Alpha Kappa Alpha

History

Main Hall and Miner Hall in 1868. Miner Hall is located to the left. Miner Hall was the site of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s founding on January 15, 1908. The building was demolished in 1961.

Beginnings: 19071912

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 recollections of sorority life at the Women’s College at Brown University. Hedgeman was also inspired by her future husband George Lyle, who was a charter member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s Beta chapter at Howard in 1907. To implement her idea, Hedgeman began recruiting interested classmates during the summer of 1907.

Eventually, nine women including Hedgeman were instrumental in organizing Alpha Kappa Alpha in fall 1908. With Hedgeman serving as the temporary chairperson, the women wrote the sorority’s constitution, devised the motto and favorite colors, and named the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. Later in 1909, seven sophomore honor students expressed interest and were accepted without initiation. The first initiation was held in a wing of Miner Hall on Howard University on February 11, 1909. On May 25, 1909, Alpha Kappa Alpha held the first “Ivy Week”, a celebration which included planting ivy at Miner Hall.

Cession and formation of Delta Sigma Theta: 19121913

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

Main article: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

At the time, Alpha Kappa Alpha existed as one chapter at Howard University with a ritual and sponsored social events. No plan of nationalizing or incorporating the organization existed. Alpha Kappa Alpha continued to grow at Howard. In October 11, 1912, twenty-two members were initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha. Seven officers were elected: Myra Davis Hemmings, president; Ethel Cuff Black, vice-president, Edith Mott Young, secretary; Jessie McGuire Dent, corresponding secretary, Winona Cargile Alexander, custodian; Frederica Chase Dodd, sergeant-at-arms, and Pauline Oberdorfer Minor was the treasurer. The twenty-two were dismayed at progress and wanted to reorganize the sorority.

   lpha Kappa Alpha Officer Titles   

“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

According to Delta Sigma Theta historian Paula Giddings, the group of members wanted to establish a national organization, enlarge the scope of the sorority’s activities, change its name and symbols, and be more politically oriented. When Nellie Quander, a graduate member, heard about changing the sorority name, she disagreed and gave the other women a deadline and an ultimatum to stop the efforts to reorganize the sorority. However, the twenty-two declined and instead formed Delta Sigma Theta on January 13, 1913.

Later Quander, along with five other sorority members, led an initiative to incorporate Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as a perpetual body on January 29, 1913. The organization was nationally incorporated in Washington, D.C., as a non-profit under the name Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on January 29, 1913. During the same year the sorority began using Greek names for officers.

A close up of a Alpha Phi Alpha delegate badge from the 23rd Boul. The tri-conventiononsisting of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi  was held from December 27, through 31, 1940 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Expansion and initial implementation of programs: 19131940

Alpha Kappa Alpha continued to grow nationally. A second chapter at the University of Chicago was chartered in fall 1914. The sorority played an active role in voicing concerns of the day. The women participated in the 1913 Women’s Suffrage March. In addition, Alpha Kappa Alpha helped to support members by providing scholarship funds for school and foreign studies. Alpha Kappa Alpha began to unite members at the annual Boul, the sorority’s governing body. The sorority’s pledge was written by Grace Edwards and was adopted by the 1920 Boul. In addition, the sorority’s crest was designed by Phyllis Wheatley Waters and accepted in the same Boul. A year later, at the 1921 Boul, the Ivy Leaf was designated as “the official organ of Alpha Kappa Alpha,” and Founders’ Week, paying honor to K’s founders was established. Pearls were first introduced to the sorority in the same year. The sorority membership pin was accepted in the following Boul in Kansas City, Missouri. At the 1947 Boul, pins for honorary members were designed and approved.

On May 10, 1935, 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. 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.

A 1934 issue of Ivy Leaf, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s official organ

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.

In April 1933, during the Great Depression, International President Ida Jackson visited All Saints Industrial School in Lexington, 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. 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. By obtaining 2600 books for the school’s library, Jackson made it “the largest library owned by white or colored in all Holmes County.”

In summer 1938, Ida Jackson focused on poverty and established a regional health clinic. She had acquired $1,000 from the Boul to fund the project in December 1935. The clinic evolved into the Mississippi Health Project, with Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee appointed as the director.

The Mississippi Health Project brought primary medical care to the rural Black population across the state for six summers. The program has been recognized as the first mobile health clinic in the United States, assisting approximately 15,000 people in the Mississippi Delta. 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.

