Trailblazers in Black History: Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ)

Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) was the first Greek-lettered sorority established by African-American college women. Membership is for college-educated women.

The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African-American women in areas where they had little power or authority, due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early 20th century. Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913.

Consisting of college-educated women of many diverse backgrounds from around the world, including African, Caucasian, Asian, Native-American, Hispanic and Indian descent, the sorority serves through a membership of more than 283,000 women in 992 chapters in the United States and several other countries.

 

Women may join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or they may also join through a graduate chapter after acquiring an undergraduate or advanced college degree. 

Additional information is available here. 

Source: Wikipedia