Alpha Kappa Alpha Mu Upsilon - Cornell University

08/31/2026

Hettie Simmons Love was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, attending the prestigious Boylan-Haven Boarding School before going on to Fisk University, where she became a distinguished member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She then enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School — the world's leading business school — where she was the only woman of her background in her classes. She stayed focused and graduated in 1947. Decades later, at 98 years old, Wharton honored her as its first graduate of her background from the MBA program. Some recognition takes decades to arrive — but it never stops mattering.

08/31/2026

Sixty years ago, Constance Baker Motley was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — becoming the first Black woman to sit as a federal judge in the United States.

That was one achievement on a long list of “firsts” for her: She was among the first Black women — technically the second — to graduate from Columbia Law School in 1946. She was the first woman attorney hired by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, working alongside future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. She was the first woman of color to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961, and the first Black woman elected to the New York state Senate in 1964.

Growing up in 1920s Connecticut, Motley had no shortage of potential barriers. She was a Black girl during a time of widespread social and legal discrimination, and the ninth of 12 children in a working-class family hit by the financial upheaval of the Great Depression. But at the age of 15, she decided she wanted to be a lawyer.

“No one thought this was a good idea, and I received no encouragement,” Motley wrote in “Equal Justice Under Law,” her 1999 autobiography. “I was the kind of person who would not be put down," she continued. “I rejected any notion that my race or s*x would bar my success in life.”

After President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Motley to the federal bench, she brought her background as an accomplished civil rights attorney to the judiciary. In her time as a federal judge, she heard several cases related to gender equality.

The 1975 gender discrimination lawsuit, Blank v. Sullivan & Cromwell, ended in a settlement, but Motley issued a procedural ruling requiring the New York law firm to answer questions from women plaintiffs about their hiring and promotion practices. She ruled in Ludtke v. Kuhn in 1978that the New York Yankees violated Melissa Ludtke’s constitutional rights when the team refused to allow women reporters into the locker room.

✍️: Candice Norwood, justice reporter
📸: Bettman/Getty Images

08/29/2026

08/11/2026

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. turned its service mission into a world record in Las Vegas. On Sunday, July 19, more than 2,000 members gathered at the

07/02/2026

06/22/2026

Xi Omega proudly applauds and congratulates our member Janeese Lewis George, the Democratic Mayoral Nominee for the District of Columbia, on her successful primary election victory.

As Alpha Kappa Alpha women, we are proud of our sister and wish her continued success as she seeks to build upon her legacy of service, advocacy and leadership on behalf of the communities she serves.

At this critical moment in time, Xi Omega Chapter remains committed to our century-old tradition of emphasizing the importance of exercising the right to vote and encouraging strong voter participation in our communities.

Please join us in celebrating this outstanding woman on her continued commitment to equity, justice, opportunity and the future of the District of Columbia.