Dorothy Ferebee (center) and the Mississippi Health Project staff, 1937

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. 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. The NPC was dissolved on July 15, 1948, by twelfth Supreme Basileus Edna Over Gray-Campbell. A year later, Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first sorority to apply for life membership in the NAACP.

To replace the NPC, in August 1945, Alpha Kappa Alpha established the American Council on Human Rights (ACHR). The council made recommendations to the government concerning civil rights legislation. The ACHR was proposed at the 1946 Boul. In October 1946, Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first sorority to obtain observer status at the United Nations. On January 15, 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. Kappa Alpha Psi later was included in March 1949.

On September 1, 1945, Alpha Kappa Alpha established The National Health Office in New York City. 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. The National Health Office was dissolved in 1951, as its goals were incorporated into the sorority’s international program.

“Women in Medicine” was the fourth pamphlet published in Alpha Kappa Alpha’s The Heritage Series in 1971.

Civil rights and educational training: 19501970

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. 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 the armed forces and public places. The ACHR participated in filing civil rights cases in amicus curiae with Bolling v. Sharpe and 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education. However, as a whole, ACHR voted to dissolve operations in 1963.

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 the Economic Opportunity Act, which allowed the creation of the Job Corps. The sorority wanted to operate a job training center for students. Led by president Julia Purnell, K negotiated with the Office of Economic Opportunity to operate a women’s center from October 1964 to January 1965. 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.

Shown is a picture of the Lois Mailou Jones designed Founders’ Memorial Window located in Rankin Chapel at Howard University.

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. The sorority operated the Cleveland Job Corps until 1995.

The sorority educated the community through highlighting the accomplishments of notable individuals by publishing The Heritage Series between 1968 and 1972. These pamphlets were a series of biographies of top African-American women. Altogether, the entire collection contained “Women in the Judiciary,” “Women in Politics,” “Women in Medicine,” “Women in Business,” and “Women in Dentistry.” Alpha Kappa Alpha also donated $20,000 for preserving Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth place in Atlanta, Georgia, in the early 1970s. 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.

Bridging towards the twenty-first century: 19802007

The Alpha Kappa Alpha banner that honorary member Mae Jemison carried to space in 1992. The banner is shown at the sorority’s national headquarters in Chicago.

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). As a conjoint program with Africare, the sorority sought to decrease poverty in African villages. 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.

Throughout the 1990s, the sorority continued to provide after-school mentoring programs, such as ON TRACK. 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. Sponsored by Daimler Chrysler, ON TRACK was designated to “improve communication, academics, physical and emotional health, peer leadership, etiquette, and interpersonal relationships.” 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.

Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu addressing participants at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s 98th National Founders Day in 2006. Then Alpha Kappa Alpha Executive Director Barbara McKinzie sits to the right.

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.” On September 9, 2002, 22 year-old Kristin High and 24 year-old Kenitha Saafir drowned at Dockweiler State Beach at the Pacific Ocean on a night of high surf. The Los Angeles Police Department determined that the deaths were accidental. The families of the young women said the two California State University students were interested in joining Alpha Kappa Alpha and had been involved in activities. However, the chapter at Cal State-Los Angeles had been suspended by the national sorority since 2000 due to “minor pledging infractions.”

Kristin High’s family filed a US$100 million wrongful death lawsuit against Alpha Kappa Alpha on September 23, 2002 in Los Angeles District Court. The suit claimed that the two women lost sleep while performing tasks for the members of an underground chapter of the sorority, carried out physical exercises on the beach, and were wearing jogging clothes and tennis shoes in the water, hindering their ability to remain afloat. According to the lawsuit, the two women were “blindfolded and tied by their hands and their bodies and led into the rip tide conditions of the ocean”. The family and Alpha Kappa Alpha settled out of court.[citation needed]

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.

orority Creed

The sorority responded to the call for help in fall 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, by raising money for a disaster relief fund. In July 2007, through Habitat for Humanity, the sorority helped build a house in New Orleans for a family that survived Hurricane Katrina. The sorority continues to assist the community by initiating service-related projects.[citation needed]

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. Recently, the sorority has supported the efforts of justice for the Jena Six. Also, the sorority connects to the past by partnering with African Ancestry. 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.

