WHEREAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® is an international service organization, founded on the Howard University campus in Washington, D.C. in 1908; and
WHEREAS, today, 115 years later, it stands as the oldest Pan-Hellenic organization established by African American college-educated women; and
WHEREAS, the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha was formed to include North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1953, under the leadership of the first Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Dr. Rose Butler Brown, an influential educator, civil rights activist, and community leader in Durham, North Carolina, who served as chair of the Department of Education at North Carolina College for Negroes, now North Carolina Central University; and
WHEREAS, in the 70 years since the region was established, membership has grown to 13,000 members and 130 undergraduate and graduate chapters in North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s cornerstones of service and sisterhood continue to strengthen communities throughout both states through the sorority’s commitment to community service, scholarship, the advocacy of social change, and equality for all mankind; and
WHEREAS, this year, from March 23 – 26, the region will celebrate the historic culmination of 70 “Marvelous” years at the 70th Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Raleigh, an event which will include more than 5,300 registered members; and
WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina joins the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated in celebrating over 70 years of Soaring to Greater Heights of Service and Sisterhood;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim March 23 – 26, 2023, as the “70th ANNIVERSARY OF ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. ® MID-ATLANTIC REGION” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
