Since 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and its members have left their mark on several industries and influenced communities and spaces.
Some influential members include Phylicia Rashad, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Maya AngelouToni Morrison and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to ESSENCE.
Harris was officially sworn in as Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2021, making her the first black, Asian-American woman to be elected to the office. While this historical marker is important, 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 begin with the influence of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan. According to a White House profile, Gopalan received 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 an emeritus professor of economics at Stanford University.
Influenced by the academic work of her mother and father, 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 to the US IN Howard University. Attendance at one of the nation’s HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) was likely influenced by her parents’ cultural and social upbringing.
In her memoir, “Truths We Carry: A Journey Across America,” she discusses her parents’ work and participation during the Civil Rights movement, as well as her mother’s acceptance of her and her sister Maya’s upbringing. as black girls in America.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two black girls,” Harris wrote in the memoir. “She knew her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we grew up to be confident and 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, according to 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, calling them her “formative years.”
“The thing Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You can be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no fake elections at Howard,” Harris said via a Howard University profile.
From the Faculty of Law to the White House
After graduating from Howard, Harris attended law school at the University of California Hastings College of Law.
While there in February 1989, Harris defended black students after a Black History Month performance was defaced with racial slurs. According to Politico, Harris stood before about 300 students, faculty and staff, detailing the incident and calling for change.
Her law school education led her to become a prosecutor, state attorney general, US senator from 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 an increase in donations.
According to a separate Politico report, Harris’ Democratic campaign now has $377 million in cash, which is $50 million more than Trump’s campaign.
Alumni of Morehouse College called the PAC of 1867. Additionally, Harris has experienced an increase in support from members of the Divine Nine, which consists of the nine known 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 Zoom call of 44,000 people. The group, Win With Black Women, organized the rally 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.