The Divine Nine: Highlighting Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority

In honor of Black History Month, NewsChannel 13 is highlighting the National Pan-Hellenic Council, also known as the Divine Nine or D9.

The Divine Nine is made up of the nine Black fraternities and sororities.

Created in May of 1930, D9 evolved from Black people needing a space to share common goals and ideals when racial isolation was at its highest on predominantly white campuses.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was the first sorority founded, and the second organization founded.

AKA was founded on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University. For 115 years, AKA has proven it stands by its mission of “Service to All Mankind.”

With more than 355,000 initiated members, AKA has been represented by many powerful women in history.

The “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”, Rosa Parks, was inducted as an honorary member into Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 1988. World-famous poet, Dr. Maya Angelou was inducted five years earlier. In 2016, the movie Hidden Figures, a biographical story of three legendary African American women who made a critical impact in science history, all three women, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were AKA members.

Today, the first Black woman Vice President in U.S. history, Kamala Harris, is always proud to represent her sorority.

Even in the Capital Region, the list of notable names runs long.