The following are short descriptions of the groups and organizations which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), the oldest Greek-letter organization established for African American women, was founded on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. The principles are Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service to All Humankind. This organization was founded on … Read MoreAlpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (1908- )
The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. (NPHC) is the collaborative effort of nine historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities, also known as the Divine 9. The Council was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 1930, and chartered by Alpha Kappa Alpha … Read MoreNational Pan-Hellenic Council (1930 – )
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (Zeta), one of four college sororities for African American women, was founded on January 16, 1920, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. by five women, now known as the “Five Pearls.” Zeta is a historically black sorority … Read MoreZeta Phi Beta Sorority (1920- )
The first black Greek-letter organization, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha) was founded on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on December 4, 1906. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity currently has more than 850 chapters around the world and over 185,000 members. Alpha … Read MoreAlpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (1906- )
The Black Jews of Harlem are a minority ethnic group in New York who first appeared in the early 1900s. By 1930 there were at least four groups of Black Jews in Harlem. The most important of these groups was The Commandment Keepers Holy Church … Read MoreBlack Jews of Harlem
The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC) was founded in 1961, following several years of internal disagreements over the governing structure and civil rights stance of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. (NBCUSA). In 1957 several Baptist pastors were expelled from the NBCUSA when they … Read MoreProgressive National Baptist Convention (1961- )
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated (NBCUSA) is made up of approximately 7.5 million African American Baptists, making it the largest African-American organization in the country. It was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1895 when the leaders of the American National Baptist Convention, the Baptist … Read MoreNational Baptist Convention (1895- )
The Knights of Peter Claver organization was founded in 1909 in Mobile, Alabama. It is the largest African American Catholic lay organization in the United States. The organization was founded by the Josephites, a Catholic order whose mission was to serve Catholic African Americans. Josephite … Read MoreKnights of St. Peter Claver (1909- )
The Atlanta Negro Voters League (ANVL) was a political organization which focused on mobilizing the strength of black voters in Georgia’s capital city from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. After a 1946 court ruling ordered the end of Georgia’s all white primaries, the … Read MoreAtlanta Negro Voters League
The institute was known in Topeka as the “Western Tuskegee,” was the result of the work of Lizzie Riddick, a prominent member of the Colored Women’s Suffrage Association, and Edward Stephens. Riddick and Stephens successfully enlisted the support of Booker T. Washington and later the … Read MoreKansas Industrial and Educational Institute (1895-1919)
