[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 21, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF LUCY DIGGS SLOWE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 21, 2017

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize an extraordinary 
leader of women, Lucy Diggs Stowe, who has recently been honored by the 
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., an international sorority that she 
helped establish at Howard University in 1908. The ceremony took place 
in Berryville, the place of her birth, located in the 10th 
Congressional District of Virginia.
  In the early part of the 20th Century, Lucy Diggs Slowe was an 
inspirational advocate for greater opportunity for African-American 
women, whose resourcefulness and resilience is reflective of the 
dynamic Josephine Street community where she spent her early childhood. 
The difficult loss of both of her parents in her youth and the obstacle 
of a segregated education in Virginia and Maryland did not stop Lucy 
Slowe from blossoming as a student and achieving greatness as an 
educator. Graduating second in her class from Baltimore Colored School 
in 1904, she was admitted to Howard University in Washington, D.C. and 
after graduating from Howard as class valedictorian in 1908, Lucy Diggs 
Slowe embarked on a stellar career as an educator, overcoming obstacles 
and breaking down barriers as she went. In chronological order, she 
taught high school English in Baltimore, studied at Columbia University 
during the summers and obtained a master's degree in 1915, was invited 
to create and lead the first junior high school for African-American 
students in the District of Columbia, was selected by Howard University 
as its first Dean of Women in 1922, and served in administrative 
positions at Howard for the next 15 years.
  To ensure a prominent role for African-American women at 
traditionally black colleges, Lucy Diggs Slowe helped organize and 
served as the first president of the National Association of College 
Women, an organization dedicated to raising the standards in colleges 
for African-American women, developing women faculty, and securing 
scholarships. Slowe's passion for excellence extended beyond education 
to the sport of tennis, as well. In 1917, she became the first African-
American woman to win a national title in any sport, when she claimed 
the first women's title at the American Tennis Association's national 
tournament in Baltimore.
  While an undergraduate student at Howard, Lucy Diggs Slowe was one of 
nine founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's first Greek-letter 
organization for African-American women and served as its first 
president. More than a century later, the international sorority has 
grown to more than 290,000 members in 997 chapters in 42 states, the 
District of Columbia and several U.S. territories and foreign 
countries. With the purpose of raising the status of African-Americans, 
particularly girls and women, the sorority's corps of volunteers has 
championed life-long learning and instituted social action initiatives 
and social service programs that have transformed communities for the 
better.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in honoring 
the extraordinary life and contributions of Lucy Diggs Slowe, a 
favorite daughter of Berryville, Virginia and recognizing and thanking 
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., for 109 years, of proudly and 
successfully working to raise the status of African-American girls and 
women

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