There may be a little more spring in the step of members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) at Howard University. The women are bursting with pride over the fact that their sorority sister, Vice President Kamala Harris, is running for president.
Harris pledged to the sorority when she attended Howard in the late 80s, and she addressed the sorority at its convention in Dallas earlier this month.
“We’re very excited to see this. Representation is so important. And when we see her, we see ourselves. We see our sisters, our grandmothers, and so really, it’s just truly an inspiration,” said Imani Smith, a rising senior and president of the Alpha chapter of AKA at Howard University.
“Kamala is a Black woman — a powerful, smart, intelligent, Black woman. As a Howard student, it’s very, very exciting for the possibility of a Howard alumna to be in the White House. That just goes to show, Bison Pride, how far we can go,” said Jadyn Cobb, a rising senior at Howard and a vice president of the Alpha chapter.
The sorority was founded at Howard University in 1908, making it the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American women in higher education.
The sorority has more than 360,000 members in its 1,074 chapters across the world.
“Our mission is service to all mankind. So that is something that, as members, we have been trained and steeped in from the date of initiation. … I believe that what has contributed and helped lay the success for Vice President Kamala Harris is the level of excellence that is produced out of our sorority,” said Deidra Davis, graduate advisor to the Alpha chapter and a member of the XI Omega chapter of D.C.’s AKA chapter.
As a nonprofit, the sorority is nonpartisan, but it promises major voter registration drives before the November election, including voter registration for incoming freshmen during move-in day at the start of the fall term.
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