DreamGirl1908 wrote: The Deltas acknowledge all 22 founders as being members of AKA prior to starting DST. AKA recognizes that 7 "dissenters" left to start Delta.
Now, this is what we know [as published by Soror Parker]:
* in January 1908, 9 women -- seniors of the Class of 08 & juniors of the Class of 09 -- founded Alpha Kappa Alpha.
* in February 1908, 7 sophomores of the Class of 10, joined the group to become the "Revered 16"
* in 1909, there was a line of 6, however, we may assume that they were the Class of 11, since freshmen were not allowed to join and since all upperclass women, except 1 were members of the Sorority. At the time of their initiation, these women must have been sophomores.
* we have no information on the lines of 1910 or 1911, but we do know that 7 women were initiated in the SPRING of 1912.
Now....Let's move on to DST. In their history book, "In Search of Sisterhood" [hereafter referred to as ISOS], Paula Giddings does NOT indicate when any of their founders were initiated into AKA, but she tells their "class".
Based on ISOS, we know that the DST founders were in the following classes:
* Class of 12 = 1
* Class of 13 = 15
* Class of 14 = 5
* Class of 15 = 1
NOW, my first thought is "How can a member of the Class of 1912 be a FOUNDER of an undergraduate organization that started in 1913?" And yes, I know about Dr. Just and the 3 undergrads -- Cooper, Coleman, & Love -- who founded Omega, but even they knew that at their beginning it was going to be an org for undergrads and grads. The sororities were specifically told that their groups were for undergraduates only and that they could NOT expand to other campuses.
Even if Ms. (dare I say Soror) Shippen was involved, she graduated with Soror Nellie Quander, and according to DST's logic should not have been around in the Fall when the changes were being proposed. Most certainly, she should not have been eligible to be a member of DST in 1913 when she was "so far removed". If Ms. Shippen WAS ELIGIBLE, then DST canNOT say that Soror Nellie had no business getting involved in the split.
Ok, my next thought is, "Was there some type of 'baby boom' at Howard in 1909?" because there must have been in order for 15+ women to be in the Class of 1913. Looking at the records we have access to, there were maybe 23 women total [in four classes] AT HOWARD in 1908, and we know that there were not more than 7 in any one class at that time.
So now we move on....the 15 DST founders in the Class of 1913 were eligible to join AKA in the spring of 1911 (since freshmen seemed not to be admitted and lines were held in the spring), with the next 5 in the Class of 1914, eligible to join in the spring of 1912. Are there any records to indicate WHEN and/or IF these women joined AKA? We know that Myra Davis [Hemmings] joined b/c she was president in the Fall of 1912, so, she may have been on the 1911 line.
Now the question is exactly WHO was on the 1910 line and WHO was on the 1911 line? and WHICH of the DST founders were on the 1912 line of 7 just before the split? Any takers?
I have seen you mention before that some people say that some of AKA founders left AKA to start Delta Sigma Theta. I don't know who says this, but it is definitely false. Delta Sigma Theta was not founded by any of AKA's founders. However, all 22 of my founders were, according to notes and taped interviews left by my founders. Soror Bertha Pitts Campbell acknowledged that all 22 were initiates of AKA.
(Soror Mary Elizabeth Vroman) both state that our founders were initially AKAs. I heard, with my own ears, Soror Bertha Pitts Campbell acknowledge that they were initially AKAs. I also heard her explain why. Please tell me the source that says that says that we had the same founders. That is simply not true. I think I saw you mention once that you heard it in a chant. A chant is hardly a reputable source. And you could have also heard it wrong, or the persons ( sorors) could have been saying it wrong. And yes, Soror Eliza Pearl Shippen was a graduate of the Howard 1912 class. However, the decision to reorganize was made in 1912. The actual reoganization took place in 1913, January 1, 1913, to be exact. That is why Soror Shippen is considered a founder. She also marched with the other founders in the Sufferage March and participated in various other activities as a Delta. And no, you dare not say Soror. :wink:
