ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome back! This episode, we enter the world of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, the first Black Greek Life Organization for women. Founded at Howard University in 1908, the sorority has a huge legacy of civic work and professional networking. We discuss the positive and negative associations with AKAs, from their groundbreaking mobilization to their stereotype as elitist. Our base text is Deborah Elizabeth Whaley’s Disciplining Women: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Black Counterpublics, and the Cultural Politics of Black Sororities, with some intertextual analysis between Whaley and contemporary ideas about AKAs. Featuring Kamala Harris, Beyoncé, and more. Happy Black History Month, and Happy Year of the Horse! <3
Sources:
- Disciplining Women: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Black Counterpublics, and the Cultural Politics of Black Sororities, Deborah Elizabeth Whaley (2010)
- Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, Netflix (2019)
- A Different World (1987)
- School Daze, Spike Lee (1988)
- “Reunited, Okay?” Insecure (2021)
- “'Insecure' Faces Backlash Over Portrayal Of Tiffany As An AKA,” Essence
- “DOING A GOOD JOB AT A BAD THING: PREVALENCE AND PERPETUATION OF STEREOTYPES AMONG MEMBERS OF HISTORICALLY BLACK SORORITIES,” Natalie T. J. Tindall, Marcia D. Hernandez, and Matthew W. Hughey, Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (2011)
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Website
- “The Tight-Knit World of Kamala Harris’s Sorority,” The New Yorker (2024)
- “Howard University AKA Sorority, Inc. Alpha Chapter Probate | Spring '25,” Youtube
- “Liberian Girl” majorette dance trend on TikTok
- @stompworld on TikTok
- TikTok Critique of Latina Sorority Strolls
- “The History and Importance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs),” College Wise
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Cover Photo:
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. Spanish-American girl threading the loom at WPA (Works Progress Administration/Work Projects Administration) weaving project. Costilla, New Mexico Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0a547940-392e-0137-af82-535e56c46bfc