Centennial celebration: 2008

Marker near Howard University’s Rankin Chapel celebrating the centennial anniversary of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrated their centenary with a year-long commemoration in 2008. The celebration coincided with the sorority’s biennial Boul. Internationally, some Alpha Kappa Alpha members began marking the festivities by making a pilgrimage to Howard University from January 12 to January 15, 2008. The activities included sorority members financially donating $1 million dollars in scholarship funds to Howard University, 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. In addition, sorority undergraduate and graduate members who were not available to attend ceremonies in Washington, D.C., held celebrations in local cities. On July 11 to July 18, 2008, Alpha Kappa Alpha held their 63rd Boul. 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 Boul. On July 17, 2008, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority set a Guiness World Record when 16,206 members set a record by having the largest-ever silver service sit-down dinner in a convention.

AKA’s centennial museum at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s accomplishments were heralded by the United States Congress, with U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and sorority member U.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. In addition, the toy company Mattel designed a Barbie collectible doll fashioned with a pink and green evening gown.

Lawsuit over International President

On June 20, 2009, eight Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court demanding that International President Barbara McKinzine be fired for improper use of sorority funds and the money be returned to the sorority. The lawsuit claims that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s Executive Board approved the spending of thousands of dollars on McKinzie’s costs of living, including commissioning an expensive wax model of McKinzie. In response, McKinzie denied the allegations, referring to them as “without merit.”

In February 2010, Natalia M. Combs Greene, associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, dismissed the lawsuit, stating that it contained “hyperbolic allegations riddled with buzz words.” She wrote, “This case is largely about several disgruntled AKA members disillusioned with what they see as an increasingly opaque, authoritarian and self-serving leadership in their organization….The question remains, however, whether such behavior warrants judicial intervention. The judge also maintained the plaintiffs had “overwhelmed the record with seemingly unnecessary and frivolous exhibits, arguments, counts and facts detailing the sorority 101-year history,” and that many of the plaintiff’s arguments “read as political speeches.”

Membership

Further information: List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s National Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois

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. 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”, 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. Deceased members are referred to as “Ivies Beyond the Wall”.

First Lady Michelle Obama was invited to become an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha in July 2008, however she was never initiated.

Then-Senator Hillary Clinton accepted the invite to become an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, but later declined, due to the sorority’s exclusive requirement preventing acceptance into other NPHC organizations.

Honorary membership is Alpha Kappa Alpha’s highest honor. For example, Jane Addams, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is among the first honorary members. 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. 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 and Obama would later decline initiation into the organization due to the sorority’s exclusive requirement preventing acceptance into other NPHC organizations, and both desired their membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha to be “non exclusive.”

Membership interest and intake

The Ivy Leaf Pledge Club was the official pledge club of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 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.

An “Ivy Leaf Pledge Club” located at Wilberforce University in 1922

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 Clubhe senior wing of the sorority that regulated the admissions processnd then attending monthly meetings where the older students tutored us on the history.

Ivy Leaf Pledge Club pin from Alpha Chapter of Howard University

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. 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.

Leadership: Founders and Executive Directors

The leadership of the sorority in the early years was derived from three separate groupshe original group, the sophomores and the incorporators, who together were known as “The Twenty Pearls.” The Executive Director position has been held by eight members since the office’s creation on October 9, 1949.

Original Group

of 1908

Sophomores

of 1910

Incorporators

of 1913

Executive Directors

Anna Easter Brown

Norma Elizabeth Boyd

Nellie M. Quander

Carey B. Maddox-Preston

19481974

Beulah Elizabeth Burke

Ethel Jones Mowbray

Norma Elizabeth Boyd

Anne Mitchem-Davis

19741980

Lillie Burke

Alice P. Murray

Julia Evangeline Brooks

Earnestine G. McNealey

19801985

Marjorie Hill

Sarah Meriweather Nutter

Ethel Jones Mowbray

Barbara A. McKinzie

19851987

Margaret Flagg Holmes

Joanna Mary Berry Shields

Nellie Pratt Russell

Nan D. Johnson

19871988

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle

Carrie Snowden

Minnie B. Smith

Alison Harris

19891996

Lavinia Norman

Harriet Josephine Terry

Emma Lilly Henderson

19971998

Lucy Diggs Slowe

Carey B. Maddox-Preston

19981999

Marie Woolfolk Taylor

Betty N. James

1999resent

International Presidents

Listed below are the twenty-seven International Presidents since the 1913 institution of the office.

