorities in the United States and offers assisted or individual living for individuals who are over fifty-five, regardless of background, ethnicity or religion.[73][75]

The site is located on forty-eight acres and is a gated community.[75] Planning for Ivy Acres cost approximately thirty-two million dollars.[73] In addition, according to Business Wire, Ivy Acres will ultimately comprise of "178 residential apartments, a full-featured community center, forty assisted living apartments and twenty accommodations for skilled nursing.[73] However, residents are expected to pay $1,890 to $2,890 per month for services.[73] In addition to housing, meals will be provided for residents.[75]

Educational Advancement Foundation

Alpha Kappa Alpha's Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF) is a separate and tax-exempt branch of the sorority, which "provide[s] financial support to individuals and organizations engaged in lifelong learning."[76] The foundation awards academic scholarships (for undergraduate members of the sorority, as well as non-members), fellowships, and grants for community service.[77] In awarding the grants, the sorority does not discriminate against candidates based on gender, sexual preference, race, disability, or religion.[78]

History and donations

File:EAF.gif
Official logo of the Educational Advancement Foundation

The foundation was the brainchild of Constance Holland, the sister of former Alpha Kappa Alpha International President Dr. Barbara Phillips, in 1978. The foundation had official beginnings in 1980 and the sorority donated US$10,000 for the project. Eight years later, the organization first awarded $10,000 to fourteen students. In 1991, EAF first awarded mini-grants to community organizations. In 1998, EAF provided the first Youth Partners Accessing Capital (P.A.C.) award to an undergraduate member. After twenty years of the organization's founding in 2000, EAF published Perpetuating Our Posterity: A Blueprint for Excellence. The book served as a comprehensive history of the organization and as a source of advisement for other beginning philanthropic groups to follow. Taking advantage of the digital age, EAF first went online with a website in 2003. The organization celebrated a silver anniversary in Nassau, Bahamas in 2005. Currently, EAF is incorporated into International President Barbara A. MacKenzie's centennial program for funding under Excellent Scholarly Performance. Overall, EAF has donated more than $200,000 in grants and awarded 1,400 students scholarships.[79]

Along with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, some main donors to the organization include Continental Airlines and Northern Trust. Several other organizations have contributed to the foundation via matching donations.[80]

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated assisting Delaware's Department of Highway Safety in distributing booster seats to low income children.

Projects

  • The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Traveling Exhibit chronologies the advancements of Alpha Kappa Alpha members throughout the organization's ninety-nine years of existence. The exhibit appears in several cities across the nation from 2006 to 2008.[81]
  • Advocates for Black Colleges - The purpose of the Advocates for Black Colleges is to financially support $100,000 for selected historically black college and university, in order to support the institution's scholarships and program grants. Corporations as well as minority graduates of historically black colleges are encouraged to donate funds as well. The first college receiving aid is Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[82]
  • Howard University Fund - Alpha Kappa Alpha is celebrating the centennial of the sorority's founding by donating two million dollars to Howard University though two facets. First, the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center houses the historical artifacts, photographs, documents, and recordings of Alpha Kappa Alpha's contributions to community service. One million dollars will be used to improve Alpha Kappa Alpha's archives from the donations provided by members of the sorority as well as external donors. In addition, one million dollars will be donated to the Nellie M. Quander Scholarship Fund. The fund will be used to finance partial or full scholarships for Howard University women in their junior and senior years.[82]
  • Chapter Scholarships - Undergraduate and graduate members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's chapters send separate dues to the Educational Advancement Foundation in order to fund local scholarships.[82][83] Depending on the size of the contributions by the chapter, the scholarships generally range from $100 to $500. In order for a chapter to donate under the EAF's Endowment Fund, a chapter needs to raise $20,000.[84] Afterwards, the chapter can award scholarships to individuals in the local arena under EAF's namesake.[84][85]


Citations

This section lists full details for web sources cited in this article and shortened references for printed books. For full book details, see references below.
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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "AKA Quick Facts" (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2007-05-09. Cite error: The named reference "akaterms" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "AKA Membership Profile". aka1908.org. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  3. ^ "Historical Overview". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. - International Region. 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  4. ^ "Alpha Kappa Alpha, A Legacy of Sisterhood and Service". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  5. ^ "History". Moreland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University. August 1999. Retrieved 2007-10-12. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Alpha Kappa Alpha Important Facts". Lambda Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2005-04-21. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  7. ^ Matthew Gilmore (May 2003). "Capitol Losses, Second Edition". H-Net, Humanities & Social Sciences OnLine. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  8. ^ "History". Alpha Kappa Alpha - Iota Gamma Chapter. November 22, 2000. Retrieved 2007-05-15. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d Ross 2000, op. cit., p. 166.
  10. ^ a b Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 44. 0688135099.
  11. ^ Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-04-16). "The ties that bind". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Alpha Kappa Alpha Timeline" (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2007-05-09. Cite error: The named reference "akatimeline" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "History of AKA". Lambda Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2005-04-21. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  14. ^ McNealey 2006, op. cit., p. 329.
  15. ^ Giddings op. ed. pp. 48.
  16. ^ Parker 1979, op. cit., p. 30.
  17. ^ Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-04-20). "The ΑΦΑ/ΔΣΘ Connection". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  18. ^ a b Giddings op. ed. pp. 49.
  19. ^ Giddings op. ed. pp. 50-51.
  20. ^ Giddings op. ed. pp. 53.
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References

This section lists printed references used for this article. For inline citations, see citations above.
  • McNealey, Earnestine G. (2006). Pearls of Service: The Legacy of America’s First Black Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Parker, Marjorie H. (1958). Alpha Kappa Alpha: 1908-1958. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Parker, Marjorie H. (1966). Alpha Kappa Alpha: Sixty Years of Service. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Parker, Marjorie H. (1979). Alpha Kappa Alpha: In the Eye of the Beholder. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Parker, Marjorie H. (1990). Alpha Kappa Alpha Through the Years: 1908-1988. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Parker, Marjorie H. (1999). Past is Prologue: The History of Alpha Kappa Alpha 1908-1999. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
  • Ross, Jr., Lawrence (2000). The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America. New York: Kensington.

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