{"id":252585,"date":"2024-08-08T19:45:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T19:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/08\/inside-alpha-kappa-alpha-the-sorority-kamala-harris-says-changed-her-life\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:12:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:12:45","slug":"inside-alpha-kappa-alpha-the-sorority-kamala-harris-says-changed-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/08\/inside-alpha-kappa-alpha-the-sorority-kamala-harris-says-changed-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Alpha Kappa Alpha, the sorority Kamala Harris says changed her life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Clarice Redding Louis says she\u2019ll never forget the day she was first introduced to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. It was 2008 and she was 18 years old\u2014a fresh high-school graduate visiting Washington, D.C. as part of an exclusive Bank of America student leadership program<\/a>. Louis was one of 200 people hand-picked from across the globe for a paid summer internship, which culminated in a week-long trip to D.C. to learn about the importance of government, private sector, and nonprofit organizations working together to improve communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But what most surprised her at the outset of her trip was seeing so many people decked out in salmon pink and apple green<\/a>, Louis told Fortune<\/em>. Thousands of Alpha Kappa Alpha members from all over the world had congregated at the nation\u2019s capital for the organization\u2019s centennial celebration. Even the White House donned pink and green banners, the official colors of the first Black college Greek-letter sorority for educated women.<\/p>\n

Louis remembers stopping at a Starbucks<\/a> and running into some AKA ladies who gave her the spiel about the organization, which has now recently entered the spotlight thanks to one of its most high-profile members, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris<\/a>, who said being an AKA changed her life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me what each of their careers were and what drew them to the organization,\u201d said Louis, a doctor of education and director of advancement for Community Partners of South Florida<\/a>. \u201cI was in love from that moment. That was July 12, 2008. I\u2019ll never forget the date.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Getty Images\u2014The Washington Post<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Like Louis, AKA sorority members take pride in the moment they first learned about the organization\u2014and when they knew they were meant to join. Many of the whopping 360,000 initiated members across the world are legacy, meaning a relative had also been a member of the organization before them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lori Sloan has been an AKA member for 37 years, inspired by the membership of her late aunt. Her aunt \u201cwas a very active member\u201d until she died in her 90s, \u201cso I knew that it was something that was a lifelong commitment,\u201d Sloan told Fortune<\/em>. Sloan joined AKA as a member of Purdue University<\/a>\u2019s chapter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, the 116-year-old organization has more than 1,000 chapters in 11 countries and all 50 U.S. states. But it all started at Howard University<\/a> with its alpha chapter, back in 1908.<\/p>\n

At the time of its origination, the organization\u2019s founders<\/a> were among the fewer than 1,000 Black Americans enrolled at higher education institutions. And since its founding, AKA has been dedicated to civil-rights causes and five basic tenets: high scholastic and ethical standards, unity and friendship, social stature of girls and women, a \u201cprogressive interest in college life,\u201d and being of \u201cservice to all mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to become a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha<\/h2>\n

Alpha Kappa Alpha members can join the organization<\/a> either as an undergraduate student or become a part of a graduate chapter if they\u2019ve already earned a bachelor\u2019s or an advanced degree from an accredited four-year college or university. They have to be invited to join the chapter, and it\u2019s dissimilar from panhellenic sorority recruitment<\/a> popularized in recent years on social media. Membership in AKA goes far beyond sporting pink, green, and pearls, and stepping and strolling<\/a>. It\u2019s a lifelong commitment to leadership and service.<\/p>\n

Prospective AKA members must demonstrate the tenets of the sisterhood\u2014and many are campus leaders even before joining the chapter. Academic excellence is also crucial for membership: Individual chapters typically have GPA or other scholastic-related benchmarks in place to assess the prospective member\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking for women of high scholastic and ethical standards [and have a] litmus for who we accept as members,\u201d Deidra Davis, graduate adviser of the AKA chapter at Howard<\/a>, told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s no wonder why many are so impressed by women that they see on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis has been an AKA member for 37 years and was in Howard\u2019s chapter at the same time as Vice President Harris. Davis joined AKA the year after Harris had been initiated, and had admired her and the other women who had joined the organization before her. Davis was \u201creally taken by the level of excellence and the level of leadership\u201d Harris exuded during her time at Howard and in AKA.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the AKAs, including Kamala at the time, just had a presence on campus and were always actively involved in serving others and leading things on the university campus,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThat\u2019s what drew me and piqued my interest in being a part of that same group.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment still resonates with current members at Howard, including Imani Smith, who currently serves as president of the chapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing in as a freshman, my first interactions with student leaders were ladies of the alpha chapter,\u201d Smith told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s really just inspiring seeing the level of service that we exude in the commitment that we make to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A history of and commitment to service<\/h2>\n

