Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Campus Presentation and the Divine 9

Pictured L-R: Kennedy McDowney (’27), Kristina Sandiford (’24), Lauren Bellamy (’24), Amber Bellamy (’26)

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the oldest Black Greek-letter female organization in the world.  It was founded on January 15^th, 1908, on the campus of Howard University by 16 women (nine juniors and seven sophomores, also known as the Sophomore Seven) and four incorporators (who were a mixture of some of the sixteen founders and a few other women). The most notable founders and incorporators are Ethel Hedgemon Lyle (1887-1950) and Nellie May Quander (1880-1961), respectively.  These twenty women, known as our “Twenty Pearls” set off what would later become the Divine 9 (the first nine Black Greek-letter organizations) alongside Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the oldest Black Greek-letter organization.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) has a lot of history and culture. There have been many questions about several aspects and symbols of the sorority and what it all means, so here are some important ones that you may see us doing or having in our possession: the ivy leaf, our main symbol (you can see us typically holding our hands curled up to our sides with our head facing up, our hands together in a ivy leaf formation above our heads, or making one half of the leaf with another person as the symbol); our pink and green colors symbolizing “abundance of life, womanliness, fidelity, and love;” pearls, which recognize our founders; pinkies, signifying our classiness and elegance; the “SKEE WEE” sound to greet or congratulate one another; and our nicknames: Pretty Girls, AKAs, Ivies, or Alpha Kappa Alpha women.

On the morning of Sunday, May 5^th, 2024, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Delta chapter gained a new member, freshman Kennedy H. McDowney from Odenton, Maryland, a sociology and anthropology major, and criminology and Black studies double minor.  That same evening, the New Member Campus Presentation Show commenced. “Before the show, I was nervous and excited!” McDowney said. “Learning all the history and memorizing my steps was a lot of hard work, but I knew it could be done!”  Preparation for the show took two weeks during the Membership Experience process, in which the show included memorizing the purpose of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the history, the founders, Divine 9 history, stepping, strolling, singing, dancing, and more.

The purpose of the Campus Presentation is to introduce the new initiate to the world.  It can be quite nerve-racking (I remember how scared I was when I had mine last spring) but in the end, it is an amazing feeling, both getting it over with and officially joining the sorority!  The fun and interesting thing about the show is that it is entirely up to the initiate(s) and should never be a duplicate of the ones from previous years.  It should be comprised of all the same general information, like the history, Greek alphabet, the purpose, etc., but have an added spin and more to it for an enjoyable experience for everyone watching.  “I’ve seen other AKA presentation show and wanted mine to be just as good.  Being a solo line, I knew I had to have a lot of energy!” McDowney replied.  The Membership Experience process as well as the initiation are all done in secret, with only a select family and friends and those in the sorority knowing about it.  Only at the Campus Presentation will the new initiate be revealed.  “I knew joining a sorority would be scary.  I prepared myself to keep it a secret and was excited to be a part of the history of other young ladies that have done the same thing since 1908,” McDowney said.  “I was really looking forward to the presentation.  The entire process was such an exciting experience!”

The presentation always starts with a march.  We began at the fountain and walked in unison, showcasing the AKA staff and singing “Don’t You Know Why?” all the way to Cobb-Kesler Theater, where the presentation would begin, with Lauren Bellamy (’24), Amber Bellamy (’26), and I all wearing white as current Tau Delta (TD) members, and McDowney sporting a black leather jumpsuit, black boots, sunglasses, and a pink scarf to hide her identity.  Typically, members of the graduate chapter, Rho Eta Omega (REO), would help direct traffic and help us to sing the designated song of choice while we walk to the show.  Once we marched into the theater, our graduate advisor Willnette Pegram, told us to sing louder as soon as we stepped inside.  We did, and the theater erupted in applause.

As the show progressed, McDowney successfully recited the purpose of AKA, all the founders, greeted Tau Delta, our graduate chapter REO, the sorority as a whole, all the Divine 9 organizations present (Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.), took a jab at the other Divine 9 sororities with “Mama’s Prayer (Don’t Let My Daughter Pledge),” a song/ chant about AKA being the only correct sorority to pledge, and greeted Dean James McGhee and thanked him for his help with Tau Delta for the past fifteen years (May 3^rd marked our 15th Charter Anniversary!).  By the end of the show, McDowney was introduced to the world, stating her name, where she was from, her majors and minors, and her new line name.  She ended her reveal with a dance to “Wipe Me Down” by Foxx, Lil Boosie, and Webbie, a song that Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. typically steps or strolls to.  The line name should be a reflection of the candidate’s character, attributes, and overall personality; we decided she will be known in “AKAland” as 1NGENUITY (the one is their placement in their “line”) with her full “line name” being KornerstONE.  McDowney has shown that she is original, creative, and clever, and could hold her “line” down by herself, so we believe these were the perfect names for her.  The show ended with a step that Lauren, Amber, and I assisted with called “Serious Matter,” a must in Campus Presentations, “Calling All AKAs” to get all the past Alpha Kappa Alpha members onto the floor to sing the Ivy Hymn, the AKA National Hymn, and strolled to AKA’s widely known “Set It Off” by Strafe.

The Divine 9 is an essential part of the history and greetings during the show.  Randolph-Macon only has two of the nine, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (four members) and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. (two members), but several other organizations from other campuses showed up to the presentation. In order of their founding, the Divine 9 include Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (1906, Cornell University), Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (1908, Howard University), Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (1911, Indiana University Bloomington), Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (1911, Howard University), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (1913, Howard University), Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (1914, Howard University), Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (1920, Howard University), Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (1922, Butler University), and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. (1963, Morgan State University).  There are a few organizations that have been wanting to potentially start chapters at R-MC, so we hope to see more D9 organizations on our campus in the future!

Tau Delta had an extremely busy week.  Alongside the two-week Membership Experience process, it was also SKEE Week, a week of upholding our six initiatives to engage and help our communities, and the 15-year Charter Anniversary at Randolph-Macon! Tau Delta was chartered by 17 women on May 3^rd, 2009, notably Alexandria Sweeney, and has continued to stand strong since its chartering. The weekend consisted of a slumber party in SunTrust Theater on Friday, May 3^rd, a photoshoot with the past and current chapter members in the afternoon on Saturday, May 4^th, and a reception with food and fellowship that same evening.

Overall, we are extremely proud of McDowney for her hard work and dedication during the process because it is certainly not easy to do it alone, but we are overjoyed to have a new member join our illustrious sisterhood!  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s work is never done, and it is a lifelong commitment, so we hope the Tau Delta here at Randolph-Macon College can showcase that no matter the size of our chapter.