Happy Founders’ Day!
You know we had to celebrate the mirror-mesmerizing ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated who’ve spent the last 117 years exemplifying excellence while providing “service to all mankind” as the phirst and phinest members of the Divine Nine.
The storied organization started as the vision of nine college students on the campus of Howard University in 1908. Since then, the sorority has flourished as a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant-leadership across the globe.
As Alpha Kappa Alpha has grown, it’s “maintained its focus on the lifelong personal and professional development of each of its members and galvanizing its membership into an organization of respected power and influence, consistently at the forefront of effective advocacy and social change that results in equality and equity for all citizens of the world,” per its site.
Notable members of the organization include Brandy, Maya Angelou, Phylicia Rashad, Gladys Knight, Toni Morrison, Lynn Whitfield, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith, Loretta Devine, Erica Campbell, Tika Sumpter, WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, WWE star Jade Cargill, Urban One Chairwoman Cathy Hughes, Vice President Kamala Harris, and many more who continue to inspire generations of dynamic Black women.
In 2021, an especially star-studded class including Tracee Ellis Ross, Cynthia Erivo, basketball legend Lisa Leslie, journalist Robin Roberts, business executive Ursula M. Burns, famed costume designer Ruth E. Carter, film producer Debra Martin Chase, and The Color Purple author Alice Walker were inducted as honorary members.
Last year, Tamron Hall headlined the 2024 class of honorary inductees including New York Times best-selling author, TV Producer, and writer Attica Locke and New York Times best-selling author, Actor, TV Producer/Writer/Podcaster Tembi Locke.
And, if you didn’t know, Found star Shanola Hampton and Brilliant Minds star Tamberla Perry–the stars of NBC’s tandem of hit shows–are proud AKAs.
Source: Raymond Hall/GC Images
Source: Rich Polk/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
How are you celebrating the AKAs today? Tell us down below and enjoy our gallery of the absolute baddest AKAs in the game on the flip.