Alpha Kappa Alpha\u2019s commitment to service became increasingly important in the 1930s, during the time The New Deal was enacted. The group expanded its mission to ensure Black Americans benefited from New Deal jobs and entitlement programs such as Social Security, and also worked to abolish requirements for federal-government jobs that required a photograph of the applicant. This was a practice that led to racial discrimination in hiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization also successfully lobbied for admission of Black women into the U.S. Navy during World War II and established the American Council on Human Rights<\/a> in June 1948, although the organization is officially non-partisan. AKA, through the American Council on Human Rights, also worked to ensure fair employment and wages, advance Black voting rights, and demand access to decent, non-segregated housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a long-time activist and organizer, I was looking for a sisterhood that really resonated with who I am as a person. And Alpha Kappa Alpha is exactly that,\u201d Nupol Kiazolu<\/a>, who was initiated into AKA\u2019s chapter at Hampton University<\/a> in 2021, told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cWe have a longstanding track record of service and empowerment to the Black community, and not just the Black community, but the American community, and the communities all across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although all founding members of AKA exuded a commitment to service, one sticks out for Kiazolu: Norma Elizabeth Boyd<\/a>, who in 1938 founded the National Nonpartisan Council of Public Affairs<\/a>\u2014the first Black congressional lobby\u2014which laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement before its height in the 1960s. Boyd also happens to be Harris\u2019 favorite AKA founder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Getty Images\u2014Brandon Bell<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOur sisterhood was also founded, as we know, in the face of profound challenges in our country,\u201d Harris said in a July 2024 address<\/a> to AKA. \u201cAnd yet, despite all of this, and perhaps because of it, our founders believed in the power of sisterhood and service. And our founders believed in the promise of America\u2014a promise of freedom, opportunity, and equality not for some but for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sisterhood, leadership, and excellence<\/h2>\n

Even after years\u2014or decades\u2014away from college, AKA sisters continue to support each other in a variety of ways. These bonds are part of what makes the organization so strong.<\/p>\n

Take Louis, for example, who knew she wanted to pursue a career in mental health and education, and was supported by mentorship from her AKA sisters. But what she didn\u2019t expect was the outpouring of support to pursue a master\u2019s degree. One day at a chapter meeting, the president explained to members the importance of Louis and a few other members continuing their education. That day, Louis and four other AKA members left the meeting with a $25,000 check, which took care of Louis\u2019 entire master\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

The support didn\u2019t stop there. When Louis decided to go for her Ph.D., she was given a check from AKA \u201cof a significant amount\u201d to earn her degree.<\/p>\n

Louis said she felt \u201clike I had the power of this entire organization behind me, propelling me through this process.\u201d But beyond schooling, she has been supported by her sisters in numerous ways\u2014including the delivery of her first child last year. One of Louis\u2019 AKA sisters was her OB-GYN, and made sure she was taken care of \u201cgiven all the health care disparities with Black maternal health,\u201d Louis said. \u201cShe made sure every step of the way I had every comfort and luxury available to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Getty Images\u2014Paras Griffin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

AKA also instills in women leadership qualities that extend well beyond their years on campus. They are taught how to interview for jobs, how to dress, and how to conduct meetings, Sloan said. These are all important qualities whether you\u2019re an organizational leader or in the running to be the next president of the United States.<\/p>\n

And being a member of AKA also has networking perks\u2014especially if you can identify members by the colors and jewelry indicative of sorority membership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sisterhood continues post graduation from college,\u201d Sloan said. \u201cYou go on a job interview, you get a job, you discover you have sisters there, and they take you under their wing. You have an insight to learn the company, the ins and outs, because the sisterhood never goes away. And that\u2019s the comfort and support that you continuously have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n