Vice President Kamala Harris thanked the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for supporting her ambitions during a special Founders’ Day address over the weekend.
Founded on Jan. 15, 1908, on the motto of “By Culture and By Merit,” the organization sought to improve women’s conditions to elevate their social stature and advance the African- American race. The first Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha is celebrating 113 years of “Service To All Mankind” this year, and these women of the pink and green made a lifetime of service that paved the way for Madam Vice President. These women do not stand alone, as many Alpha Kappa Alpha women made history in the fields of civil rights, politics, education, and entertainment, and more. It is their shoulders that Vice President Kamala Harris proudly stands on. She is their founders’ wildest dreams.
Keep scrolling for a look at 15 trailblazing AKAs who made history.
01
ETHEL HEDGEMAN LYLE
The Founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Black sorority. Lyle became the organization’s first International Treasurer and served for over 20 years. She was also the first Black woman to earn a Teacher’s Life Certificate from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Lyle is referred to in the sorority as “The Guiding Light.”
02
MARION ANDERSON
An American opera singer. She was the first African-American singer to perform at the White House and the first African-American to sing with New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
03
MAE JAMISON
An American engineer, physician, and Astronaut. On Sept. 12, 1992, Jemison became the first African-American woman in space when the space shuttle, Endeavour, carried her and six other astronauts on 126 orbits around the Earth.
04
ROSA PARKS
An American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. Parks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. Upon her death in 2005, she was the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
05
CORETTA SCOTT KING
An American author, activist, and civil rights leader known as “The First Lady of The Civil Rights Movement”. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and continued her advocacy throughout her life. She was the first African-American to lie in Georgia State Capitol upon her death.
06
KATHERINE JOHNSON – West Virginia State University
Johnson was a NASA mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were critical in sending the first astronaut to the moon. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Her brilliance was recognized in the 2016 hit movie, Hidden Figures.
07
MARY JACKSON
NASA’s first Black woman engineer, Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2020, the NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. was renamed the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters. Janelle Monet portrayed Jackson in the film “Hidden Figures.”
08
DOROTHY VAUGHN
A “human computer” for NASA and the first Black woman supervisor at the agency. Octavia Spencer portrays Vaughn in the film “Hidden Figures.” She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously.
09
MAYA ANGELOU
A writer, poet, filmmaker, actor, dancer, civil rights activist and much more. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights movement and served as the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959. Angelou’s honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Medal of Arts, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
10
NELLIE QUANDER
A Washington D.C educator, Quander wrote a letter to the 1913 Women’s Suffrage March organizers demanding equal treatment for Black women. Subsequently, women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. marched in the historic event as individuals supporting the movement.
11
IDA L. JACKSON
A former International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Jackson became the first Black woman to receive a teaching credential from California. During her tenure as AKA President, she founded the first mobile healthcare unit in the United States, later known as ‘The Mississippi Health Project.’
12
Toni Morrison
A former professor Emeritus at Princeton University, Morrison received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize and the American Book Award.
13
DR. DOROTHY FEREBEE
A physician and activist, she was the first Medical Director for the Mississippi Health Project, touching thousands of black Mississippians at a time when they had virtually no access to professional medical care.
14
SHARON PRATT
The Mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1991-1995, she was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city.
15
Althea Gibson – Florida A&M University
A true trailblazer, Gibson was the first Black tennis player to compete at the U.S. National Championships in 1950, and the first Black player to compete at Wimbledon in 1951. In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and during her career even broke racial barriers in professional golf.
