Loading the player… By Charisma Deberry ·January 20, 2021January 20, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris thanked the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for supporting her ambitions during a special Founders’ Day address over the weekend.
Founded on Jan. 15, 1908, on the motto of “By Culture and By Merit,” the organization sought to improve women’s conditions to elevate their social stature and advance the African- American race. The first Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha is celebrating 113 years of “Service To All Mankind” this year, and these women of the pink and green made a lifetime of service that paved the way for Madam Vice President. These women do not stand alone, as many Alpha Kappa Alpha women made history in the fields of civil rights, politics, education, and entertainment, and more. It is their shoulders that Vice President Kamala Harris proudly stands on. She is their founders’ wildest dreams.
Keep scrolling for a look at 15 trailblazing AKAs who made history.
01ETHEL HEDGEMAN LYLEThe Founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Black sorority. Lyle became the organization’s first International Treasurer and served for over 20 years. She was also the first Black woman to earn a Teacher’s Life Certificate from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Lyle is referred to in the sorority as “The Guiding Light.” 
Courtesy of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 02MARION ANDERSONAn American opera singer. She was the first African-American singer to perform at the White House and the first African-American to sing with New York’s Metropolitan Opera. 
Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Stringer/Getty Images 03MAE JAMISONAn American engineer, physician, and Astronaut. On Sept. 12, 1992, Jemison became the first African-American woman in space when the space shuttle, Endeavour, carried her and six other astronauts on 126 orbits around the Earth. 
Photo Credit: @therealmaejemison Instagram 04ROSA PARKSAn American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. Parks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. Upon her death in 2005, she was the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. 
Photo Credit: Getty Images 05CORETTA SCOTT KINGAn American author, activist, and civil rights leader known as “The First Lady of The Civil Rights Movement”. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and continued her advocacy throughout her life. She was the first African-American to lie in Georgia State Capitol upon her death. 
06KATHERINE JOHNSONA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)Mathematician, she is noted for her historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist. Johnson is portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the film “Hidden Figures” and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 
07MARY JACKSONNASA’s first Black woman engineer, Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2020, the NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. was renamed the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters. Janelle Monet portrayed Jackson in the film “Hidden Figures.” 
08DOROTHY VAUGHNA “human computer” for NASA and the first Black woman supervisor at the agency. Octavia Spencer portrays Vaughn in the film “Hidden Figures.” She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously. 
09MAYA ANGELOUA writer, poet, filmmaker, actor, dancer, civil rights activist and much more. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights movement and served as the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959. Angelou’s honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Medal of Arts, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. 
10NELLIE QUANDERA Washington D.C educator, Quander wrote a letter to the 1913 Women’s Suffrage March organizers demanding equal treatment for Black women. Subsequently, women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. marched in the historic event as individuals supporting the movement. 
11IDA L. JACKSONA former International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Jackson became the first Black woman to receive a teaching credential from California. During her tenure as AKA President, she founded the first mobile healthcare unit in the United States, later known as ‘The Mississippi Health Project.’ 
12Toni MorrisonA former professor Emeritus at Princeton University, Morrison received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize and the American Book Award. 
13DR. DOROTHY FEREBEEA physician and activist, she was the first Medical Director for the Mississippi Health Project, touching thousands of black Mississippians at a time when they had virtually no access to professional medical care. 
14SHARON PRATTThe Mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1991-1995, she was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. 
15ALTHEA GIBSONA graduate of Florida A&M University, Gibson is one of the most important, accomplished, and impactful African-American athletes in the sport’s history.A true trailblazer, she was the first Black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis. Winning the French Open in 1956,she became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title. 
Photo Credit: Getty Images TOPICS: Alpha Kappa Alpha divine nine inauguration kamala harris
The post 15 AKA Trailblazers Who Made History appeared first on Essence.