v  d  e

Alpha Kappa Alpha International Presidents

Nellie Quander (1913)  Loraine R. Green (1919)  L. Pearl Mitchell (1923)  Pauline S. Puryear (1925)  B. Beatrix Scott (1927)  Maudelle B. Bousfield (1929)  Maude B. Porter (1931)  Ida L. Jackson (1933)  Margaret D. Bowen (1936)  Dorothy B. Ferebee (1939)  Beulah T. Whitby (1941)  Edna O. Campbell (1946)  Laura Lovelace (1949)  Arnetta G. Wallace (1953)  Marjorie H. Parker (1958)  Julia B. Purnell (1962)  Larzette Hale (1966)  Mattelia B. Grays (1970)  Bernice I. Sumlin (1974)  Barbara K. Phillips (1978)  Faye B. Bryant (1982)  Janet Jones Ballard (1986)  Mary Shy Scott (1990)  Eva L. Evans (1994)  Norma S. White (1998)  Linda White (2002)  Barbara A. McKinzie (2006)

Boul

Main article: List of Alpha Kappa Alpha Bouls

The Boul is the regulating institution of the sorority and currently meets every two years. Throughout the years, notable individuals such as civil rights activists (Martin Luther King, Jr. and Roy Wilkins) and political figures (former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter) were speakers at past Boul conferences.[citation needed]

Regions

The nine regions of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority within the United States

After the establishment of 32 graduate and undergraduate chapters in 1924, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority organized chapters according to their regions in the United States and abroad. The Boul determines the boundaries of the regions. 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. Almost two-thirds of the sorority’s regional directors have been elected international presidents. A comprehensive list of regions is shown below:

Far-Western

Mid-Western

South Central

Central

South Eastern

South Atlantic

Mid-Atlantic

North Atlantic

Great Lakes

International

Current platform

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s ESP logo for Barbara A. McKinzie’s 20062010 administration

The National Program theme for 20062010 administration, led by 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. 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 that the Undergraduate Signature Program, Economic Educational Advancement through Technology, would provide free technology training to community residents through model programs at ten universities, (five are HBCUs), which include the following:

Langston University

University of Toledo

Florida A&M University

Texas Southern University

Northwestern University

Brown University

Vanderbilt University

Stanford University

University of the Virgin Islands

North Carolina A&T

National programs

Educational Advancement Foundation

Official logo of the 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.” The foundation awards academic scholarships (for undergraduate members of the sorority, as well as non-members), fellowships, and grants for community service.

History and donations

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.

At the organization’s twentieth anniversary 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 advice for other beginning philanthropies. EAF went online with a website in 2003.

The organization celebrated a silver anniversary in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2005. EAF is incorporated into International President Barbara A. McKinzie’s centennial program for funding under Excellent Scholarly Performance. Overall, EAF has donated more than $200,000 in grants and awarded 1,400 students with scholarships. Other major donors to EAF include Continental Airlines and Northern Trust.

Projects

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

Advocates for Black Colleges – The purpose of the Advocates for Black Colleges is to raise $100,000 for a selected historically black college and university, 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.

Howard University Fund – Alpha Kappa Alpha is celebrating the centennial of the sorority’s founding by donating $2 million 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. 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.

Chapter Scholarships – Undergraduate and graduate members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s chapters send separate dues to the Educational Advancement Foundation to fund local scholarships. Depending on the size of the contributions by the chapter, the scholarships generally range from $100 to $500. For a chapter to donate under the EAF’s Endowment Fund, a chapter needs to raise $20,000.

The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Traveling Exhibit chronicles achievements of Alpha Kappa Alpha members through the organization’s one-hundred years. The exhibit appears in several cities across the nation from 2006 to 2008.

Ivy Acres

Ivy Acres will be a retirement center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The retirement center is sponsored by Senior Residences, Incorporated, a subsidiary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Ivy Acres will be one of the first retirement centers founded by African-Americans and minorities in the United States. It will offer assisted or individual living for individuals who are over fifty-five, regardless of background, ethnicity or religion. Barbara K. Phillips, former Vice-President and Project Coordinator for Senior Residences, Incorporated, explains the purpose of 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.”

The gated community will be located on a 48-acre (190,000 m2) site. The planning for Ivy Acres cost approximately $32 million USD. In addition, according to Business Wire, Ivy Acres will comprise “188 independent residential units, which will be both apartments and cottages, forty assisted-living apartments and twenty private accommodations for skilled nursing care.” Residents are expected to pay $1,890 to $2,890 per month for services.

