A look at Alpha Kappa Alpha, the legendary sorority repped by Kamala Harris
By Harmeet Kaur, CNN
Published 1:55 PM EDT, Thu July 25, 2024
"As long as she’s been on the political scene, Vice President and likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has proudly repped the salmon pink and apple green of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.
"Alpha Kappa Alpha is a historic African American sorority, founded on the campus of Howard University, Harris’ alma mater. It was the first Black sorority of its kind, and is a part of the “Divine Nine,” a group of Black Pan-Hellenic organizations.
". . . AKA is a nonpartisan organization, but like every Greek organization, its members are often politically active. CNN’s Fredreka Schouten reported that Harris’ campaign saw more than 1,500 contributions of exactly $19.08 between Sunday afternoon — when Biden exited the presidential race — and Monday evening, nodding to AKA’s founding in 1908.
" . . . Alpha Kappa Alpha, or AKA as it’s familiarly known, was founded more than a century ago with the aim of connecting and empowering Black college-educated women. In the years since, AKA has been a springboard for its members to achieve academic and professional success, as well as leadership development and personal growth. The organization has also facilitated numerous community service initiatives across the country.
"Groups like Alpha Kappa Alpha were a natural evolution of Greek life on college campuses. The first fraternities and sororities in the US formed in the late 1700s and 1800s as forums where college students could discuss current events and literature outside their strict curriculums, according to Lawrence Ross, author of “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities.”
"Greek life at predominantly White institutions eventually expanded and evolved into social clubs, but it excluded students of color. In the early 1900s, at a time of intense racial segregation and disenfranchisement, African American students at White institutions and historically Black colleges and universities founded the Greek letter organizations that make up the Divine Nine with an additional mission: To uplift each other and all Black people.
“It’s very much centered upon not just the college experience, but the notion that those of us who get college educations have a responsibility — not just to our own selves or our own transformation, but the transformation of our communities,” Ross, a member of the historically Black Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. said. …"
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/25/us/aka-alpha-kappa-alpha-kamala-harris-cec/index.html