“First and finest.”
That’s what Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has been called since it became the first African American Greek-lettered sorority, established in 1908 at Howard University.
That’s also how members of the sorority describe their AKA sister Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first African American, first South Asian American and first female occupant of the office.
“It makes us as an organization feel really proud,” said Cassandria Hansbrough, who has been a member of Leflore County’s Kappa Alpha Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. since Sept. 17, 2000. Saying “first and finest” is “no negative idea toward anybody else. That’s just something that we say because we were the first organization.”
So for one of the sorority’s members to make a historic first by being elected vice president of the United States, “that just adds a great ring to it.”
Members of the Kappa Alpha Omega chapter continue to celebrate Harris’ achievement.
“It was a giant step for the sorority and for women,” said the chapter’s president, Lillie Robie Stanley, who has been a member for almost 14 years. “It was surreal when we watched the election that evening. I was speechless. I was excited and speechless all at the same time, and I realized we now have a vice president of the United States who is a woman who looks like us, a woman and an African American woman.”
The Kappa Alpha Omega chapter was chartered on March 16, 1974, in Itta Bena. It is an alumni chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha and currently has 65 members. Mississippi Valley State University has an undergraduate chapter, Epsilon Pi. The alumni chapter sponsors the undergraduate chapter. Kappa Alpha Omega members also mentor Epsilon Pi members, and they all work together on Alpha Kappa Alpha projects.
Known for its signature colors of pink and green, the sorority focuses on cultivating and encouraging high academic achievement, developing leaders and community service.
“We are an organization that aims to strengthen women,” said Stanley. “It opens up the opportunity for women to be in leadership roles and be a part of the sorority. We strengthen each other, and our main goal is to engage and invite educated women. For a woman to know that this organization is about educated women, it motivates them to go on to secondary education to become a part of the organization.”
When Hansbrough first found out that Harris was selected by President Joe Biden to be his running mate, she said, “I was so excited. The first thing I said was, ‘Yes,’ and not just because she’s in Alpha Kappa Alpha. That’s one of the reasons that I was really impressed.” After Harris became a U.S. senator for California, Hansbrough noticed Harris seemed to be “a strong, independent, highly intelligent woman, with African American roots.”
The Rev. Cora Denise Stewart Lowe became a member of the Epsilon Pi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha on April 1, 1977, while attending Mississippi Valley State University. She later became a member of the Kappa Alpha Omega alumni chapter. Pink and green runs in her family, too. Her mother, Jessie Stewart, and her sisters, Yolanda and Valeria, are also members, although Lowe was the first to join.
Lowe, who has also been following Harris’ political career for several years, said all of the members of the Leflore County alumni chapter are “elated, honored and proud” of the vice president’s accomplishment.
“I can definitely say that I was very, very proud that (Biden) had selected her, but more importantly, I was made to feel even prouder when it was acknowledged immediately that she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.,” she said. “I was glad not just because she was in Alpha Kappa Alpha, but I felt that she was prepared and ready for the job, and that is one of the mantras of the sorority — be always ready. ... I see where the influences of the sorority have had a positive impact on the rest of her life.”
Edith Spells, a member of the Kappa Alpha Omega chapter since 1985, said she was ecstatic when Harris was named as Biden’s running mate and when the two candidates won the election.
Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
“I was overjoyed for both her as a member of the sorority and also as an African American woman, because I felt she was the right person and I knew that she would do an excellent job,” said Spells. “It is just overwhelming to know that not only do we get to call her our vice president, but we also get to call her our sister in Alpha Kappa Alpha.”
Inauguration Day was special for many of the AKA members. They could not gather together because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so they turned to social media to commemorate the historic event.
“It was an experience that I can’t explain,” said Stanley. “It was one that I will never ever forget, and it was beautiful because I was able to watch it with my daughter.”
Spells said Harris not only represents Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, but she is representing all women.
“I think it’s important for young Black women and young girls to see her in this position,” she added.
Harris becoming vice president means that young girls “can set their standards to a higher level,” said Stanley.
“They don’t have to settle for anything less than what they feel they can accomplish because now we have a woman who is vice president of the United States, and she is also an African American woman,” she said. “So for African American girls, that lets them know they can do and be anything that they set their goals and minds to do.”
The vice president taking the oath of office was also an emotional moment.
“It was so touching,” said Spells. “My heart was so warm, and I'm just a cry baby anyway, but I could not help but shed a tear because it was such a proud moment and a moment I think we had been waiting for so long.”
The women of Alpha Kappa Alpha are also known for wearing pearls, which Stanley said represent “strength, wisdom and unity, specifically the 20 women who founded the sorority at Howard University.”
Harris’ signature attire while traveling the country on the campaign trail included Chucks (Converse All Star sneakers) and pearls — a look that created the slogan “Chucks and Pearls.” While some AKA members wore pink and green on the day of the inauguration, others wore their “Chucks and Pearls.”
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“I stayed at home all day long that day, but I wore my Chucks that day and I wore my pearls that day, even though nobody saw them,” Hansbrough said with a laugh.
She said it was the first time she had watched the full day of coverage of a presidential inauguration.
“I try to always watch the oath, if nothing else. But this time, I watched it from the time it came on until I went to bed. It felt like I had a personal investment in it,” she said. When Harris took the oath of office, “It was like I had chills running down my spine. ... It just made me feel full of pride and also full of hope for the future.”
Lowe said she was in tears while watching the inauguration.
“I was full of pride,” she said. “ I was reminded of the history of people of color in this nation and the sacrifices that were made — not even made with her in mind — in order that this nation of people of color would grow. We have really come a long way, but we have no idea how much farther we still have to go.”
The members of Alpha Kappa Alpha are proud of their sorority, and Harris has been vocal about her love for AKA. What many of the members say they enjoy most about being in Alpha Kappa Alpha, is the fellowship with like-minded women and getting to take part in the many community service projects, such as donating to the Community Food Pantry, the Community Kitchen, and the Greenwood Community and Recreation Center as well as other local and global charities.
“I am proud to be a member of this sorority not only because of our current VP but also because this sorority stands on the shoulders of African American women who promoted education, and that is our goal first and foremost is to promote education,” said Stanley.
Lowe said Alpha Kappa Alpha and the other members of the Divine Nine, which is composed of historically African American collegiate Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities, are important.
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“Those are the kind of foundations that build a strong network of people of color,” she said. “Even though we wear different colors and we sing different songs, we are all — every one of the Divine Nine — organized to uplift and enfranchise in particular people of color. While we may do it differently, our purpose is the same. We have love for each other, we support each other and we help each other. The other members of the Divine Nine were as vital in helping (Harris) get elected as Alpha Kappa Alpha.”
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7235 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
