Nellie May Quander (February 11, 1880 - September 24, 1961) was an incorporator and the first international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. As president for several years, she helped expand the sorority and further its support of African-American women at colleges and in communities. The sorority established a scholarship endowment in her name. The legacy of the sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.
She was a leader in civic and community affairs, where she served on the board of directors at the YWCA and YMCA, as executive secretary at the Miner Community Center, as well as in leadership positions with the Women's Trade Union League and other groups.
Family and early life
Nellie May Quander was born in Washington, D.C. to John Pierson Quander and Hannah Bruce Ford Quander.[2] The Quander family can trace their lineage three hundred years in Maryland and Virginia. They are considered to be one of oldest free African-American families whose ancestors had once been enslaved in America.[2]
During her early years, Nellie Quander attended Washington, D.C.'s public schools. She graduated from Miner Normal School with honors. It was established in 1851 as the Normal School for Colored Girls to train teachers. She also farmed.[4] She was very active in the church and community life and the superintendent at Lincoln Church.[5]
Howard University
When Quander entered Howard University, only 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of whites attended any college.[6] While enrolled at Howard University, Quander also taught students at the Garrison School in Washington D.C.'s public school system.[2]
Incorporation of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
Quander became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard in 1910. She was elected as the chapter's president.[2] On October 11, 1912, there was a regular meeting of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. During the meeting, a few members of the organization were voting to change the name, symbols, and different standards. Quander appealed to them to honor the vows they had taken just months earlier but the girls did not agree.[8] She was said to be "horrified" at the proposal and gave the women who disagreed with her a deadline to terminate the efforts of reorganizing the sorority.[9] After the young women withdrew Quander began contacting graduate members to fully establish the incorporation of the sorority that began years before.[10]
With Quander's help, Alpha Kappa Alpha was nationally incorporated in Washington, D.C., as a non-profit under the name Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on January 29, 1913.[12]
Presidency 1913-1919
After leading the initiative to incorporate the sorority, Quander served as president of Alpha Kappa Alpha. In 1913, at the first Boulé at Howard, she was officially elected president. After having served six years, at the next Boulé in 1919 at Chicago, Illinois, she resigned.[2] During her tenure, she wrote the constitution's preamble and appointed fellow members to implement the sorority's expansion.[13] Later, Quander was selected as the first director of the North Atlantic Region of AKA.[14]
Quander established the first Alpha Kappa Alpha scholarship for a senior with the highest grade point average in the School of Liberal Arts. The recipient received a ten dollar gold prize.[1] She also expanded the sorority's undergraduate chapters. She assisted fellow founder Beulah Burke to establish Beta chapter in Chicago, Illinois; Gamma Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Delta chapter at the University of Kansas. Quander was the sole founder of Zeta chapter at Wilberforce University.[2][15] She continued to act as graduate advisor to Alpha chapter, and was a member of the Xi Omega chapter in Washington, D.C.[2]
Career
After graduation, Quander became an educator for the public school system in Washington, D.C., where she served generations of students for 30 years.[2] Because the District was run as part of the Federal government, African-American teachers in the public schools were paid on the same scale as whites. The system attracted many outstanding teachers.[16] From 1914 to 1915, Quander studied at Columbia University to earn her Master of Arts degree. Later she pursued additional post-graduate degrees (see below).
