Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Sorority sisters celebrate bond
NORRISTOWN » The members of a renowned sorority with a local chapter are reveling in the leadership potential of their most prominent sister.
Kamala Harris is the first woman, the first African American woman, the first South Asian and the first member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority to be elected vice president of the United States.
Although the sorority that boasts Vice PresidentElect Harris as a member has canceled inauguration events and is urging members to stay home, it doesn’t diminish anyone’s enthusiasm, noted Deidre Patterson, president of The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Phi Beta Omega Chapter, which serves Montgomery and Bucks counties.
“The members were going to go to the inauguration but because of the recent riot they’re asking everyone to stay home and watch it on television,” said Patterson, who knows a lot about the sorority’s history. “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was founded in 1908 on the college campus of Howard University, a historically Black College and University (HBCU). Since 1908 the sorority has grown significantly to nearly 300,000 members into a globally impactful organization of college trained women.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha’s mission is 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 in order to improve their social stature, to maintain a progressive interest in college life, and to be of ‘service to all mankind,’ added Patterson, who lives in Bryn Mawr.
There are now more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha in the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Dubai, Germany, Japan, Liberia, and South Korea.
“Dr. Glenda Glover is the current and 30th International president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and she has implemented five program targets and a signature program, which the chapters like Phi Beta Omega execute,” Patterson explained.
Those targets, according to aka1908.com, include Women’s Healthcare and Wellness, Building Your Economic Legacy and The Arts.
On Jan 15, during a members-only event led by Glover, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority virtually celebrated its Founders’ Day and 113 years of service on Facebook. The celebration included Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and her co-initiates who joined the sorority in 1986 at Howard University, Patterson noted.
“Vice President-Elect Harris spoke of her closeknit sisterhood bond and lifelong friendship with her co-initiates,” recalled Patterson, who has not yet met Harris but hopes to “one day soon.”
Since its inception, the Phi Beta Omega Chapter that Patterson heads up has served Montgomery County and Bucks County with ongoing community service programs.
“It’s through our community service projects that we the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha form a strong bond of sisterhood,” Patterson said.
This bond of sisterhood is what connects Patterson and longtime sorority member Pat Augustus-Gilbert, formerly of Norristown, to Vice President-Elect Harris even though they have never met, Patterson said.
“I am extremely proud of our sorority sister Vice President- Elect Kamala Harris for what she has accomplished in spite of all the challenges women face, especially women of color,” Patterson said. “This is not the first time Alpha Kappa Alpha had famous members in the spotlight although, VP-Elect Harris is probably the largest nationally recognized member of our sorority. Other famous members are Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Althea Gibson, Rosa Parks, Katherine Johnson, Ava DuVernay, Phylicia Rashad, Star Jones, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Alicia Keys just to name a few.”
Harris “also has truly significant ties to the Divine Nine, the group of historically Black sororities and fraternities that for over a century have been deeply woven into the African American experience,” Augustus Gilbert added.
Among Phi Beta Omega Chapter’s many community projects was last December’s donation of comfortable attire for first-time mothers to Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton, which fell under the chapter’s target of “Women’s Healthcare and Wellness.”
Each year Phi Beta Omega Chapter holds programs for MLK Day and “Pink Goes Red.” A virtual MLK Day program on Jan. 18 was created to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King and the “Pink Goes Red” program, which is held on the first Friday in February to promote awareness of heart disease among women.
“This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic these programs will be held virtually.” Patterson said.
For more information, visit Phi Beta Omega Chapter’s website, akaphibetaomega.org