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Alpha Kappa Alpha
ΑΚΑ
The official crest of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Founded	(1908-01-15) January 15, 1908 (age 116) Howard University
Type	Social
Scope	International  United States,  Germany,  Japan,  Liberia,  Jamaica,  United States Virgin Islands,  Bermuda,  Canada,  South Korea
Motto	Service to All Mankind
Colors	Salmon Pink █ and Apple Green █
Symbol	Ivy Leaf
Flower	Tea Rose
Publication	Ivy Leaf
Chapters	900+
Nickname	AKA
Headquarters	5656 S. Stony Island Ave Chicago, Illinois USA
Website	Alpha Kappa Alpha website

Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) Sorority, Incorporated, founded in January 15, 1908 at Howard University, is America's first Greek-letter organization established by Black college women. The organization remains a predominately African-American 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 located in the United States, the Caribbean, Germany, Korea and Japan. Alpha Kappa Alpha women can be found on every continent in the world.

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 maintains a progressive interest in college life, an to be of service to all mankind. The sorority is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

History

The Howard University students were led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle into creating the sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1908. Lyle was 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. She viewed the Sorority as an instrument for enriching the social and intellectual aspects of college life by providing mental stimulation through interaction with friends and associates. In 1912, a schism in the sorority led to twenty-two members leaving AKA in 1913 and founding the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Nellie Quander led the group which incorporated Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as a national body in 1912 and as a perpetual body in 1913. The organization will be celebrating their centennial by making a pilgrimage to Howard University on January 15, 2008.

In the 1950s, Alpha Kappa Alpha joined the American Council of Human Rights and National Health Office, implemented programs on health, social action, scholarship, and undergraduate housing as it continued its direction into public service.

The 1960s and 1970s eras paved the path for the AKAs to sponsor job training, reading enrichment, heritage, and youth programs. By encouraging youth to improve math, science, and reading skills, the sorority continued its legacy of community service and its pledge to enrich the lives of others . Alpha Kappa Alpha's high standards of excellence allows students in need and those who chose to study abroad to benefit from a fund created by AKA. Those same high standards stand today as evident in their current programs.

Membership

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." Alpha Kappa Alpha has 950 chapters located in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan.

Honorary membership is the highest honor that the sorority presents to prospective members . For example, 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 its exclusive requirements which would prevent her from accepting honorary membership in other NPHC organizations.

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." The Executive Director position has been held by nine members since the office's creation in 1948.

Community service

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 for the African-American community.

During the Great Migration, members assisted the Travelers Aid Society, helping Southern Blacks adjust to life in North, and volunteered at the Freedman's Hospital. Alpha Kappa Alpha worked with the Mississippi Health Project providing education and books to rural areas, and began a Summer School for Rural Teachers offering courses for self-improvement. The National Non-Partisan Council on Public Affairs was created as a means to lobby politicians. The onset of World War II inspired the council to institute the Direct War Services/Complete Victory/Post War Reconstruction program.

National programs

Program Targets

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. 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 President Barbara McKenzie 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

Ivy Reading AKAdemy

The Ivy Reading AKAdemy provides programs that encourage the entire community to become involved. It 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. All chapters are requested to implement a kindergarten through third grade after-school reading initiative. A $2.7 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.

Educational Advancement Foundation

Alpha Kappa Alpha's Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF) has the mission to promote life-long learning. Staying true to its founding values, they continue to provide scholarships, fellowships, and mini-grants to those who apply and meet the criteria regardless of race, creed, or gender.

National Pan-Hellenic Council

The sorority is a founder and member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). The NPHC is composed of nine international predominantly black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities. The 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.

Alpha Kappa Alpha founder Lucy Diggs Slowe is related to Kappa Alpha Psi founder Elder Watson Diggs.

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.

External links

• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Inc.
• Honorary Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha
• Centennial Celebration

Footnotes

1. Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-04-16). "The ties that bind". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
2. Mason, Herman "Skip" (199-04-20). "The ΑΦΑ/ΔΣΘ Connection". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. "Celebrating 100 Years of Service". aka1908.com. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
4. "AKA Membership Profile". aka1908.org. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
5. "AKA Membership Profile". aka1908.org. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
6. "Senator Hillary Clinton". aka1908.com. Retrieved 2006-05-09. (archive)
7. "AKA Leadership". aka1908.com. Retrieved 2006-10-07.
8. "Alpha Kappa Alpha, A Legacy of Sisterhood and Service". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
9. "Alpha Kappa Alpha to Provide Free Computer Training to Community Residents of Ten Colleges Nationwide" (PDF). Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
10. "National Pan-Hellenic Council Aboutpage". NPHC. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
11. "Sorority support of Alpha Phi Alpha aids successful resolution". aka1908.com. Retrieved 2007-01-11.

• Articles lacking sources from December 2006
• 1908 establishments
• International student societies
• United States student societies
• National Pan-Hellenic Council