Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®

It all started when…

In 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ® was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-trained women. 

Confined to what she called “a small circumscribed life” in the segregated and male-dominated milieu that characterized the early 1900s, Howard University’s co-ed Ethel Hedgeman dreamed of creating a support network for women with like minds coming together for mutual uplift, and coalescing their talents and strengths for the benefit of others.  In 1908, her vision crystallized as Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Negro Greek-letter sorority.  Five years later in 1913, lead incorporator Nellie Quander ensured Alpha Kappa Alpha’s perpetuity through incorporation in the District of Columbia.

Together with eight other coeds at the mecca for Negro education, Hedgeman crafted a design that not only fostered interaction, stimulation, and ethical growth among members; but also provided hope for the masses.  From the core group of nine at Howard, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ® has grown into a force of over 265,000 collegiate members and alumnae, constituting 986 chapters in 42 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Africa.

The Founders

Anna Easter Brown

Beulah Burke

Lillie Burke

Marjorie Hill

Margaret Flagg Holmes

Ethel Hedgemon (Lyle)

Lavinia Norman

Lucy Diggs Slowe

Marie Woolfolk (Taylor)

Norma Elizabeth Boyd

Ethel Jones (Mowbray)

Alice Murray

Sarah Meriwether Nutter

Joanna Berry (Shields)

Carrie Snowden

Harriet Josephine Terry

Nellie May Quander

Minnie Beatrice Smith

Julia Evangeline Brooks

Nellie Pratt