What is Alpha Kappa Alpha? All about Kamala Harris’ sorority

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on the cover of Vogue three years ago wearing her signature Converse and a wide smile. At the time, the image started a flurry of conversation, but — for those in the know — one of its most exciting features was the pink and green background behind her.

BestColleges reports that those colors were a direct nod to her ties to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., an organization she has proudly been a member of since the 1980s.

Now, as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential race, both Harris and the AKAs are back in the spotlight.

In just three hours over a Zoom call on July 21, a group of 44,000 women — largely comprised of Harris’ sorority sisters or “sorors” — raised $1.5 million for her campaign. Their work to support Harris has only just begun as many are discussing their planned efforts across social media platforms and getting involved in larger efforts to increase voter turnout.

So who are these women and what is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.?

What to know about Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the oldest Greek-letter association established by Black college women in the U.S. It’s also the first Black Greek-letter organization established at a historically Black college or university, or HBCU.

The organization was founded by Black students in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., with the express purpose of cultivating unity, friendship, high scholastic and ethical standards, and service among Black women. The nine women who made up the founding class were among fewer than 1,000 Black students enrolled in higher education that year.

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that overturned the “separate but equal law,” Black students were often denied admission to predominantly white institutions and, therefore, excluded from their existing fraternities and sororities.

In 1906, the first fraternity for Black college men, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., was founded at Cornell University. Two years later, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. was established.

Both Alpha Phi Alpha and AKA are members of the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities founded between 1906 and 1963.

Today, more than 360,000 AKA members have been initiated in graduate and undergraduate chapters across 12 countries.

Though Harris is currently one of the organization’s most notable members, she’s far from the only one. Other prominent members include:

• The late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
• Phylicia Rashad, actress and former dean of fine arts at Howard University
• Civil rights activist Bernice King
• Actresses Wanda Sykes and Yvette Nicole Brown

Harris’ history with Alpha Kappa Alpha

Harris was first introduced to the AKAs through her aunt, who was initiated in 1950 at Howard University, the same campus where Harris would join in the spring of 1986.

Harris says she was “determined” to join the group as a young girl because of her aunt’s influence. She has shown the same reverence for the sorority throughout her political career, including her 2020 presidential campaign and ascent to the vice presidency.

The Divine Nine played a significant part in the Biden-Harris campaign at the time, registering voters, raising money, and encouraging voter turnout for the Democratic ticket. Harris herself even credits her sorors with helping elect her as vice president.

“Throughout our history, the leaders of Alpha Kappa Alpha have stood up, spoken out, and done the work to build a brighter future for our nation, including, of course, in 2020, when, during the height of a pandemic, you helped elect Joe Biden president of the United States — and me as the first woman elected vice president of the United States,” Harris said this July at the sorority’s biennial Boulé.

AKAs donated more than $200,000 to the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign in $19.08 increments, representing the year the sorority was founded.

Additionally, a Divine Nine “Stroll to the Polls” initiative went viral on social media. It featured members of Black Greek organizations coming together to encourage people to vote, each decked out in their iconic fraternity and sorority colors.

“Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha … our Divine Nine … and my HBCU brothers and sisters,” Harris said in her speech accepting the vice presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

The following year, the sorority declared Jan. 20 as “Kamala D. Harris Day” to celebrate Harris as an “AKA history maker.” In a social media post announcing the award, the sorority encouraged its members to wear shades of pink and pearls — the organization’s signature look — to celebrate her win.

Harris brings the Divine Nine to the White House

Since becoming vice president, Harris has continued to platform AKA and the rest of the Divine Nine at the White House.

The Biden-Harris administration was the first administration to have Divine Nine leaders meet the sitting president and vice president in the Oval Office.

“I am honored that you have each been able to take the time to come together to have this meeting,” Harris said in a video posted to Instagram. “Our students, our graduates, our graduate members, do extraordinary work in their communities and really do carry on the spirit of what we all learned when we joined.”

Sorors are pushing for their first AKA U.S. president

The Divine Nine is once again stepping up and showing their support for Harris after Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Presidents released a statement announcing a unified effort for a large-scale voter mobilization campaign, activating thousands of chapters and members “to ensure strong voter turnout in the communities we serve.”

The Divine Nine emphasizes that the mobilization effort will be nonpartisan and refrains from endorsing any candidate in the statement, although individual members are allowed to express support for a specific candidate.

The same day Biden announced his withdrawal from the campaign and his endorsement of Harris, “Win With Black Women” — an organization created by Black women to support Black women in politics — raised $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign in just three hours over a Zoom call. The group of 44,000 women largely consisted of AKAs and other Divine Nine members.

The following night, “Win With Black Men,” a group modeled after “Win With Black Women,” hosted a call with over 53,000 Black men, raising $1.3 million.

Written by Margaret Attridge and Jessica Bryant.

This story was produced by BestColleges and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. The article was copy edited from its original version.

Re-published with CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

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