Resolution by AKA members, Speaker Adams, and Majority Leader Farías, honors organization’s long-lasting impact in communities
The New York City Council has designated January 15 annually as “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Day” in the City of New York.” The City Council passed a resolution on November 12, 2025, marking the recognition and urging “City agencies, community organizations, schools, cultural institutions, and New Yorkers to observe this day with appropriate programs, volunteer service, and educational activities that highlight and advance the values exemplified by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.”
Westchester’s own Dr. Alexandria Connally was proudly in attendance for this incredible occasion. Radiating excitement and joy, she exclaimed, “This is an auspicious occasion — a truly momentous milestone for our sisterhood. It is a wonderful day to be an AKA.”
“As a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, initiated at Spelman College, I am delighted to co-sponsor a resolution designating January 15th annually as Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in New York City,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Being a member of the first Sorority for college-educated Black women has been pivotal in shaping my path – particularly in becoming the first Black Speaker of the New York City Council, leading a historic first women-majority Council body. The tenets of Alpha Kappa Alpha have empowered my life’s journey by breaking barriers and blazing trails, just as it has for generations of women before me. I am profoundly honored to buttress the perpetual recognition of my historic Sisterhood.”
“It is an honor to stand with Speaker Adrienne Adams—my Sister in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated—in co-sponsoring this resolution recognizing January 15th as Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in the City of New York,” said Majority Leader Amanda Farías. “For more than a century, Alpha Kappa Alpha has advanced educational access, civil rights, and community service through programs that change lives. Our members have established schools, registered voters, expanded access to healthcare, and mentored generations of women to lead with excellence. Here in New York City, Sisters organize annual service projects that support local shelters, award scholarships to high school students, and empower young women through mentorship and college readiness initiatives. Recognizing Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in the City of New York affirms the measurable and lasting impact of BIPOC women’s leadership. As a proud member of this sisterhood, I am proud to see that legacy reflected in the heart of New York.”
Spearheaded by the Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter in Queens, NY, the resolution notes that AKA members across the five boroughs have contributed countless voluntary hours, strengthening families, mentoring youth, and uplifting communities.
“Alpha Kappa Alpha Day in New York City will present opportunities for service, civic engagement, and celebrations highlighting the positive impact our members make across this city,” Debra Farrow, President of Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter, shared with Black Westchester.
January 15, 2026, will mark the 118th founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University in Washington, DC, and the resolution cites the sorority’s “enduring service, scholarship, and positive impact on families and communities.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established by Black college-educated women. Its founders were among the fewer than 1,000 Black students enrolled in higher education institutions in 1908 and the 25 women who received bachelor’s degrees from Howard University between 1908 and 1911. AKA was founded on a mission of five basic tenets that have remained unchanged since the sorority’s inception: to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards; to promote unity and friendship among college women; to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women to improve their social stature; to maintain a progressive interest in college life; and to be of “Service to All Mankind.”
In 1930, AKA became a founding member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, also known as the Divine Nine, which is the coordinating body of historically Black fraternities and sororities.
With its signature official colors of salmon pink and apple green, AKA currently has a membership of more than 390,000 women in more than 1,105 graduate and undergraduate chapters located in 14 nations and territories, including the United States, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Japan, Liberia, Nigeria, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some notable AKA members include Dr. Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott-King, Rosa Parks, Toni Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Ava DuVernay, Mae Jemison, Phylicia Rashad, Cynthia Erivo, former United States Vice President Kamala Harris, and many more women who have made significant contributions in the fields of education, science, entertainment, civil rights, and government.
