Dr . Glenda Glover
SUPREME BASILEUS
January 15 , 2021 Dear Sorors :
I am simply delighted to convene this national commemoration as we celebrate our 113th Founders ’ Day . Today , we celebrate the courageous vision of Ethel Hedgeman Lyle , the unflinching determination of Nellie Quander and the shared purpose of other like-minded women who blazed a trail where none existed . Today , we also celebrate the dawning of a new day in the history of this nation as one of our very own , Soror Kamala D . Harris , will ascend to the pinnacle of our democracy . Today , we marvel at the arc of history of our beloved sisterhood culminating in the realization of our Founders ’ greatest aspirations .
It is daylight for us in America . Alpha Kappa Alpha has helped to usher in this new day , this new light , this new season . With the commitment of our Founders as our compass , our sisterhood fought for freedom and equality for Black women as we struggled to expand our democracy to include the entire framework of the first three words of our Constitution , “ We the People .” Alpha Kappa Alpha ’ s robust history is replete with instances where we stood up for justice and equality . The role of extraordinary Alpha Kappa Alpha women who have made indispensable contributions is too numerous to call . Indeed , when Incorporator Nellie Quander demanded a respectable place in the Women ’ s Suffrage March of 1913 , she set Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority on a course that would change history . She empowered Black women to believe we are worthy , we are qualified , and we have something to contribute to our democracy and to the world .
As we celebrate today on the eve of history , I am reminded of the inaugural poem by Soror Maya Angelou in which she summoned each of us to make a difference in the world , and she awakened us to the reality that each new day brings with it the chance for a new beginning . Sorors , we are on the pulse of morning , but we still have more work to do . It will be hard work , unending work , and often uncertain work , but we must continue to do the work . We must serve because that is who our Founders purposed us to be .
I thank God for Alpha Kappa Alpha . I thank God for the opportunity to have been entrusted with this awesome mantel of leadership . I am proud to be a member of this great sisterhood . Sorors , because of you , my cup runneth over .
I love you and I thank you for the ways in which you honor the legacy of our Founders . May God bless each of you , and may He continue to bless our great sisterhood .
Happy Founders ’ Day ,
Soror Glenda Glover
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