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Alpha Epsilon chapter at Virginia State University in 1994.

Ivy Reading AKAdemy

The Ivy Reading AKAdemy provides programs that encourage the entire community to become involved. The concept 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 by the end of third grade. The Ivy Reading AKAdemy has a $1.5 million dollar proposal 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.

Leadership Fellows Program

The Leadership Fellows Program is a fully funded event in which thirty Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sophomore and junior undergraduate members worldwide are individually trained for professional leadership roles. In addition, the fellows contribute to community service for one week. One of the selection criteria is that members must have at least a 3.0 GPA. The program initially was planned in 1978. In the following year, the first program was held in Indiana with twenty-nine students. 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. Also, the program has been financed by Pillsbury, Tyson Foods, Johnson & Johnson, and most recently General Electric.

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

Partnerships in Mathematics and Science (P.I.M.S.) began in Eva Evans’s administration in 1994, and was a part of the S.P.I.R.I.T. program during the Linda White administration. Eva Evans mentioned the need for a math and science program, “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.” The program’s purpose is to increase the successes of youth in mathematics and science, as well as technology. Campaigns to highlight the program’s importance were sponsored by the National Science Foundation and historically black colleges from across the country. Several chapters provided two-week math and science summer camps on college and day school campuses, which consisted of hands-on-learning through laboratory interactions, field trips to important sites, youth camps, and speeches from influential experts in specific areas of studies. 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. Also, a national P.I.M.S. Olympiad, deriving from knowledge of math and science, in conjunction with the P.I.M.S. Community Parade was held at the 58th Boul in Dallas, Texas.

The green enameled ivy leaf is the official pin of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Young Authors Program

In Linda White’s administrations, 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. In 2004, twenty children were honored in the first anthology. The authors were recognized and performed book signings in the 2004 and 2006 Bouls. At the 2004 Boul in Nashville, Tennessee, former Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige attended. On July 15, 2004, First Lady Laura Bush spoke on the Ivy AKAdemy’s dedication to reading initiatives, “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.”

Notes

African-American topics

 

African-American history

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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m “AKA Quick Facts” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/centennial/pdf/quickfacts_pdf.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 

^ “Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International President reflects on the sorority’s 100 years successfully serving mankind”. Black Professional Events (BlackPressUSA Network). 2008-01-03. http://www.blackprofessionalevents.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=1. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 

^ Tamara L. Brown, Gregory Parks, Clarenda M. Phillips, African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2005. p. 342

^ a b c “AKA Membership Profile”. aka1908.org. http://aka1908.org/present/membership/. Retrieved 2006-10-02. 

^ “Historical Overview”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. – International Region. 2006. http://www.akainternational.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=34. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 

^ “History”. Moreland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. August 1999. http://www.huarchivesnet.howard.edu/9908huarnet/power/progress/progress/sld010.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-12. 

^ “Alpha Kappa Alpha Important Facts”. Lambda Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2005-04-21. http://www.msstate.edu/org/aka/newfacts.html. Retrieved 2007-05-30. 

^ Matthew Gilmore (May 2003). “Capitol Losses, Second Edition”. H-Net, Humanities & Social Sciences OnLine. http://www.h-net.org/~dclist/goode2.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-13. 

^ a b c d Ross, Jr., The Divine Nine, p. 166.

^ 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. ISBN 0688135099. 

^ Mason, Herman “Skip” (1999-04-16). “The ties that bind”. skipmason.com. http://www.skipmason.com/hm/hm02.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-09. 

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 19.

^ a b Parker, M., Past is Prologue, p. 12.

^ a b “History of AKA”. Lambda Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2005-04-21. http://www.msstate.edu/org/aka/n08.html. Retrieved 2007-05-30. 

^ a b c d “Alpha Kappa Alpha Timeline” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/centennial/pdf/timeline_pdf.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 

^ “Ethel Jones Mowbray”. Theta Rho Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://www.studentorg.vcu.edu/thetarho/mowbray.html. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 

^ “Nellie Quander, Page Two”. The Quander Quality. http://www.thequanderquality.com/nellie2.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 30.

^ Giddings, P., In Search of Sisterhood, p. 48.

^ Mason, Herman “Skip” (1999-04-20). “The / Connection”. skipmason.com. http://www.skipmason.com/hm/hm04.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-14. 

