Alpha Kappa Alpha heads to Little Rock for 103rd Founders’ Day celebration
More than 1,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority from all over the world will journey to Little Rock, Arkansas from January 13-16, 2011 to celebrate the organization’s 103rd anniversary. Led by International President Attorney Carolyn House Stewart, members will salute the nine visionary women who founded the organization on January 15, 1908 on the campus of Howard University. They will also pay tribute to Alpha Kappa Alpha’s illustrious history and the Founders who shaped the Sorority to its current level of greatness.
Because of the historic significance of the celebration, the three days of celebration will be inspired by the theme: “Reflections and Remembrance of Timeless Service.”
Members from all ten regions where the Sorority has chapters – including from as far away as the US Virgin Islands and the Bahamas — will come to Little Rock for the commemorative event. They will be clad in their signature pink and green colors.
Little Rock was selected for this celebration because of its historical significance to African-American history and the fight to achieve educational equality — and because most of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Founders were educators. It is the site where nine courageous students made history by enforcing their right and access to equal education after the US Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The case ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The remaining eight of the original nine — Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Dr. Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed-Wair and Melba Pattillo Beals – will be honored during the celebration. Each has been invited to attend the festivities. The Sorority will also pay tribute to the late Jefferson Thomas, a member of the original nine.
To underscore Alpha Kappa Alpha’s commitment to the community, and as a show of reverence to the Little Rock Nine, members will engage in nine service projects. Hailed as “community outreach initiatives,” the service projects embrace the full spectrum of service that Alpha Kappa Alpha symbolizes and parallels the sorority’s new administration’s theme: “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”
During the celebratory weekend, members will visit the Little Rock-based headquarters of Heifer International, an organization devoted to ridding the world of poverty. On behalf of the Sorority, President Stewart forged a relationship with the organization because its mission parallels AKA’s resolve to fight the scourge of hunger and poverty. Designating Heifer as a “charity of choice,” AKA will raise money and leverage its network of resources with the ultimate goal of providing economic security for women. AKA Chapters in the South Central Region which includes Arkansas recently raised over $25,000, which will purchase cows, several flocks of chickens, bees and “ an ark” to feed families and create opportunities for women in regions where Heifer International serves. This donation underscores the Sorority’s commitment to addressing this global hunger and poverty crisis.
“Alpha Kappa Alpha is honored and humbled to come to historic Little Rock for our Founders’ Day celebration,” declared International President Stewart. “We will pay tribute to our outstanding founders whose vision of service has endured for 103 years. We will also join the Little Rock chapters to engage in nine community outreach activities in honor of the Little Rock Nine. In essence, this weekend will showcase Alpha Kappa Alpha’s core mission: ‘Service to all mankind.’”
About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority:
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African-American college-educated women. It is comprised of 260,000 members in 958 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, the U. S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea and on the continent of Africa. Its membership includes distinguished women who boast excellent academic records, proven leadership skills, and are involved in the global community through advocacy and service. Alpha Kappa Alpha has dedicated itself to improving the quality of life for citizens worldwide and promoting peace. The organization is led by its 28th International President Carolyn House Stewart of Tampa, Florida whose administration’s programmatic theme is “Global Leadership Through Timeless Service.”
About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Arkansas Chapters:
Alpha Kappa Alpha serves the communities in Arkansas through 12 graduate chapters that boast 550 members. The chapters are based in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Jonesboro, Magnolia, Fayetteville, Arkadelphia, Helena, Marianna, Camden, Conway, West Memphis and Blytheville. Alpha Kappa Alpha also has 126 members from eight undergraduate chapters that are located at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas State University, Philander Smith College, Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Henderson State University and University of Central Arkansas. Some of the major community outreach activities the chapters are involved in are the American Diabetes Association Annual Walk, the Ivy Charm and Gent Academy, African American Women Healthy Heart Conference, Operation Feed, the Walk for Babies (March of Dimes), and Habitat for Humanity. The chapters also give out scholarships to worthy students. Mrs. Gwendolyn J. Brinkley is the Regional Director.
For more information about Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. log on to www.aka1908.com.
