Founders (Left to Right): Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Elizabeth Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgemon Lyle, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe, Marie Woolfolk Taylor. Sophomores (Left to Right): Joanna Mary Berry Shields, Norma Elizabeth Boyd, Ethel Jones Mowbray, Sarah Meriweather-Nutter, Alice P. Murray, Carrie Snowden, Josephine Terry.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the oldest Greek-letter organization established in America by Black college women. Established in 1908, a progressive organization with an inspiring & significant reflection of the development of a minority group in a changing culture.
Alpha Kappa Alpha was conceived & founded at Howard University by Ethel Hedgemon Lyle of St. Louis, Missouri. She viewed the Sorority as an instrument for enriching the illectual & social aspects of college life by providing mental stimulation through interaction with friends & associates.
Through the years, however, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s functioning has become increasingly complex. After her incorporation in 1913, Alpha Kappa Alpha gradually expanded & became the channel through which selected college-trained women improved the social and economic conditions in their city, state, nation and the world.
Today, Alpha Kappa Alpha is present--internationally, nationally and locally. The Sorority seeks to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards; promote unity and friendship among college women; alleviate problems concerning girls and women; maintain a progressive interest in college life; and to be of service to all mankind.