This post was updated Dec. 3 at 9:59 p.m.
UCLA’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha is celebrating 100 years of community and belonging.
Alpha Kappa Alpha – a Black Greek-letter sorority – was founded at Howard University in 1908. It was the first Greek-letter organization founded by Black female college students, according to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
The Alpha Gamma Chapter was chartered at UCLA on Dec. 19, 1925. It was also the third Black Greek-letter organization to find its home at UCLA, according to the chapter press release.
Bailey Holliman, the correspondent and financial secretary for the Alpha Gamma chapter of AKA, said she views the sorority as a symbol of Black excellence.
Holliman added that she comes from a line of family members who are involved in Greek life – including both of her grandmothers, who were part of AKA. The nine Greek-letter organizations that are part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, also called the Divine Nine, are formed by Black students.
The Alpha Gamma chapter of AKA works with a women’s shelter in downtown Los Angeles and helps package sanitary products for women without housing, Holliman said. She added that the sorority has held sustainable events such as garden cleanups and clothing drives.
“The epitome of Black excellence is being able to juggle different hats and be able to serve others – it is truly a beautiful quality, and I’ve seen that in the many, many, many women that I’ve come across in the sisterhood,” Holliman said. “It’s something I’ve always admired and I’m happy to emulate.”
The Alpha Gamma chapter of AKA celebrated its centennial anniversary with a three-day event in mid-November.
Dolores Bodden, the president of the Alpha Gamma chapter of AKA, said in a chapter press release that the chapter packed and donated 500 hygiene kits to Alexandria House – a non-profit organization providing housing for people in crisis situations – as part of the celebration.
The event featured guest speakers from the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and performances from the Inner-City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.
Bodden, a fourth-year physiological science student, said she joined AKA to continue her family members’ legacies, as they were also in Divine Nine fraternities and sororities. She added that she admired the deep-rooted sisterhood she saw her family members find in AKA.
Jada Gibson, a fourth-year communication and political science student, said all her closest friends are people she met in the sorority. AKA has more than 1,105 undergraduate and graduate chapters, according to its website.
“I have a really big community that’s always supporting me,” Gibson said. “I can basically go anywhere out of the state, out of the country, and have people that I can depend on and reach out to.”
Bodden said the Alpha Gamma chapter of AKA provides a network in which members receive a career mentor and connect with others in the same career field.
The sorority’s mission is service to all mankind, Gibson said. She added that, on an individual level, she tries to apply that mission by demonstrating kindness and exemplifying what it means to be a woman of AKA.
“The long legacy of women who dedicated their lives, not only to this chapter, but to our organization – and it shows that they’re still committed to service, and that it wasn’t just part of their college experience,” Holliman said. “They made that their life mission. … That’s what separates our chapter from other Greek organizations.”
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