[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21719]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I am proud to pay tribute to Alpha Kappa 
Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, America's first Greek-letter organization 
established by black college women.
  On Thursday, September 22, 2005, I had the pleasure of spending time 
with nearly one hundred members of this remarkable organization, 
including Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and AKA's International 
President, Linda White. I have long been aware of the rich history and 
tremendous contributions made to our Nation by Alpha Kappa Alpha and 
the other eight Black Greek Letter Organizations and I was particularly 
delighted to participate in AKA's event entitled ``The Spirit, Let's 
Share it and Connect,'' which focused on the many ways in which AKA 
contributes to our communities.
  In 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded at Howard University 
in Washington, DC, by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, who envisioned AKA as a 
source of social and intellectual enrichment for its members. Over the 
past century, AKA has evolved into a nationwide organization of 
college-trained women working to improve the socioeconomic conditions 
in their cities, States and countries throughout the world.
  Alpha Kappa Alpha's achievements are the result of volunteer service 
that captures the organization's core values. Each year, a National 
Program theme is constructed around one of AKA's five ``targets'': 
Education, the Black Family, Health, Economics and the Arts. This 
year's target is Education, with the Signature Program of the 
administration being ``The Ivy Reading AKAdemy,'' a reading initiative 
focused on early learning and mastery of basic reading skills by the 
end of third grade. All AKA chapters are required to implement an after 
school reading initiative for students in kindergarten through third 
grade. Across the United States there are nine such federally funded 
demonstration sites in low-performing, economically deprived, innercity 
schools.
  AKA has made several significant contributions to the black community 
and to American society over all over the past century. These efforts 
have included a wide range of issues, including among them election 
reform and health care and education initiatives. For example, in 1983 
AKA launched a massive registration drive designed to increase black 
voter registration by 25 percent by the November 1984 elections. In 
1999, AKA was awarded a $50,000 grant from the United States Department 
of Transportation to promote increased seatbelt use and vehicle 
passenger safety in the minority community. That same year, AKA 
established a funded partnership with the United States Department of 
Health and Human Services to promote women's health. Just 4 years ago, 
AKA raised over $25,000 for sickle cell anemia. In 2002, AKA built and 
dedicated nine AKAdemies in South Africa and contributed $25,000 to the 
National Council of Negro Women's Mortgage Liquidation Fund.
  In addition to advancing these services, AKA maintains a focus on 
improving the quality of life for its members. AKA cultivates and 
encourages high scholastic and ethical standards; promotes unity and 
friendship among college women; alleviates problems facing girls and 
women; maintains a progressive interest in college life and serves over 
170,000 women in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. 
Its distinguished alumni include national civic leaders such as 
astronaut Mae Jamison, author Toni Morrison, poet Maya Angelou, Coretta 
Scott King, Rosa Parks, and the late Judge Constance Baker Motley. I 
was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Judge Constance Baker 
Motley earlier this week. A champion of civil rights and a giant of the 
legal profession, she will be remembered for her lasting contributions 
to American jurisprudence and to our larger society. I am certain that 
the women of AKA join me in mourning her passing, grateful and 
heartened by the fact that the civil rights movement existed in large 
part because of the efforts of their friend in sisterhood.
  I am privileged and proud to have a special bond with the remarkable 
women of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated and am honored to share with 
my colleagues the many reasons we should all admire and thank the 
members of this organization for their long-lasting and unwavering 
commitment to improving the lives of so many.

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