History Of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC. Its founders were among the fewer than 1,000 blacks enrolled in higher education institutions in 1908 and the 25 women who received Bachelor of Arts degrees from Howard University between 1908 and 1911. Nine juniors and seniors who constituted the initial core group of founding members and seven sophomores who were extended an invitation for membership without initiation comprised of what is acknowledged as Alpha Kappa Alpha’s original 16 founders. Led by Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle), the nine Howard University students who came together to form Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority were the scholastic leaders of their classes. Each also had a special talent or gift that further enhanced the potential of this dynamic group. Five years later in 1913, lead incorporator, Nellie Quander, ensured Alpha Kappa Alpha’s perpetuity through incorporation in the District of Columbia. Since then, the sorority has flourished into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members and over 1,000 chapters bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant-leadership that is both domestic and international in its scope.
The Original Nine: Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle), Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe and Marie Woolfolk (Taylor).