Book Club Reading List

What is a P-Girl?

A young lady who has taken interest in a Divine 9 organization on Howard University's campus; a prospective member

Founding date and location of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Wednesday, January 15, 1908, in Washington, DC, on the campus of Howard University in the attic of Miner Hall

Incorporation date of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Wednesday, January 29, 1913

Founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha (* = Incorporators)

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, Beulah Elizabeth Burke, Anna Easter Brown, Lillie Burke, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Diggs Slowe, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Marie Woolfolk Taylor, Carrie E. Snowden, Harriet Josephine Terry, Alice P. Murray, *Norma Elizabeth Boyd, Joanna Berry Shields, *Ethel Jones Mowbray, Sarah Meriweather Nutter, *Nellie M. Quander, *Nellie Pratt Russell, *Minnie Beatrice Smith, *Julia E. Brooks

Incorporators of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Norma Elizabeth Boyd, Ethel Jones Mowbray, Nellie M. Quander, Nellie Pratt Russell, Minnie Beatrice Smith, Julia E. Brooks

Purpose of Alpha Kappa Alpha

To cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards; to promote unity and friendship among college women; to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women; to maintain a progressive interest in college life; to be of service to all mankind

Mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha

To be of service to all mankind

Motto of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Askosis Kai Axiosis, meaning "By Culture and By Merit"

Official colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Salmon Pink and Apple Green

What does Salmon Pink stand for?

Womanliness and femininity

What does Apple Green stand for?

Fertility and fidelity

Mascot of Alpha Kappa Alpha

The Frog, representing the sorority growing through leaps and bounds

Official symbol of Alpha Kappa Alpha

The Enameled Ivy Leaf, representing strength and endurance

What do the 3 leaves of the Enameled Ivy Leaf represent?

Sincerity, Fidelity, and Friendship

Official flower of Alpha Kappa Alpha

The Pink Tea Rose, representing a lady of Alpha Kappa Alpha; a woman of serene nature unfolding in shadows of pink and green

What does P.E.A.R.L.S. stand for?

Pioneers, Enablers, Achievers, Reformers, Leaders, Sisters

How many pearls are there in P.E.A.R.L.S. and who do they represent?

20 pearls: 16 founders and 4 incorporators (as stated in the source)

How many pearls does Alpha Chapter wear?

30 pearls

2014-2018 International Initiatives theme

"Launching New Dimensions of Service"

International Initiative I (5 Targets)

Education Enrichment: ASCEND (Achievement, Self-Awareness, Communication, Engagement, Networking, and Developmental Skills), One Million Backpacks, THINKHBCU

International Initiative II (5 Targets)

Health Promotion: Alzheimer's Disease and Caregiver Support Program, Stroke and Heart Disease Awareness, and Mental Health

International Initiative III (5 Targets)

Family Strengthening: Childhood Hunger Initiatives, Family Seasonal Wraps, and Fiscal Responsibility Programs

International Initiative IV (5 Targets)

Environmental Ownership: AKA 1908 Playground Project, Restore, Refresh, and Renew Project, and Acts of Green Program

International Initiative V (5 Targets)

Global Impact: UNA-USA and Africare

What are the 6 Targets?

I. Education, II. Addressing Health Concerns, III. Obtaining Economic Empowerment, IV. Strengthening the Black Family, V. Focusing on the Arts, VI. Global Impact

Emergence Component: Name, Motto, Colors

Beulah Elizabeth Burke

Emergence Component: Idea and Insignia

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle

Emergence Component: Constitution and Bylaws

Lucy Diggs Slowe

Emergence Component: The Inspiration

Ethel Ester Maria Tremaine Robinson

Why is Ethel Ester Maria Tremaine Robinson the inspiration?

She inspired Ethel Hedgeman Lyle in Spring 1907 by speaking about Greek life. She attended Brown University, a predominantly white institution, sought sorority membership, and was denied because of the color of her skin

First Alpha Chapter Directorate

President: Lucy Diggs Slowe; Vice President: Ethel Hedgeman Lyle; Treasurer: Anna Easter Brown; Secretary: Marie Woolfolk Taylor

Who is the Guiding Light and why?

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, because she is the chief founder and the creator of the idea and insignia

Who is the Savior and why?

Nellie M. Quander, because she was the chief incorporator. As the first international president, she also helped expand the sorority and further its support of African-American women at colleges and in communities

The Greek alphabet in order

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega

The Greek alphabet backwards

Omega, Psi, Chi, Phi, Upsilon, Tau, Sigma, Rho, Pi, Omicron, Xi, Nu, Mu, Lambda, Kappa, Iota, Theta, Eta, Zeta, Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Beta, Alpha

First Honorary Member

Jane Addams, founder of Chicago's Hull House and a pioneer in professionalizing social work as a field of study

First Ivy Day: date

Tuesday, May 25, 1909

First Ivy Day: presiding officer

Lavinia Norman

First Ivy Day: who gave the response to the newly initiated members?

Mary Clifford

First Ivy Day: who gave the oration?

Sarah Merriweather Nutter

First Ivy Day: who planted the ivy and where?

