25 AKA Quotes To Serve Womankind

By Clifton Sankofa

School Leader, Language Arts Expert & Master Quote Curator

Published August 17, 2023

Get your step on with our amazing AKA quotes!

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated is an American institution that has been fostering the development of women and communities worldwide.

Learn more with our AKA quotes below!

What is AKA?

Alpha Kappa Alpha is a sorority.

Part of their mission is to “cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards” and “promote unity and friendship among college women.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha is the home of many prominent women.

Check out these highly accomplished AKA members below:

Mae Jemison
Kamala Harris
Maya Angelou

The organization currently has 355,000 members with 1,061 chapters in all fifty states and 11 different countries.

Another aspect of their mission is to “study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature.”

AKA was founded in 1908 and has been molding successfully motivated young women for over one hundred years.

They have expanded beyond positively influencing Howard University and the Washington, D.C., area to cultivate an impressive international presence, impacting countries across the globe.

Their official colors are salmon pink and apple green, and their official flower is the Pink Tea Rose.

Why do AKAs wear Chuck Taylor sneakers and pearls?

AKA members are often seen wearing pink and green, but they are also known for wearing pearl necklaces and red Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers.

You might ask why they wear these colors and clothes.

Pearls have been a part of AKA symbolism for a long time.

The sorority’s founders are called the Twenty Pearls, and every inductive is given a badge with twenty pearls.

AKA international president Glenda Glover said, “The strand of pearls speaks to solidarity among the members.”

Glover also notes, “Pearls represent refinement and wisdom; we train young ladies to be leaders and to make sure they have the wisdom to lead.”

To learn more, check out our AKA quotes below.

Short AKA quotes from prominent members

This selection of quotes comes from an impressive group of determined women who are proud members of the AKA sisterhood.

1. “We must together, work together, to see where we are.” — Kamala Harris

2. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” — Mae Jemison

3. “Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was something one could do.” — Toni Morrison

4. “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.” — Coretta Scott King

5. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

The best AKA quotes from the sorority’s founding members

Below we have a variety of selections from some of the founding members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

6. “I will always thank God that I had some small part in it.” — Etherl Hedgeman Lyle

7. “In my mind, we should all be too busy for petty things, too big for smallness, too intelligent not to see what happens when we stop to them.” — Ethel Hedgeman Lyle

8. “We can ask for and support such measures as will assure for our people decent living conditions, permanent jobs, and a voice in determining the conditions under which they live and work.” — Norma Elizabeth Boyd

9. “The snobbery, the disdain, which many of our white citizens show for Negroes regardless of their personal worth, is germinating in both groups seeds whose fruit will eventually destroy all of us unless rooted out before they come to fruition.” — Lucy Diggs Slowe

10. “As long as life lasts and beyond, I shall see the beautiful deeds done to help others less fortunate and the lovely hands of all the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha outstretched to the aid of others who, mentally, morally, and physically, are still poor and needy.” — Etherl Hedgeman Lyle

The top AKA quotes from founding member Norma Boyd

Norma Boyd was a founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and was a politically active and passionate educator.

Below are some of her most captivating quotes about her family and childhood.

16. “My grandfather was a very determined man who had some sway with his owner.” — Norma Boyd, Founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

17. “Evidently, he must have worked just as hard as a freedman, maybe harder than he did when he was a slave.” — Norma Boyd, Founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

18. “My mother was the type of person; to know her was to love her. She was full of fun and had very high standards.” — Norma Boyd, Founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

19. “My parents were natives of North Carolina. They came to Washington, D.C., shortly after they were married. I never saw any of my grandparents.” — Norma Boyd, Founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

20. “My father was born in 1861. In his family, there were six boys and four girls. His father had bought part of the plantation, which he was a slave.” — Norma Boyd, Founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

Inspirational quotes from South African rapper, AKA

While rapper AKA might not have been a member of the AKA sorority, he certainly shared similar messages of upliftment through community building.

21. “Life is too short to worry, so do good things to be happy” ― AKA

22. “Spread love not hate, so that we can live and die in peace.” ― AKA

23. “Take yourself seriously and teach others how to treat you.” — AKA

24. “The reason I went to study sound engineering is because I needed a qualification.” — AKA

25. “I am betrayed and played but right now I’m feeling nothing pain but to forgive; it’s because I love God too much that I can’t hate.” ― AKA

Who are prominent members of AKA?

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has assisted the growth of powerful women nationwide since 1908.

Women who have been part of some of the most critical aspects of history have come from AKA.

Dr. Maya Angelou is a world-renowned poet laureate, author, and activist.

Her books, plays, and other artistic endeavors have touched the hearts of millions.

Alicia Keys is a Grammy-winning musician whose music inspired girls worldwide to strive for their best.

Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, was one of the most prominent civil rights activists of the twentieth century.

Even Rosa Parks, whose nonviolent protest helped push the tide of the Civil Rights movement forward as an AKA.

The movie, Hidden Figures tells the story of three brilliant African American women who used mathematics to help NASA.

All three women, Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Johnson Vaughn, and Mary Winston Jackson, were all AKA members.