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2023 SESSION

23107106D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 836
Offered February 20, 2023
Commending the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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Patrons-- Sewell and Price; Senator: Locke
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WHEREAS, the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., has provided opportunities for leadership and generous outreach to members in the Commonwealth and North Carolina for 70 years; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded at Howard University in 1908 and is the oldest Greek-letter organization for African American women in the United States; and

WHEREAS, two founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority were born in Virginia; Joanna Berry Shields was born in Catharpin and Lucy Diggs Slowe was born in Berryville; and

WHEREAS, another founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Marjorie Hill, taught at Lynchburg’s Morgan College, a satellite of Morgan State University, a historically Black university; and

WHEREAS, the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is one of 10 regions that have been established according to geographical location and population density to effectively and efficiently govern the more than 900 chapters that are affiliated with the sorority; and

WHEREAS, since a regional realignment in 1953, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority chapters in the Commonwealth and North Carolina have been under the purview of the Mid-Atlantic Region; and

WHEREAS, the first director of the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha was Dr. Rose Butler Browne, who led the chapters under her stewardship with great determination and compassion; and

WHEREAS, the first conference of the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha was held in Newport News with the Lambda Omega chapter serving as host; and

WHEREAS, since 1953, the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha has been guided by 19 regional directors and has seen the chartering of 130 chapters, including 82 graduate chapters and 48 undergraduate chapters; and

WHEREAS, four of the 31 women who have served in the position of national/international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority are intricately connected to the Mid-Atlantic Region; and

WHEREAS, Pauline Sims Puryear, the fourth international president, chartered the Delta Omega Chapter in Petersburg, the oldest graduate chapter in the Mid-Atlantic Region; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, the 10th international president, was born in Norfolk and was a noted civil rights and public health advocate who served as the medical director of the Mississippi Health Project; and

WHEREAS, Arnetta G. Wallace, the 14th international president, was initiated at the Alpha Phi Omega Chapter in Danville; and

WHEREAS, Janet Jones Ballard, the 22nd international president, was initiated at the Alpha Eta Chapter at Virginia Union University and served as director of alumni affairs at both Virginia Union University and Virginia State University; there is a monument on the campus of Virginia Union University in her honor; and

WHEREAS, as a testament to the organization’s impact, Dr. Norma S. White, the 25th international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, dubbed the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha the “Marvelous Mid-Atlantic Region”; and

WHEREAS, members of the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority are active in many local civic and service organizations and serve as trusted mentors and leaders throughout their communities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., on its 70-year legacy of service in the Commonwealth and North Carolina; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Nadine Vargas Stewart, director of the Mid-Atlantic Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s history and its contributions to the Commonwealth.