Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first historically Black sorority in the United States, has taken a major step in furthering its political engagement initiatives on the heels of Vice President Kamala Harris’s history run for president of the United States of America. On Aug. 9, the organization filed to form a political action committee, more commonly known as a PAC, which will allow it to fundraise for federal candidates. 

The formation of the “AKA AKA 1908 PAC” comes at a pivotal time in American politics as Vice President Kamala Harris, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, currently sits atop the Democratic presidential ticket. If elected in November, Harris would become the first member of a Divine Nine organization to be president. She is the first to serve as vice president. 

“Kamala Harris is a member of the D9 (the “Divine Nine”), and she reflects the values that exist in us already,” Kiahna Davis, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Central Regional Director, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We should not be surprised when people are energized because they see a path for their future in the present, sitting there at the top of the ticket.”

Though Divine Nine organizations are non-profit and non-partisan organizations, their mobilization surrounding the 2024 election increased after Harris’ entered the race. On July 22, just a day after Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, the National Pan-Hellenic Council announced a “coordinated voter mobilization effort”. Voter education, registration and mobilization are also focus points of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 2022-2026 initiatives. 

“Throughout our history, the leaders of Alpha Kappa Alpha have stood up, spoken out and done the work to build a brighter future for our nation,” Harris said at Alpha Kappa Alpha’s biennial national convention in Dallas. “Including, of course, in 2020, when during the height of a pandemic, you helped elect Joe Biden president of the United States and me as the first woman elected vice president of the United States.”

Harris, an alumna of Howard University, crossed the Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha during her tenure at the school. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc was founded on Jan. 15, 1908, at Howard University by nine collegiate women. The sorority is the largest Black-greek-lettered organization with over 360,000 initiated members across the globe.