Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded on January 15, 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is recognized as the first Negro Greek-lettered sorority. Incorporation in 1913 insured that the Sorority will live on in perpetuity.
The Original Founders
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 what are acknowledged as Alpha Kappa Alpha’s original 16 founders. 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). The Sophomores: Norma E. Boyd, Ethel Jones (Mowbray), Alice P. Murray, Sarah M. Nutter, Joanna Mary Berry Shields, Carrie Snowden, and Harriet Josephine Terry.
Founders (Left to Right): Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Elizabeth Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgeman 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.
The Incorporators
After attending a sorority meeting in 1912 where she heard proposals from then-current members to change the group’s name, colors, symbols and motto, Nellie May Quander (inducted in 1910; president of Alpha chapter from 1911-1912) realized that the need for an intervention to preserve the original premise of the sorority that she and its founders held dear was urgent. Quander quickly formed a committee comprised of a trio including herself and members Norma E. Boyd and Minnie Beatrice Smith—and later expanded to include sorority officers Julia Evangeline Brooks, Ethel Jones (Mowbray) and Nellie Pratt (Russell)—whose mission was to seek and acquire incorporation.
For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., please visit our national website at www.aka1908.com
