Sorority uses social media to mark milestone
On Jan. 20 — Inauguration Day — Kamala Harris nearly eclipsed President Joe Biden as being the one to watch. Not only is she the first woman and person of Black and Indian heritage to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, she’s the first member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. to do so.
In her honor, Inauguration Day was referred to as “Chucks and Pearls” Day, complete with trending hashtag. Chucks refer to Converse Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, which Harris favors along with pearls. To commemorate her historic swearing-in, Alpha Kappa Alpha members — AKAs for short — were encouraged via social media to post photos of themselves wearing their sorority colors of pink and green, along with their own Chucks and pearls.
Among the multitude of AKAs doing just that were members of the Little Rockbased Beta Pi Omega graduate chapter.
State Rep. Joy Springer, chapter president, didn’t have Chucks, but she donned pink pearls and pink pumps for her watch party, “which was in my office with tears of joy flowing down my cheeks,” she says. “I was also texting my family and friends.” She took selfies and shared them with her family.
For Springer, Harris’ election was “a dream come true.”
“On January 20, 2021, a Black woman was being sworn in as vice president of the United States of America,” she says.
Laura L. Martin donned her “Chucks & Pearls” T-Shirt, which bore the image of the pink and green Chucks tennis shoes. “Also, I had my pink and green blinged-out Chucks on — and a three-strand set of pearls.” She watched the Inauguration in her office at work with a young co-worker.
Martin took a selfie, but had to ask her co-worker to take a full-length photo that captured her shoes. She, along with her sorors, posted on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. “Younger sorors posted in TikTok as well,” she says.
Like Martin, Anita Brannon chose a Chucks & Pearls T-shirt, along with multiple strands of pearls, as her Inauguration Day attire — and “my green chucks glammed out with green glitter and of course, pearls, pearls, pearls.” She was alone, but stayed on the phone with her blood/sorority sister, Melanie Hillard, and her best friend Brigette. The selfie she took was “to remember this special day in the life of our country, our sorority, and maybe selfishly, a special day in my life.”
She wishes she could have shared the day with her late husband and parents. “I am just so pleased that my daughter, my legacy, is able to see this for herself.”
Hillard, a former Beta Pi Omega chapter president who serves as Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Arkansas cluster coordinator, says she “experienced a myriad of emotions” when it was determined that Harris would become the next vice president of the United States. Among those was hope “for what her placement means for the future. Madam Vice President Kamala Harris represents a world of so many possibilities.”
Hillard took a vacation day and enjoyed Inauguration Day at home, combining her Chucks & Pearls T-shirt with a long strand of pearls that Beta Pi Omega Chapter presented her with at the end of her leadership term … and her feet shod with pink studded Chucks adorned with green laces. From the comfort of her living room, she participated in numerous text chats and entertained several phone calls from family and friends throughout the day, as they watched together virtually.
“Of course, I took a selfie or two — but who’s counting, right?” Harris shared her images on Instagram and Facebook and was also asked to share with a television reporter who included it in his 5 and 6 p.m. segments.
This act of celebratory solidarity went far beyond Alpha Kappa Alpha, the women note.
“In fact, a member of another organization gave me [my] shirt,” Martin says. “Her sorority had the same shirt in their colors. I have many more Greek friends who wore shirts that said ‘Chucks & Pearls’ — no specific color, but they too wore pearls and Chucks.”
Hillard names other Black organizations — historically Black colleges and universities, The Links Inc., Jack & Jill of America Inc. and others — that got in on the celebration.
“I had several members of other organizations reach out to me personally and express their pride in Madam Vice President and pledge their support,” she says. “It was also evident by the numerous posts on social media from members of each organization.
“Vice President Kamala Harris represents us all, and we all stand together in support of her.”