[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING ALPHA NU OMEGA CHAPTER OF ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 1, 2004

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the Alpha 
Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., as it celebrates 
its 75th Anniversary. Since it was chartered on June 8, 1929, the Alpha 
Nu Omega Chapter has enriched the social and intellectual life of 
African American college women in Berkeley and Oakland, California and 
contributed to the social and economic well-being of the greater East 
Bay community.
  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., is an international society that 
was founded at Howard University in January 1908. First conceived as an 
organization to enrich the social and intellectual aspects of college 
life, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority cuts across racial, international, and 
social barriers to help individuals and communities develop 
constructive relationships with others.
  Inspired by the mission and dedication of the National Sorority, 
young women in Oakland and Berkeley, California founded the Alpha Nu 
Omega Chapter 21 years later. The moving spirit in the establishment of 
Alpha Nu Omega Chapter was Soror Ida L. Jackson who, at that time, was 
an Oakland public school teacher.
  Over the years, Alpha Nu Omega Chapter has undertaken a wide range of 
community service activities that have greatly benefited communities in 
the East Bay and throughout the country.
  The main thrust of its work has been to aid the community through 
social, civic, and health programs, vocational guidance, and political 
awareness.
  As early as 1934, the chapter began supporting health programs and 
projects when Soror Ida L. Jackson proposed opening a health clinic in 
Lexington, Mississippi. In 1964, before Head Start, the chapter 
organized and operated an interracial ``Pre-Kindergarten Program'' for 
children from two elementary schools in Berkeley. Since the early 
1970's, the chapter has sponsored a reading experience program--
``Reading is Fundamental''--in several schools in Oakland.
  Political activities such as the Rumford Fair Housing Bill, passage 
of school financial bills affecting thousands of California students 
and teachers, and voter registration and education have all been part 
of Alpha Nu Omega's ongoing commitment to community service.
  During critical periods in our history--such as the transition from 
segregation to integration, wartime, the post war era, sit-ins, 
struggles for human dignity, acts of civil disobedience--Alpha Nu Omega 
has held high the torch for equality and social justice. I have no 
doubt that they will continue to blaze new trails and provide visionary 
leadership in the area of community service and political action 
throughout the Oakland-Berkeley area.

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