^ a b Giddings, P., In Search of Sisterhood, p. 49.

^ Giddings, P., In Search of Sisterhood, p. 5051.

^ Giddings, P., In Search of Sisterhood, p. 53.

^ “District of Columbia Organization Information”. dcra.dc.gov. http://mblr.dc.gov/corp/lookup/status.asp?id=6337. Retrieved 2007-10-09. 

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 331.

^ Parker, M., Alpha Kappa Alpha Through the Years, p. 140.

^ Beta Chapter History. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved January 21, 2008.

^ Alpha Kappa Alpha Ushers Centennial Year. Alpha Kappa Alpha Far Western Region. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. January 8, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.

^ Jones-Wilson, Faustine Childress. Encyclopedia of African-American Education. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. p. 196. ISBN 031328931X.

^ a b c d McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 329.

^ a b Ross, Jr., The Divine Nine, p. 167.

^ “Regional Tributes: Midwestern Region”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://www.aka1908.com/centennial/region-mid-western.html. Retrieved 2006-10-27. 

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 327.

^ a b “National Pan-Hellenic Council: About”. NPHC. http://www.nphchq.org/about.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-15. 

^ Smith, Susan, L. (June 2003). “Arenia Mallory”. The University of Mississippi. http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south/ms_encyclopedia/areniamallorysample.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ McNealey E., Pearls of Service, p. 150.

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 151.

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 181.

^ a b “Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee”. National Institutes of Health. 2007-02-19. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_109.html. Retrieved 2007-09-28. 

^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n “Alpha Kappa Alpha National Programs” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/centennial/pdf/programs_pdf.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 

^ a b Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 87.

^ a b More, Ellen S. (2001). Restoring the Balance: Women Physicians and the Profession of Medicine, 18501995. Harvard University Press. p. 167. ISBN 0674005678. 

^ Dixon, Kenneth (December 3, 1999). “AKA seeking charter for new millennium”. Albion College’s The Pleiad. http://www.albion.edu/pleiad/New%20Archives%202003/Dec31999/news.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ a b c McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 157.

^ Parker, M., Past is Prologue, p. 195.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 125.

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 158.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 126.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 159.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 160.

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 101.

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 88.

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 89.

^ “Blacks in the Sciences and Related Disciplines”. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/blacksinscitb.html#collectbio. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 

^ “Delta Beta Omega Chapter’s Programs”. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Delta Beta Omega Chapter. http://aka-dbo.org/programs.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 

^ Collier-Thomas, Bettye; Vincent P. Franklin (2001). Sisters in the Struggle: African-American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement. New York City: NYU Press. p. 32.

^ a b Ivy Leaf: 19211998 Microfiche Guide p. 15 (xv) Published by the United Publications of America, 2000.

^ a b c McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 132.

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 330.

^ “Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Cleveland Job Corps”. Case Western Reserve University. http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CJC. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ “Chapter History”. Epsilon Mu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://gozips.uakron.edu/~rmberry/History.html#1_9_6_0__-__1_9_8_0. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 107.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 310.

^ Jemison, Mae C.; Patricia R. Olsen (2003-02-02). “Executive Life: The Boss; ‘What was Space Like?'” (web). New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E3D61139F931A35751C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 

^ a b c d McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 185.

^ McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 186.

^ a b c d McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 153.

^ “On the Road to Better Health in Mississippi”. National Institutes of Health. 2006-01-15. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/resources/spotlight/101806_better_health_tmb2.cfm. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ “Risk Management”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.. 2006. http://www.aka1908.com/present/membership/riskmanagement/. Retrieved 2007-07-14. 

^ a b c “Family sues sorority over death of AKA pledge”. Final Call Newspaper. 2002-10-08. http://www.finalcall.com/national/sorority10-08-2002.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-14. 

^ “$100M Lawsuit Names AKA Sorority in Woman’s Death”. The Louisiana Weekly. 2002-10-14. http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20021014j. Retrieved 2007-07-14. 

^ “Family of woman drowned in alleged L.A. hazing files $100 mil. suit against AKA sorority  National Report”. Jet. 2002-10-14. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_17_102/ai_92805383. Retrieved 2007-12-30. 

^ a b “Sorority accused of hazing in $100 million suit”. CNN. 2002-09-24. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/09/23/sorority.death/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-15. 

