The Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. will host an afternoon tea to celebrate the 50-year legacy of the African American Collection at 4:00 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 28 at the Seattle Public Library’s Douglass-Truth Branch – 2300 E. Yesler Way in Seattle. The tea celebrates the historical contributions that Alpha Kappa Alpha made in launching and continuing this Northwest legacy.
In 1964, librarian and Alpha Kappa Alpha member Roberta Byrd Barr alerted the sorority that the Seattle Public Library was considering closing the Yesler Branch Library (as it was known then) due to low circulation. Sorority members met with library staff to ask that the library remain open and to update their collections to reflect the interests of the growing African American neighborhood. In 1965, Alpha Kappa Alpha donated funds to purchase the Cater G. Woodson “Negro Life and History Collection.”
In 1975, Alpha Kappa Alpha fostered a group of concerned citizens to form the Black Friends of Yesler Branch Library, and they launched a “Rename the Yesler Library” contest. Votes for Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth were tied for the win, so the branch was renamed Douglass-Truth.
Now, the African American collection includes over 10,000 books and media. The collection lives on the lower-level exterior walls of the renovated Douglass-Truth Library. It is the largest collection of its kind on the West Coast.
The event will include a presentation, a reception, a tour featuring sorority members from 1964, and a special dedication by author and sorority member Dr. Mona Lake Jones. Alpha Kappa Alpha will also present our annualchapter donation to maintain and refresh materials for the African American Collection.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is an international organization founded in 1908 by African American undergraduate college women. In its 106 years of existence, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has dedicated itself to the development of women and girls and of service to all humanity. The Seattle Alumnae chapter continues this mission through its foundation, Dynamic Urban Opportunities. To learn more, please visit http://akaduo.org.
