Since 1908, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and its members have made their marks across several industries and impacted communities and spaces.
Some influential members include Phylicia Rashad, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to ESSENCE.
Harris was officially sworn in as vice president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021, making her the first woman, Black person, and South Asian American to be elected to the office. While this historical marker is noteworthy, it was not the beginning of her story.
Kamala Harris’ Road To Howard University
A native of Oakland, CA, Harris’ roots in education and public service start with the influence of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan. According to a profile from the White House, Gopalan earned her doctorate in 1964, the same year Harris was born, and worked as a breast cancer scientist.
Harris’ father, Donald J. Harris, came to the United States from Jamaica to study economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University.
Influenced by her mother and father’s academic work, Harris graduated from Westmount High School near Montreal, Canada, where she moved with her mother after her parents divorced. Harris then began her collegiate studies back in the U.S. at Howard University. Attending one of the country’s HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) was likely influenced by the cultural and social upbringings of her parents.
In her memoir, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” she discusses her parents’ work and participation during the Civil Rights movement as well as her mother’s acknowledgment of raising her and her sister, Maya, as Black girls in America.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters,” Harris wrote in the memoir. “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women.”
During her time at the HBCU, Harris was affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and the debate team, per a Howard University profile.
Harris majored in political science and economics, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986. She described her time at Howard as critical, naming them her “formative years.”
“The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no false choices at Howard,” Harris stated via a Howard University profile.
From Law School To The White House
Upon graduating from Howard, Harris attended law school at the University of California Hastings, College of Law.
While there in February 1989, Harris advocated for Black students after a Black History Month display was defaced with racial slurs. According to Politico, Harris stood before approximately 300 students, faculty, and staff, detailing the incident and demanding change.
Her law school education led her to become a prosecutor, state attorney general, U.S. senator of California, and vice president of the United States.
Kamala Harris Launches Presidential Campaign
Harris is running a historic campaign for president of the United States. After President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris took over his campaign operation, leading to a surge in donations.
According to a separate Politico report, Harris’ Democratic campaign now has $377 million in cash on hand, which is $50 million more than the Trump campaign.
The Harris campaign has galvanized massive support from popular political action committees (PACs), one of which includes a group of Morehouse College alumni called the 1867 PAC. Additionally, Harris has experienced an uptick in support from members of the Divine Nine, which consist of the nine recognized Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs).
According to Inside Higher Ed, BGLO members, particularly Alpha Kappa Alpha, have rallied behind the vice president’s campaign for president.
A large number of AKA members joined a 44,000-person Zoom call. The group, Win With Black Women, organized the gathering on the day President Biden withdrew from the presidential race. During this meeting, the organization raised $1.5 million for the Harris campaign, according to The New York Times.
