44 years later, CSU Alpha Kappa Alpha charter members will reunite

When Francine Hernandez enrolled at Columbus College in 1969, she was one of only about 50 black students on campus.

It was a time when public schools in Columbus were still segregated and black college students yearned for a sense of belonging in a predominantly white environment.

So in 1972, Hernandez (maiden name Suggs) helped establish the Eta Iota Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, which brought black female students together for support and community service. The experience fueled her desire to succeed.

“It was like a seed being planted and growing in me so I could move and grow and go further than I ever expected,” said the Spencer High graduate who grew up in Elizabeth Canty public housing apartments. “It gave us a space, as sisters, to form relationships where we could care for each other and build one another up. It was the first place, outside of my home, where I felt a community growing as one.”

Now, 44 years later, Hernandez — a 66-year-old educator, counselor and author living in Washington — is returning to Columbus for a reunion with other charter members of the CSU AKA chapter. On Dec. 2, the group will meet for the first time in decades for a book-signing and dedication of Hernandez’s book, “The Safety Pin: Holding Your Life Together when It’s Bursting at the Seams.” The event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Mildred Terry Library.

On Dec. 3, the group will attend Eta Iota Charter Day at Columbus State, and then meet at LongHorn Restaurant 6 p.m. for a reunion.

The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is an international service organization originally founded in 1908 at Howard University, according to the CSU Eta Iota website. It is the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by black, college-educated women.

The sorority has 260,000 members in graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, the U. S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Germany, Korea and on the continent of Africa.

On Friday, Dec. 2, 1972, the Columbus chapter started with 12 coeds who “were initiated and warmly welcomed into the sisterhood,” according to a history provided by the chapter.

“The chapter remains active, serving the CSU campus and the Muscogee County community,” said information on its website, which features young women dressed in pink and green AKA colors at various community events.

Frances Spencer, a charter member still living in Columbus, said the reunion will held in honor of nine older women who helped launch the chapter in 1972 as sorors of Gamma Tau Omega, the graduate branch of AKA. Those expected to attend include Thelma Robinson, who served as the group’s faculty adviser; Uretha Gilmer, the dean of pledges; Juanita Booker, a graduate committee member, and Dora Jackson, who still serves as the chapter’s historian.

Spencer, 64, grew up in Elizabeth Canty Apartments and graduated from Carver High School. When she enrolled at Columbus College, she felt isolated as a black student, she said, but Robinson, Gilmer, Booker and other women helped make the transition easier. Spencer said the women mentored the young sorors and taught them how to carry themselves with dignity. They taught them to serve and give back to the community, a legacy that continues today.

“These are ladies who have been working in the community a bunch of years and it’s just our way of telling them thank you for their mentoring,” she said. “And then we’re taking the ball and we’re pushing even more.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 11:51 AM with the headline "44 years later, CSU Alpha Kappa Alpha charter members will reunite."