Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority whose most notable alumna is Vice President Kamala Harris, has launched a political action committee, a rare move by a sorority to rally around the chances of sending one of its members to the White House.
AKA is part of a collection of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious sororities and fraternities known as the Divine Nine, and its network of more than 2 million alumni represents an outsized political force among a constituency that both parties hope to mobilize ahead of the November election.
When Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020, their campaign Thousands of donations totaling $19.08 were received. — represents the year Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded.
Harris hosted the “Holy Nine” leaders at the White House during her presidency, but this was the first time they were all invited to meet with the president and vice president, Politico reported in 2021. Since then, the “Holy Nine” leaders have regularly visited the White House or met with Biden and Harris. Including as recently as MayBiden sought to solidify support from black voters.
After Biden dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Harris, the entire Divine Nine vowed in a statement to “rise to this critical moment in history with an unprecedented, coordinated campaign of voter registration, education and mobilization.” The statement did not mention any specific candidates or parties.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., also known as AKA 1908 PAC, can accept donations of up to $5,000 from sorority members and their families to support federal election campaigns and political parties. Kianna Davis, AKA’s regional director for the Central Region, is listed as the PAC’s treasurer. Neither Davis nor the PAC responded to requests for comment.
Harris has long spoken fondly of AKA, along with the other sororities and fraternities of the Divine Nine, likening them to a “family.”
The vice president’s first public event since becoming the de facto Democratic nominee was an appearance at the national convention of another Divine Nine sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. She spoke at an Alpha Kappa Alpha convention, or Boulé, this summer, and shortly afterwards she held a rally in Atlanta attended by a small percentage of the Divine Nine alumni who hold political power.
AKA isn’t the only Greek organization engaged in federal fundraising activities: Divine Nine fraternity Phi Beta Sigma runs a PAC, and fraternity and sorority leaders formed the Fraternity & Sorority Political Action Committee in 2005 to support candidates who “protect and enhance the fraternity and sorority experience.”
