Courtesy of Kendall Archer

On Monday, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated’s Xi Omicron chapter, helped 43 people register to vote or update their mail-in ballot status. 

AKA is an “international service organization and the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-educated women,” per its umbrella website. The sorority’s Xi Omicron chapter includes members from Quinnipiac, Yale, University of New Haven, Albertus Magnus and Southern Connecticut State University. 

“Personally, I think voter registration is extremely important because giving the people a voice is one of the foundations of our democracy,” Kennedy Stafford ’26, president of the Xi Omicron chapter of AKA, wrote. “Historically, the right to vote was stripped away from many groups of marginalized peoples – but now, we have the opportunity to ensure that all voices are heard and represented in our government.” 

AKA has a long legacy of promoting civic engagement and social justice. Most recently, in August 2023, the sorority signed on to a joint statement by the Divine 9 Council of Presidents which announced a massive coordinated voter mobilization campaign in anticipation of the 2024 election.

Stafford explained that their chapter’s voter outreach efforts have been part of that broader initiative by the entire AKA sorority, which she explained is working with 360,000 members in chapters across the country and the Divine 9 member organizations to help mobilize voters. 

Evan Bowman ’26, connection and social action chair of the Xi Omicron chapter, who helped run the registration table, wrote that at the Monday event, the table successfully engaged about 100 Yale undergrads, graduate students and visitors from 25 U.S. states. 43 people registered to vote or updated their mail-in ballot status at the table, including many first-time voters. 

“I think that our registration events have been so successful because we bring a lot of energy, music, and smiles,” Bowman wrote.

The group researches difficult-to-find information about voting, including how to track your mail-in ballot and how to decide whether to vote in your home state or in Connecticut, Bowman said.

Xi Omicron plans to hold another voter registration table on Saturday at Wooster Square Park during the farmers market and organize more civic engagement events leading up to the election. 

Bowman wrote that while AKA is always involved in voter registration and civic engagement during elections, this year feels particularly important given that Vice President Kamala Harris is an active member of the AKA sorority. 

“Kamala joined while in college and remains a proud member of our sisterhood. We are equally proud of her achievements as we are invigorated for the upcoming election,” Bowman said. “We always work on voter registration; however, there is something special about this election year.” 

Harris joined AKA while an undergraduate at Howard University. Over the summer, Harris was the keynote speaker at AKA’s 71st Boule, an annual convention for over 200,000 AKA members. In her speech, Harris celebrated the sorority’s long legacy of striving to advance social justice and urged AKA members to continue to be “on the front lines of the fight to realize the promise of America.” 

Kendall Archer ’27, advocating for social justice chair of the Xi Omicron chapter and an organizer of yesterday’s event, explained that she views voter registration, and voting itself, as a critical means to protect and advance the civil rights of the historically disenfranchised. 

“As an African American woman, I want to make sure that my rights are never again called into question by the government. I realize those before me were not allowed a voice in the government and country they built,” she wrote. “Voting is my way of making sure that we never go back to a time when our government casually cosigned the disenfranchisement of millions.” 

Archer explained that she believes voting is critically important to also hold elected officials accountable to the American people and to influence American foreign policy. 

Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded in 1908 at Howard University.