Known simply as “AKAs,” the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority is the oldest Black Greek organization founded by Black women in the country. Their pink-and-green motif and color scheme are recognizable across the nation. Some of the most powerful and influential Black women in our society are members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Here is a list of just five of those notable women.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, is a proud graduate of Howard University, the birthplace of the AKA sorority. She graduated from Howard in 1986, then received her law degree from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1989. Harris became the District Attorney in San Francisco in 2003.

Several years later, she became the first African American and first woman to serve as the Attorney General in California. Shortly after in 2016, she became the second woman to be elected as a senator for California. Harris is the first Indian-African American to hold the office of Vice President.

Toni Morrison

From humble beginnings in Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison became one of the greatest writers and novelists in American history. Like Harris, Morrison also attended Howard University in 1949. Though she received her master’s in English at Cornell, Morrison ingrained herself in the HBCU community. She taught at Texas Southern for a while before becoming a professor at her alma mater, Howard. She later became an editor at Random House publishing, and then eventually published her own work, The Bluest Eye.

Morrison wrote a number of works, one of which she won the Pulitzer Prize for in Beloved. She also penned Song of Solomon, Sula, Recitatif, Tar Baby, Love, and a few more.

Loretta Devine

The world-renowned actress and singer Loretta Devine is also a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Though not an alumni of an HBCU, Devine pledged into the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of her sorority. A Houston native, she graduated from the University of Houston in 1971 with a degree in Speech and Drama. She also attended Brandeis University for her MFA in Theater.

The Emmy-award winning actress is best known for her performance as Adele Webber in Grey’s Anatomy. She’s also known for her roles in Crash, Boston Public, and Urban Legend.

Brandy

Similar to Toni Morrison, Brandy’s story is one from modest beginnings to absolute stardom, though in a different form. She grew up in McComb, Mississippi and was surrounded by the church. Her father was a pastor and she sang in the church choir. Her family is a particularly talented one, as her brother is Ray J and her cousin is Snoop Dogg. By high school, Brandy was already in a record deal with Atlantic Records.

Her first, self-titled album released in 1994 to critical acclaim with a number one hit on the Billboard 100. Over her illustrious career, Brandy has been nominated for 12 Grammy awards. In 1999, she won her only Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Lynn Whitfield

Finally on our list is Emmy-award winning actress Lynn Whitfield. Whitfield is the third Howard alumnus on this list, graduating in 1975. Whitfield is likely most known for her portrayal of Josephine Baker in The Josephine Baker Story in 1991. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for an outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries.

Whitfield has been in plenty of other movies, such as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Gone Fishin’, Eve’s Bayou, Stepmom, Head of State, Madea’s Family Reunion, and The Woman.