^ “History”. Alpha Kappa Alpha  Iota Gamma Chapter. 2000-11-22. http://www.dac.neu.edu/aka/igwebsite/History.html. Retrieved 2007-05-15. 

^ “New Orleanian Credits Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Kindness for New Hope and New Home” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2007-07-18. http://www.aka1908.com/pdf/new_orleans_habitat_dedication_7_16_07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 

^ “International President Supports Weight-Loss Initiative”. aka1908.com. http://www.aka1908.com/news/millionpoundchallenge/. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ “AKA Centennial Welcome”. aka1908.com. http://www.aka1908.com/centennial/centennial-welcome-norma-white.html. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 

^ “Sorority Demands Justice for Jena 6”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2007-09-19. http://www.aka1908.com/news/jena6/. Retrieved 2007-09-20. 

^ African Ancestry Retrieved on August 24, 2007.

^ “Sorority Partners with African Ancestry to Trace Ancestral Roots”. aka1908.org. http://www.aka1908.com/news/africanancestry/. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 

^ a b “Celebrating 100 Years of Service”. aka1908.com. http://aka1908.com/future/centennial/. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 

^ “AKA Returns to Its Roots”. aka1908.com. http://www.aka1908.com/news/alphachapter/. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 

^ Alpha Kappa Alpha Donates $1 Million to Howard University: Contribution Caps Emotional Day of Tributes During AKA’s Centennial Celebration. Black News Press Release. Retrieved January 18, 2008.

^ “Alpha Kappa Alpha Ushers in Centennial Year”. BlackNews.com. Retrieved January 8, 2008.

^ Hanna, Wende (2008-01-15). “Sorority celebrates centennial anniversary”. Nassau Guardian (The Freeport News). http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/national_local/339512624927718.php. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 

^ Robinson, Wesley (2008-01-16). “Sorority honors members’ work over 100 years”. The Kentucky Kernal (University of Kentucky). http://media.www.kykernel.com/media/storage/paper305/news/2008/01/16/CampusNews/Sorority.Honors.Members.Work.Over.100.Years-3153677.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-18. 

^ Centennial Boul 2008: A Once-in-a-Century Celebration. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.

^ Alpha Kappa Alpha Dinner Sets Guinness World Record. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved on 2009-04-22.

^ “Centennial Anniversary of Alpha Kappa Alpha”. The Hudson Valley Press Online (The Hudson Valley Press). 2008-01-15. http://www.hvpress.net/news/138/ARTICLE/3244/2008-01-15.html. Retrieved 2008-01-17. 

^ Bennett, Brad. “AKA’s black Barbie may inspire young girls”. Broward Times, 2008-01-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.

^ “Barbie Doll Unveiled at International Convention”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. July 14, 2008.

^ Wright, James (2009-08-13). “AKA Battles Internal Discord”. The New Journal & Guide Online (New Journal and Guide). http://www.njournalg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149:aka-battles-internal-discord&catid=41:national-news&Itemid=74. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 

^ “Members sue AKA president”. The Chicago Sun Times Online (The Chicago Sun Times). 2009-07-29. http://www.suntimes.com/business/1690163,CST-NWS-aka29.article. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 

^ Judge dismisses suit against oldest black sorority

^ Alpha Kappa Alpha lawsuit dismissed

^ Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell’s Latin Dictionary (5 ed.). London: Cassell Ltd.. p. 883. ISBN 0-304-52257-0. 

^ Parker, M., Past is Prologue, p. 272.

^ “Announcements.” Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. October 2005.

^ Bogues, Austin (July 14, 2008). “Sorority Celebrates Michelle Obama Acceptance”. The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/sorority-celebrates-michelle-obamas-acceptance/. Retrieved April 21, 2009. 

^ Parker, M., In the Eye of the Beholder, p. 2.

^ “Prospective Members”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Lambda Zeta. 2007-02-19. http://www.aka1908.com/present/membership/prospectivemembers/. Retrieved 2007-05-27. 

^ a b Graham, Lawrence Otis (1999). Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 96. ISBN 0060183527. 

^ “Alpha Kappa Alpha  Prospective Members”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2006. http://www.aka1908.com/present/membership/prospectivemembers/. Retrieved 2007-05-27. 

^ “AKA Leadership”. aka1908.com. http://www.aka1908.com/past/. Retrieved 2006-10-07. 

^ McNealey E., Pearls of Service, p. 257.

