The Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is celebrating 95 years of service to the communities in the Boston-area.
Chartered in February 1926 on the campus of Harvard University, seven women came together in the spirit of sisterhood, scholarship, and service.
Those women were:
Lois Johns Allen - Howard University graduate (1914), and wife of the Secretary of The Boston Urban League
Edna Robinson Brown – Dentist and graduate of Columbia University. She was the first black woman to practice dentistry in Cambridge.
Clara Burrill Bruce – Attorney and graduate of Boston University Law School. She was the first black person in the nation to serve as Editor-in-Chief of a law review (Boston University Law Review, 1925), the first black woman (and fourth black person) in the nation elected to a law review (Boston University Law Review, 1924), and the second black woman admitted to the Massachusetts Bar
Jessie Gideon Garnett – Dentist and a graduate of Tufts College. She was the first black woman graduate of Tufts Dental School (1919), and the first black female dentist in Boston
Beatrice Burson Miller - Howard University graduate and initiate of Alpha Chapter at Howard University. She was the sister-in-law of Lucy Miller Mitchell and became the first President of Psi Omega Chapter
Lucy Miller Mitchell – Educator and graduate of Talladega College (1922) with a certificate from the Nursery Training School, and a national pioneer in child care services
Alice Porter Turner Walton – Journalist at the Boston Chronicle and a graduate of Howard University (1916)
As the oldest graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated in New England, the chapter has maintained an ongoing commitment to promote leadership development among Black women, support scholarship awards to promising young Black students, and provide financial assistance to a number of organizations important to the welfare of Black people.
Under the sorority's international theme of Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Service, the chapter continues to execute programs raising awareness on the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, providing information promoting healthcare initiatives for Black women, hosting events on the significance of building an economic legacy, appreciation and support of the arts, and international acts of service to benefit those in countries with limited access to resources.
Members of Psi Omega are blazing trails throughout the Boston-area and they have achieved great heights in the disciplines of medicine, law, finance, science, media, and the arts.
Standing at the forefront of community action, the Psi Omega Chapter has been committed and will continue to commit to volunteering time and skills to provide "Service to All Mankind" in Boston and beyond.
The chapter will be celebrating this historic fete throughout 2021 with an array of virtual events to celebrate the history, legacy and sisterhood of Psi Omega and its members.