INTERNATIONAL | Illustrious UFAKAs

HERstory

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington D.C on January 15, 1908. She is the first black Greek-lettered sorority established by twenty trailblazing women at a time of scarce opportunity for African Americans, and particularly African American women. Incorporated on January 29, 1913, the sorority has served as a pillar to the community, serving through her three founding principles – sisterhood, scholarship, and service. Through these principles, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. continues to empower women and exemplify change, advancing the vision of service to all mankind.

Our Founders

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The Original Nine: Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgemon Lyle, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe and Marie Woolfolk Taylor

The Sophomores: Norma Boyd, Ethel Jones Mowbray, Alice Murray, Sarah Meriweather Nutter, Joanna Berry Shields, Carrie Snowden and Harriet Terry

Incorporators: After attending a sorority meeting in 1912 where she heard proposals from then-current members to change the group’s name, colors, symbols and motto, Nellie May Quander (inducted in 1910; president of Alpha chapter from 1911-1912) realized that the need for an intervention to preserve the original premise of the sorority that she and its founders held dear was urgent. Quander quickly formed a committee comprised of a trio including herself and members Norma E. Boyd and Minnie Beatrice Smith—and later expanded to include sorority officers Julia Evangeline Brooks, Ethel Jones Mowbray and Nellie Pratt Russell—whose mission was to seek and acquire incorporation.