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle planted the ivy she received from Marie Woolfolk Taylor outside of Rankin Memorial Chapel

First initiated line: date

Thursday, February 11, 1909

First initiated line: members

Ella Albert Brown, Mary Clifford, Lena Jenkins, Mabel Gibson, Ruth Gilbert, Nellie Pratt Russell

First Centennial

January 15, 2008

First Boule

Sunday, December 29, 1918

First Elections

Saturday, February 8, 1908

First Meeting

Saturday, February 21, 1908

Second Meeting

Saturday, February 28, 1908

First North Atlantic Regional Director

Thelma B. Boozer

First Black female dean at Howard University

Lucy Diggs Slowe

First Ivy Beyond the Wall

Marjorie Hill (1909)

Last Ivy Beyond the Wall

Norma Elizabeth Boyd (1985)

First International Directorate (1913)

International President: Nellie M. Quander; 1st Vice-President: Ethel Jones Mowbray; 2nd Vice-President: Nellie Pratt Russell; Recording Secretary: Minnie Beatrice Smith; Corresponding Secretary: Norma Elizabeth Boyd; Treasurer: Julia E. Brooks

First International Graduate Chapter

Eta Beta Omega Chapter, chartered in 1957 by Anna E. Cooper in Monrovia, Liberia

First International Undergraduate Chapters

Two "firsts," both chartered in May 1996: Rho Xi (May 25, 1996, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix) and Rho Omicron (May 1996, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas)

First Graduate Chapter in the North Atlantic Region

Epsilon Omega Chapter, chartered in 1921 in Baltimore, MD

First Undergraduate Chapter in the North Atlantic Region

Alpha Chapter, chartered Wednesday, January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

First to receive pearls

Lorraine R. Green, at the 4th Boule in December 1921, as a gift of appreciation from Lottie Pearl Mitchell

First Alpha Chapter service project

Freedman's Hospital Project, 1917. Alpha Chapter helped African Americans who arrived in the North during the Great Migration adjust to the D.C. area, dressing dolls and making toys for needy children at Freedman's Hospital (located where Howard's School of Communications is now)

First national service project

The Mississippi Health Project, 1934. Originally supposed to be Summer School for Rural Teachers, it was initiated by Ida L. Jackson and carried out by Margaret Davis Bowen and Dr. Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee. It established the first mobile clinic in the United States, where over 14,000 children were immunized

Alpha Chapter: chartering date and location

Wednesday, January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Beta Chapter: chartering date and location

Wednesday, October 8, 1913, at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Citywide chapter that also includes the University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and Roosevelt University

Gamma Chapter: chartering date and location

February 12, 1914, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois

Delta Chapter: chartering date and location

February 2, 1915, at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

Epsilon Chapter: chartering date and location

May 3, 1924, at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. Citywide chapter that also includes Babson, Bentley, Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Emerson, Emmanuel, Pine Manor, Simmons, Suffolk, and Tufts

Zeta Chapter: chartering date and location

November 25, 1916, at Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio

Eta Chapter: chartering date and location

December 12, 1922, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Theta Chapter: chartering date and location

February 2, 1921, at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio

Iota Chapter: chartering date and location

May 13, 1918, at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Kappa Chapter: chartering date and location

February 14, 1920, at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Citywide chapter that also includes Franklin College, IUPUI, Marion University, and the University of Indianapolis

1st Boule

Sunday, December 29, 1918, hosted by Alpha Chapter. Delegates, visitors, and hostesses totaled fewer than 50; not largely attended by members outside of DC; banquet held in the Alpha Chapter House on Howard's campus

2nd Boule

December 1919 in Chicago, Illinois. The sorority effectively began to function as a national organization; total capital of the sorority was $50

3rd Boule

December 1920 in Cleveland, Ohio. Adopted the coat-of-arms (designed by Phyllis Waters) and the pledge (composed by Grace Edwards of Zeta Chapter)

4th Boule

December 1921 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Adopted a national action program and Founders Week (each January); first issue of the Ivy Leaf, the official journal, introduced

5th Boule

December 1922 in Kansas City, Missouri. Budget system adopted; graduate chapter names now end with "Omega"; Eta Graduate (Cleveland) renamed Alpha Omega, the oldest graduate chapter

International President (current directorate per source)

Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson

International 1st Vice-President (current directorate per source)

Glenda Baskin Glover

International 2nd Vice-President (current directorate per source)

Keniece Gray

Corresponding Secretary (current directorate per source)

Charletta Wilson Jacks

International Treasurer (current directorate per source)

Danette Anthony Reed

International Parliamentarian (current directorate per source)

Martha L. Perine Beard

Undergraduate Members at Large (current directorate per source)

Victoria Simpson and Antoria Frazier

How many regions does Alpha Kappa Alpha have and who supervises each?

Ten regions, each under the supervision of a Regional Director

The 10 regions

North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Great Lakes, South Eastern, South Central, Central, Mid-Western, Far Western, International

North Atlantic Region: year established

1926

North Atlantic Region: first Regional Director

Thelma B. Boozer

North Atlantic Region: current Regional Director (per source)

Meredith L. Henderson

North Atlantic Region: first conference

July 1930 in New York

North Atlantic Region: states covered

Massachusetts, Eastern New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

Where is the Headquarters located?

Chicago, IL: 5656 South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637

Who wrote the sorority hymn?

Marjory Jackson

Who wrote the initiation hymn?

Harriet Josephine Terry

Who designed the crest?

Phyllis Wheatley Waters

Who wrote the sorority song?

Anna Easter Brown

Who wrote the sorority pledge?

Grace Edwards of Zeta Chapter

Who was supposed to be the original 10th founder?

Anna Powell. Her beau passed away during the summer, so she decided not to return to Howard University

6 Types of Membership

Undergraduate, Graduate, General, Associate, Honorary, Life

Undergraduate membership

College students seeking bachelor's degrees

Graduate membership

College alumnae

General membership

College alumnae/undergraduates who are not affiliated with a chapter