Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was formedin 1908 as the first Greek-letter sorority for black women. T
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was formedin 1908 as the first Greek-letter sorority for black women. The initial goalsof its founder, Ethel Hedgeman, then a student at Howard University, includedthe establishment of a mutual support network, racial uplift, and creatingeconomic opportunities. Since itsincorporation in the District of Columbia in 1913, the Sorority has met and expandedits goals through social activism, philanthropy, and promoting fuller participationin American politics. The Sorority currently includes morethan 290,000 members with chapters in 42 states, the District ofColumbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Germany, Liberia, SouthKorea, Japan, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East. In this group portrait,taken by Arthur Chester Teal ca.1930-1940, Sorority members pose withtheir symbol, the ivy leaf. For further details, visit http://id.lib.harvard.edu/images/8001384903/catalog -- source link
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