Happy Founder's Day: 10 Celebs You Didn't Know Were AKA's

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Updated: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 8:30 am

Today, the ladies of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority are donning their finest pink and green fashions and skeeweeing to the high heavens in celebration of their founder’s day. Founded on the campus of Howard University in 1908, the sorority now boasts hundreds of thousands of women who have pursued many different career paths.

A few of our favorite celebrities are AKAs.  Here’s a list of 10 celebrities you didn’t know repped the pink and green.

Phylicia Rashad

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Phylicia Rashad graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts from Howard University in 1970. She’s most known for her early television role as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, but her performance in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun made her the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress.

Hit the flip for more Alpha Kappa Alpha greatness.

https://twitter.com/StarJonesEsq/status/450453410828255233

Journalist, lawyer, and television personality Star Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Administration of Justice at American University, where she became a member of the Lambda Zeta chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Actress Tika Sumpter is an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was inducted into the organization on July 10, 2016, at the 67th annual Boule in Atlanta.

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Actress and singer Loretta Devine graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama in 1971, and in 1976, she received a Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Brandeis University. During her time in school, Devine was initiated into the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of the AKA sorority.

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Wanda Sykes received a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing at Hampton University, where she was also a member of the AKA sorority.

Politician and attorney Kamala Harris is a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority after pledging at Howard University.

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Coretta Scott King received a Bachelor of Arts in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then went on to study concert singing at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned a degree in voice and violin. She was also a proud AKA.

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Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist, Alicia Keys, is an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha organization.

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Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith is an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.