Resolution by AKA members, Speaker Adams and Majority Leader Farías, honors organization’s long-lasting impact in communities
City Hall, NY – Today, the New York City Council designated January 15 annually as Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in New York City to recognize Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA). The designation was advanced by a resolution, sponsored by AKA members, Speaker Adrienne Adams and Majority Leader Amanda Farías, that honors the sorority’s enduring commitment to service, scholarship, and positive impact on families and communities in New York City and across the world.
“As a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, initiated at Spelman College, I am delighted to co-sponsor a resolution designating January 15th annually as Alpha Kapa Alpha Day in New York City,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Being a member of the first Sorority for college-educated Black women has been pivotal in shaping my path – particularly in becoming the first Black Speaker of the New York City Council, leading a historic first women-majority Council body. The tenets of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, have empowered my life’s journey by breaking barriers and blazing trails, just it has for generations of women before me. I am profoundly honored to buttress the perpetual recognition of my historic Sisterhood.”
“It is an honor to stand with Speaker Adrienne Adams—my Sister in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated—in co-sponsoring this resolution recognizing January 15th as Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in the City of New York,” said Majority Leader Amanda Farías. “For more than a century, Alpha Kappa Alpha has advanced educational access, civil rights, and community service through programs that change lives. Our members have established schools, registered voters, expanded access to healthcare, and mentored generations of women to lead with excellence. Here in New York City, Sisters organize annual service projects that support local shelters, award scholarships to high school students, and empower young women through mentorship and college readiness initiatives. Recognizing Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in the City of New York affirms the measurable and lasting impact of BIPOC women’s leadership. As a proud member of this sisterhood, I am proud to see that legacy reflected in the heart of New York.”
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 first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established by Black college-educated women. Its founders were among the fewer than 1,000 Black students enrolled in higher education institutions in 1908 and the 25 women who received bachelor’s degrees from Howard University between 1908 and 1911. AKA was founded on a mission of five basic tenets that have remained unchanged since the sorority’s inception: 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 in order to improve their social stature; to maintain a progressive interest in college life; and to be of “Service to All Mankind.”
In 1930, AKA became a founding member of the National Pan Hellenic Council, also known as the Divine Nine, which is the coordinating body of historically Black fraternities and sororities.
With its signature official colors of salmon pink and apple green, AKA currently has a membership of more than 390,000 women in more than 1,105 graduate and undergraduate chapters located in 14 nations and territories, including the United States, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Japan, Liberia, Nigeria, South Korea, United Kingdom and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some notable AKA members include Dr. Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott-King, Rosa Parks, Toni Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Ava DuVernay, Mae Jemison, Phylicia Rashad, Cynthia Erivo, former United States Vice President Kamala Harris, and many more women who have made significant contributions in the fields of education, science, entertainment, civil rights, and government.
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