^ a b “AKA Centennial Regions: North Atlantic Region”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://www.aka1908.com/centennial/region-north-atlantic.html. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

^ McNealey E., Pearls of Service, p. 256.

^ “International Presidents”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved on December 31, 2007.

^ “Chapter Locator”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. https://akawebnet.aka1908.net/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=CL. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ a b c “Regional Tributes”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/centennial/regional-tributes.html. Retrieved 2007-05-15. 

^ “2006 – 2010 Program”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://www.aka1908.com/present/program/. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 

^ “Alpha Kappa Alpha to Provide Free Computer Training to Community Residents of Ten Colleges Nationwide” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/pdf/undergrad_launch_release__4_25_07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-27. 

^ “About Educational Advancement Foundation”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/about/. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ “AKA Educational Advancement Foundation Programs”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/programsandinitiatives/. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ “Making a Difference  Educational Advancement Foundation”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/eaf/. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ “Donors  Educational Advancement Foundation”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/donors/. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ a b c d “New Initiatives”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/programsandinitiatives/initiatives/. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 

^ “Chapter Remittance Guidelines  Steps To “ESP…Excellent Scholarly Performance”” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/pdf/chapter_remittance_guidelines_3_07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 

^ “Chapter Endowment Memorandum of Understanding” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/pdf/chapter_scholarship_endowment_mou_4_10_07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 

^ “Travelling Exhibit”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated  Educational Advancement Foundation. http://www.akaeaf.org/travelingexhibit/. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 

^ a b c d e f Barnes, Marc (October 4, 2002). “Long-planned continuing care complex draws closer to reality”. The Business Journal (American City Business Journals). http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2002/10/07/story6.html. Retrieved 2007-06-19. 

^ “AKA Centennial Regions: Mid-Atlantic”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 2007. http://www.aka1908.com/centennial/region-mid-atlantic.html. Retrieved 2007-11-05. 

^ “Leadership Fellows Program”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/future/leadership/. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 

^ “2007 Leadership Fellows Program Application” (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://aka1908.com/pdf/lf07-form.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 

^ “Leadership Fellows Program Adds GE as Partner”. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. http://www.aka1908.com/news/geleadershipfellows/. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 

^ a b McNealey, E., Pearls of Service, p. 152.

^ Graham, L., Our Kind of People, p. 91.

^ “Park Street Elementary School-Our Programs”. Marietta City Schools. http://www.marietta-city.k12.ga.us/parkstreet/html/ourschool.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 

^ a b “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority focuses on early childhood literacy at 61st AKA National Convention”. Jet (Johnson Publishing Company). 2004-08-30. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n9_v51/ai_18435320. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 

^ “Mrs. Bush’s Remarks at Alpha Kappa Alpha National Convention”. Office of the First Lady. 2004-07-15. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/07/20040715-11.html. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 

References

Anderson, James D. (1988). The Education of Blacks in the South, 18601935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 

Brown, Tamara L., Parks, Gregory and Phillips, Clarenda M. (2005) African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky

McNealey, Earnestine G. (2006). Pearls of Service: The Legacy of America First Black Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  ISBN 2006928528

Parker, Marjorie H. (1958). Alpha Kappa Alpha: 19081958. 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: 19081988. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 

Parker, Marjorie H. (1999). Past is Prologue: The History of Alpha Kappa Alpha 19081999. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  ISBN 0933244002

Ross, Jr., Lawrence (2000). The Divine Nine: The History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America. New York: Kensington.  ISBN 1575664917

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alpha Kappa Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Official Website

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Centennial Celebration

Alpha Kappa Alpha – Educational Advancement Foundation, Incorporated

Ivy Leaf: 19211998 Microfiche Guide (PDF)

v  d  e

National Pan-Hellenic Council (in order by founding date)

Alpha Phi Alpha 1906   Alpha Kappa Alpha 1908   Kappa Alpha Psi 1911   Omega Psi Phi 1911  Delta Sigma Theta 1913   Phi Beta Sigma 1914   Zeta Phi Beta 1920   Sigma Gamma Rho 1922   Iota Phi Theta 1963

Categories: Organizations established in 1908 | Ethnic and racial NGOs | Fraternities and sororities | International student societies | National Pan-Hellenic Council | Non-governmental organizations based in the United States | Fraternal and service organizations in Chicago, Illinois | Student societies in the United States | Women’s issues NGOsHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from May 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from April 2009 | Featured articles

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