AKA Iota Omega

On 1 Dec. 1922, Iota Omega became the first graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, chartered in Hampton Roads. Wanser Bagnall, Evelyn Lightner, and Helen Lawrence had met earlier at First Baptist Church-Bute Street and invited seven sorority sisters to become charter members. Bagnall was later president of the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, and Lightner was the first Eastern Regional Director of AKA, the first Greek-letter organization founded by Black women. Later chapter members included Aline Black Hicks, civil rights activist; Vivian Carter Mason, president of the National Council of Negro Women; and Joyce Gilliam Brown, international folklorist.

Department of Historic Resources, 2021