Whereas Barbara A. McKinzie has proven to be an extremely
successful president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA);
Whereas inspired by the AKA ESP theme of Economics,
Service and Partnerships,
the last 4 years have been marked by
achievements and milestones that are unparalleled in the 102-year history of
the organization;
Whereas the ESP narrative chronicles international
president McKinzie’s triumphant 4 years;
Whereas under her leadership, Alpha Kappa Alpha has been:
E
for effective;
Whereas AKA served more than 17,000,000 individuals
worldwide through ESP programs from 2006 to 2010 and it has also logged over
1,500,000 volunteer hours executing the ESP program over the past 3
years;
Whereas AKA has been entrepreneurial by launching a
multitude of programs and activities directed at building a strong foundation
for women in business and those women aspiring to be entrepreneurs, and the
information and insights provided under these programs and activities has
resulted in over 400 formerly emerging entrepreneurs opening their own firms
and becoming employers;
Whereas AKA instituted the On Top of the
Game
, a youth business plan competition to support the development of
youth entrepreneurs in 9th through 12th grades;
Whereas for their achievement, regional and national
winners received monetary awards to reinvest in their businesses;
Whereas AKA has been environmentally conscious by
transforming a rundown park in Anchorage, Alaska, into a beautiful park by
planting flowers, removing weeds and other environmental toxins, and leaving
AKA’s environmental signature on the area;
Whereas all totaled, members of AKA volunteered over 1,000
hours of hands-on beautification activities amounting to over $18,000 of
donated work in July 2009;
Whereas AKA has been economically forward thinking by
carrying out an exemplary service program that recognized economic empowerment
as the key to the success of the Black community and other people of
color;
Whereas the focus of AKA on all issues economic—Economic
Awareness, Economic Sufficiency and Economic Empowerment resulted in programs
that have pumped more than $23,000,000 into the local communities throughout
the globe;
Whereas AKA sponsored forums and discussions on economic
issues that increased economic literacy and economic growth, improved living
standards, fostered health consciousness, and led to implementation of programs
to make individuals and communities more economically viable by adopting
families to increase their viability and economic growth;
Whereas AKA instituted a series of systematic
administrative and financial reforms that enabled the sorority to eliminate a
$1,200,000 Federal tax liability and return the organization to sound financial
footing;
Whereas AKA has served as educational guardians by
launching the Undergraduate Signature Program: Economic Educational Advancement
through Technology on 10 beta site college campuses worldwide where residents
were taught technology skills, which all 300 undergraduate chapters
implemented;
Whereas AKA initiated ABCs for HBCUs (Advocates for Black
Colleges), which resulted in more than $650,000 distributed to Black colleges
and strengthened Alpha Kappa Alpha’s long-standing position as a board member
of the United Negro College Fund;
Whereas AKA made an historic $1,000,000 donation to Howard
University;
Whereas under the McKinzie Administration, Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority members have been spectacular achievers
through
the establishment of its position as a global influence when the United
Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted AKA special consultative
status;
Whereas AKA was inducted into the Guinness Book of World
Records for the largest ever sit down dinner in the history of conventions
worldwide, when 16,206 members dined at the Walter E. Washington Convention
Center during the Centennial Celebration;
Whereas AKA has served as a servant to services nationally
by donating and helping to build Habitat for Humanity Homes for 2 families
displaced by Katrina from New Orleans and Gulfport, Mississippi, and in so
doing, performed 1,150 hours of construction work and, in July 2007, became the
first organization of its kind to make such a donation;
Whereas AKA distributed food to more than 400 New Orleans
families in one day through a partnership with Feed the Children;
Whereas AKA fanned out to communities worldwide as part of
President Barack Obama and the First Lady’s Day of National Service;
Whereas AKA has served as servants to service on a global
level by cementing a $500,000 partnership with Liberian President and AKA
member Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to build the Omega Market Village that will
provide financial and other support for the empowerment of Liberian women
market traders and to help restore their livelihood as they recover from 14
years of civil war;
Whereas AKA has served as strong guardians of the sorority
by assuring that all chapters are in compliance with the rules and regulations
of the organization through an extensive evaluation of each chapter;
Whereas AKA revamped the Membership Intake Process as a
way to institutionalize the sorority’s value system and reduce
inactivity;
Whereas AKA increased the membership 15 percent, doubled
the sorority’s revenue, and pursued a professional investment strategy that
beat market performance that helped increase the organization’s assets by
$8,000,000;
Whereas AKA created a communications arm that blitzed the
media with news about the organization and generated over $2,000,000 in free
exposure including global coverage that elevated AKA’s brand and cemented its
position and stature as one of the world’s foremost service
organizations;
Whereas under McKinzie’s inspired leadership, Alpha Kappa
Alpha members have been philanthropists;
Whereas AKA members and chapters donated over $130,000 to
CARE’s Haiti Disaster Fund;
Whereas AKA stepped up and contributed during crises that
upended members and citizens including the raging fires in California, the
floods in Texas, and the oil spill on the Gulf Coast;
Whereas AKA contributed over $500,000 to Alpha Phi Alpha’s
Memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas as partners, AKA collaborated with Africare to
focus on challenges confronting the continent of Africa, Chase Bank to create
homeownership opportunities for members, Loop21 to gauge the 2010 State of
Black America, and many more;
Whereas AKA served as proactivists when AKA coordinated a
formidable voter registration and education campaign whose reach extended to
hard-to-penetrate areas and to formerly apathetic citizens;
Whereas this all-out offensive resulted in record numbers
of citizens joining the voter rolls, becoming more politically empowered, and
casting their vote in the historic 2008 election;
Whereas AKA spearheaded and led a March to the Capitol
steps in a massive show of solidarity by Black Greek organizations;
Whereas the Unity March culminated in the presentation of
a Unity Resolution that was presented to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi;
Whereas AKA spoke out against injustice and in support of
equality wherever it occurred including Don Imus’ comments about the Rutgers
women’s basketball team, the Jena Six, and global hunger;
Whereas as preservers of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Legacy, AKA
instituted a program to preserve, maintain, and protect Alpha Kappa Alpha’s
legacy by continually collecting and storing documents and maintaining them at
Howard University’s Moorland Spingarn Collection;
Whereas the AKA Collection includes the digitized Ivy
Leaf, AKA’s official magazine, mementoes, letters, papers, documents,
photographs and other memorabilia that captures the 102-year-old legacy of AKA
and serves as a repository for researchers and others interested in the
comprehensive history of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority;
Whereas AKA donated the Centennial Traveling Exhibit to
the Washington Historical Society (valued at $450,000), and produced
documentary films celebrating 100 years of sisterhood and service;
Whereas AKA acted as protectors and mounted a variety of
initiatives to protect, uplift and inspire women and girls Nationwide and
worldwide, including on the continent of Africa; and
Whereas AKA has been progressive in implementing a
best in class
leadership development program that created a core
of highly knowledgeable and qualified members to lead the nation and world as
problem solvers and service providers during the challenging times that lie
ahead: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)acknowledges the leadership of immediate
past international president Barbara Mckinzie of the Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Inc., and her efforts on behalf of the sorority to fulfill its motto
of service to all mankind
;
(2)salutes the efforts of the Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority, Inc., on a domestic and international level; and
(3)recognizes the
significance of Alpha Kappa Sorority, Inc., as an organization that continues
to make a global impact worldwide.