Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. will now have three other letters associated with the organization: PAC. The Divine Nine organization has just filed to create a political action committee, an important step that will allow it to boost its fundraising efforts for its most prominent member, Vice President Kamala Harris.
AKA 1908 PAC established
In a Federal Election Commission filing dated Aug. 9, AKA submitted paperwork to establish the “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc. (AKA AKA 1908 PAC).” The filing is done in the name of Kiahna W. Davis, who lists herself as the treasurer and the custodian of records for the new PAC. The creation of this PAC will allow the AKAs to raise individual donations of up to $5,000 from AKAs and their families. Though candidates are not allowed to directly cooperate with the PAC, the money raised by the PAC can then be used to support political parties and candidates.
Support for the most famous AKA
The creation of the AKA 1908 PAC is the latest move by the sorority and the other members of the Divine Nine to support Harris. In 2020, after Harris became the Democratic vice presidential nominee, she was able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in increments of $19.08, a reference to the 1908 founding date of the AKAs. This year, just after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris, the presidents of the Divine Nine announced in a statement that they had “met and agreed to meet this critical moment in history with an unprecedented voter registration, education and mobilization coordinated campaign,”
Harris has repped AKA, Black college life for decades
Harris has consistently repped the AKAs, having joined the sorority while an undergraduate at Howard University. The vice president appeared in front of the signature AKA pink and green on her 2021 cover photo for Vogue magazine.
Vogue has two new Kamala Harris covers for its February issue. The pink and green (AKA sorority colors) backdrop with Chucks was pretty roundly panned when it leaked on social media last night. Via @voguemagazine’s Instagram. pic.twitter.com/0GwWvO0evZ
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) January 10, 2021
That same year, Harris became the first president or vice president to invite the Divine Nine to the White House. In July, Harris delivered a keynote address at the AKA annual Boulé conference in July. In addition to her direct experiences with the Divine Nine, Harris has also been a champion of Black higher education, touting the achievements the Biden administration has accomplished in promoting and funding HBCUs and relieving student debt.
Harris will be looking for the support of the Black community, including the 2 million alumni of the Divine Nine, to support her campaign with funding, voter registration drives, get out the vote campaigns and general enthusiasm. So far, the organizations have been going above and beyond the call of duty to support one of their own.
