The members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated recently celebrated their Founders’ Day, commemorating 116 years. Members come from diverse backgrounds and are known for various stellar contributions. For example, Dr. Maya Angelou is a world-famous poet, author, actress, activist and filmmaker. Alicia Keys is a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician. Coretta Scott King was the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, the most prominent 20th-century civil rights activist. Rosa Parks is generally considered the mother of the civil rights movement.
In 2016, the movie Hidden Figures is a biographical story of three legendary African American women who critically impacted science history. All three women, Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Johnson Vaughan and Mary Winston Jackson are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Below is a list of other notable Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters and a more extensive list of our distinguished sisterhood.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 01: Vanessa Bell Calloway attends the 14th Annual AAFCA Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on March 01, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) 
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 01: Phylicia Rashad speaks at Harlem School of the Arts Gala 2023 at The Plaza Hotel on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Harlem School of the Arts) 
HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 27: Yolanda Adams attends National Urban League Conference Women Of Power Awards Luncheon on July 27, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League) 
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 23: Star Jones speaks onstage at Angel Ball 2023 hosted by Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on October 23, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation ) 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 06: Alicia Keys attends the World Premiere of Warner Bros.’ “The Color Purple” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 06, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) 
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 03: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to hospitality workers of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 at the Culinary Workers Union Hall Local 226 on January 03, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harris’ visit in support of workers and their right to collectively bargain comes after the 60,000-member union successfully settled new contracts over the last few months with Nevada hotel-casinos, including MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts, that brought an end to a labor dispute and potential strike on the Las Vegas Strip. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 09: Ava DuVernay attends the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ 14th Annual Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom on January 09, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) 
Jada Pinkett Smith appears on an episode of her online series “Red Table Talk.” The latest episode, streaming Wednesday, June 1, 2022 on Facebook Watch, addresses Alopecia. (Jordan Fisher/Red Table Talk via AP) 
PARIS – NOVEMBER 04: US Author and Nobel Prize in literature winner Toni Morrison receives the Honor Medal of The City of Paris (Grand Vermeil) at Mairie de Paris on November 4, 2010 in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images) 
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 09: Maya Angelou speaks during the AARP Magazine’s 2011 Inspire Awards at Ronald Reagan Building on December 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images) 
American author, activist, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King (1927 – 2006) at a London hotel, UK, 21st March 1969. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 15: Brandy Norwood attends the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Jenifer Lewis at Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
These and other Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority , Incorporated women have built national programs on the foundation of family and community. The Launching New Dimensions of Service Program is their most important community effort. For more information on signature programs, please go here (make this a link). Through these programs, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated assists with the most crucial needs of the black community.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, was founded by nine women on Howard University’s campus in Washington DC on Jan. 15, 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization created by and for African American collegiate women. The founders were Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle), Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe and Marie Woolfolk (Taylor). AKA has nearly 300,000 members in 1,018 graduate and undergraduate chapters worldwide.
Motto: “By Culture and By Merit”
Colors: Salmon Pink and Apple Green
Symbol: Ivy Leaf
