Alpha Kappa Alpha Ushers in Centennial Year

Barbara A. McKinzie, Centennial International President

Commemoration of One-Hundred Year Milestone Takes Place January 12-15

Chicago, IL – When the clock ticked to 12:01 and a new year — 2008 — ushered in, Alpha Kappa Alpha marked its Centennial year. This history-making triumph makes the Sorority the first college-educated, primarily African-American female organization to reach this milestone.

To commemorate this 100-year landmark, the Sorority has a host of celebratory activities planned during the year.

The yearlong celebration begins at AKA’s birth home of Howard University from January 12-15. That mission continues today.

Among
those who will attend are 103-year old Hazel Hainsworth Young, the
oldest active member of the Sorority. Actress, trailblazer and Alpha
initiate Phylicia Rashad is expected to attend. Faye Bryant, a past
international president and an initiate of Alpha chapter, will also
lead the festivities.

The
Alpha Birthday Celebration is the first of two major celebrations to
take place during its Centennial year. More than 20,000 members will
converge upon Washington, D.C. for its Centennial International
Conference from July 12-18. At that time, more tributes and
commemorations will take place. The sorority will use the week to
engage in a series of meetings, plenaries and “conversations” about how
to deal with today’s pressing issues while charting a course for the
Sorority as it enters its second millennium. The public will be invited
to some of the events.

Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority is America’s first Greek-letter organization
founded in 1908 by, and for, African-American college women.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, it is one of the world’s leading
service organizations. The sorority’s members have made a commitment
“to serve all mankind” through a nucleus of more than 200,000 women in
over 975 chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany,
Korea, Japan and in the continent of Africa.

For more information log on to www.aka1908.com. Or, contact
Melody M. McDowell, Chief Information Officer, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Office (773) 660-2001, cell (312) 371-8917
Or, email Melody at [email protected]