It’s the most illustrious time of the year! Ok, if you think I am being extra, that’s because I am, but it’s totally warranted. To give you a little bit of context, the first Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, was founded on January 15, 1908. Every year on January 15, members of the organization celebrate Founders’ Day which will be here in just two days from when I publish this post.
Unless they know me personally, a lot of people don’t actually know that I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. I no longer have the pink and green hearts, or my line number, chapter, and crossing season in my Instagram bio, but being a member is truly life changing. It was one of the best decisions I made as an undergrad and so I figured it was time that I open up about my experience as an AKA. Keep in mind I am speaking from my perspective and personal experiences and not on behalf of the organization or my undergraduate chapter. I figured as a reader you know that already, since that’s how a personal blog works, but it’s important to remind you of that for this post especially.
Why AKA?
Before I tell you why I became a member Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, I want to acknowledge that the cut and dry answer is that members who were already in the chapter believed I was qualified enough to be a part of the chapter. You’re probably thinking, well yes this is obvious, why are you telling me this? That’s because it is very easy for people to forget that being a part of the organization is not a right. I did the same amount of research that I normally put into a job application and experienced just as much nervousness attending events for AKA as I do when I attend professional networking events. No one is entitled to membership and so in the off chance that you’re reading this and considering seeking membership into an NPHC organization, my advice is to do your research.
That aside, I joined Alpha Kappa Alpha for many reasons and I’ll try to sum it up as quickly as possible. Once I did my research I learned that AKAs were women doing amazing things for their communities for over a century in various fields: education, government, medicine, law and the sciences, just to name a few. AKAs were women who meant business because as we like to say this is a serious matter! There were also a number of inspirational women in my life that I realized were AKAs and so I never really considered joining any other org. On top of that I wanted an opportunity to have a sisterhood of black women beyond Harvard’s campus and beyond undergrad years. Honestly, my list could go on and on and I do a much better job of explaining in it person but all I can say is I am extremely grateful for AKA in my life. Now let’s get into some of my personal experiences:
As A Nigerian
Any time I meet other Nigerian AKAs or Divine 9 Greeks in general, there’s always that question of “how did your parents take it?” or “did you tell your parents?” That’s because there’s a bit of a culture barrier and misunderstanding to Nigerian immigrants. They see the matching colors and the hand signs, hear the calls and songs and think that it is a cult. I’ve met a fair amount of people who say they didn’t tell their parents too much about it for fear of them not being allowed to join. For me on the other hand, my mom was supportive and really had no issue with me seeking membership. For my mom, she knew that every student organization I had joined, was not on a whim. I put deep thought into everything I did in college, including the organizations and networks that I sought to be a part of. To her, if I thought becoming an AKA would positively contribute to my life experience as a college student and black woman, then she understood.
Many of the values of Divine 9 organizations, such as deep respect for those who came before you, for example, exist in Nigerian culture as well.
As it relates to being a member, there’s really not any unique experience. When I joined, I had full understanding of the history and value of Divine 9 organizations to African American culture. In seeking membership, I was expressing interest not only in the organization but in that aspect of African American culture as well. Still a lot of the values of D9 orgs, such as deep respect for those who came before you, for example, exist in Nigerian culture as well. Basically what I’m saying is that being a Nigerian in an organization built on African American culture hasn’t created a separate experience for me. That shouldn’t be surprising though.
As an Ivy League Student
Being a part of a Divine 9 org at a PWI already comes with it’s own set of experiences unique from those who attended an HBCU. Being at an Ivy League school was no different. For one, most people on campus are clueless about the letters you wear, especially since AKA are Greek letters that look the same in English. I could wear para on campus and many wouldn’t even know it was for a sorority. They may have assumed it was a random sweatshirt with letters that stood for “also known as”.
Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel that there was an unspoken tension between being an AKA and being a part of on campus black organizations.
At Harvard in particular, the existence of Greek life has been tumultuous to say the least. In recent years, the university has placed a number of sanctions on single gendered organizations that have essentially caused many chapters of NPC organizations to dissolve or relinquish national affiliation. While a formality based on membership has left my undergrad chapter with the ability to avoid these sanctions, it still speaks to the general lack of appreciation of what Divine 9 orgs represent and have contributed to black communities for over one hundred years.
Within the black community at my school, sometimes I couldn’t help but feel that there was an unspoken tension between being an AKA and being a part of on campus black organizations such as the Black students association or Black women’s association. Sometimes it seemed that there was a general consensus that you could only be loyal to one organization, greek or non-greek, which I found ironic because through being a part of these campus cultural organizations, I realized that a lot of the traditions mirrored those of historically black sororities and fraternities. Still, myself and even other members of my undergrad chapter were also leaders of their respective campuses black student organizations.
Despite all of this, I loved being an AKA at Harvard. It allowed me to get out of the so called “Harvard Bubble” and meet so many amazing women. Some of my closest friends, confidants, and travel partners today, I know I wouldn’t have met had it not been for AKA.
As A Recent Grad
After graduating from college, I moved back home to New York. I had the option of joining a graduate chapter but I have not done that yet due to restrictions on time, energy and money. However, I still maintain active financial status as a general member. Still, because there are so many AKAs in New York, I’m not isolated from a network of women a part of the organization. It is a still a very huge part of my life after college which is not surprising at all, AKA is for life!
Final Thoughts
It’s an understatement to say that I love my AKA. It’s was a huge part of the end of my college experience and although being a member is a lot of work, it is certainly worth it! Here’s to 111 years of sisterhood and service to all mankind!
“Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:35