From 1916 to 1917, Quander was a special field agent for the Children's Bureau for the Department of Labor.[2] In this position, she observed the social and economic structure of mentally handicapped people in New Castle County, Delaware.[2] The study was sponsored by the local Women's Club to prepare to establish an institution for the mentally handicapped.[2]
In 1936, Quander earned a diploma at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden. She attended the International Conference on Social Work in London, England during the same year.[2] In the public schools, Quander established and supported the School Safety Patrol Unit for twenty-five years.[2][7]
Civic activities
Quander demonstrated leadership at the YWCA, where she was a board member and chairman of the young women's department.[2] She was a member of the board of directors of the Business Professional and Industrial Committee in the Phillis Wheatley YMCA.[2]
Quander was the national industrial field secretary in work related to unions.[2] She was a delegate for unions related to education and the Women's Trade Union League.[2]
She served as executive secretary of Miner Community Center, which served women and children. She also was secretary of the trustee board of Lincoln Temple Congregational Church, thus among the group that led the operations and financial affairs of the church.[2]
Legacy and honors
In 1984 at Alpha Kappa Alpha's Diamond Jubilee Boulé, Esther Garland Polard, a trustee of Howard University, established a scholarship endowment in Quander's honor.[2] The total amount of the scholarship was $125,000. It is awarded to Howard University junior and senior students.[1][17]
Quander devoted her life to education and civic activities. She was close to her surviving sister Susie Russell Quander (member of Zeta Phi Beta - Alpha Chapter), nephews and friends.[2] She died on September 24, 1961.[1]
↑ McNealey, Earnestine G. (2006). Pearls of Service: The Legacy of America's First Black Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. p. 66.
↑ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p.53.
↑ "New Initiatives". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated - Educational Advancement Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
Related Research Articles
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (ΔΣΘ) is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. Women may apply to join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or through an alumnae chapter after earning a college degree.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (ΑΚΑ) is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen students led by Ethel Hedgemon Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African American women in areas where they had little power or authority due to a lack of opportunities for Black Americans in the early 20th century. Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913.
Ethel Hedgeman Lyle was a founder of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (ΑΚΑ) at Howard University in 1908. It was the first sorority founded by African-American college women. Lyle is often referred to as the "Guiding Light" for the organization.
Dorothy Celeste Ferebee was an American obstetrician and civil rights activist.
Myra Lillian Davis Hemmings was an American actress and teacher, and a founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Harriet Josephine Terry was one of the sophomores founders of 1908 of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. The organization has continued to generate social capital for 105 years.
Barbara Anne McKinzie was from 2006 to 2010, the twenty-seventh International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ), the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women.
Minnie Beatrice Smith was an American educator and an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority founded by African-American women.
Beulah Elizabeth Burke (1885–1975), was, along with her sister, Lillie, one of the nine original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 1908, the first sorority founded by African-American women. In her leadership as an educator and civic activist, Burke created important social capital. Her legacy of Alpha Kappa Alpha has continued to contribute to society for over 100 years.
Anna Easter Brown was a part of the original nine group of twenty founders in Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. It was the first sorority founded by African-American women students. It has had a continuing legacy of generating social capital for over 100 years.
Ethel Jones Mowbray was one of the twenty founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. Her legacy was an organization that has helped African-American women succeed in college, prepare for leadership and organize in communities, and serve their communities in later life. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.
Sarah Meriwether Nutter was one of the original sixteen founders of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority founded by African-American women. As an educator, she worked in the profession considered most critical to the advancement of African-American citizens.
Julia Evangeline Brooks was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for nearly 100 years.
Nellie Pratt Russell was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American college women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 110 years.
Norma Elizabeth Boyd was one of sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority founded by African-American women students, at Howard University. She was also one of the incorporators of the organization in 1913. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for 113 years.
Margaret Flagg Holmes was one of the sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, at Howard University in Washington, DC. It was the first sorority founded by African-American women.
Lavinia Norman was one of the sixteen original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women, at Howard University. She was one of a small minority of women who attended college at all. In addition Norman did graduate work and taught at Douglas High School in Huntington, West Virginia, for more than 40 years. When teaching was considered one of the most critical and prestigious careers for a developing nation.
Marie Woolfolk Taylor was one of the sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. The legacy she created in establishing the sorority has continued to generate social capital for nearly 100 years.
Joanna Mary Berry Shields was one of the seven members of the sophomore class of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. She created a legacy that has continued to generate social capital for nearly 110 years.
Lucy Diggs Slowe was an American educator and athlete, and the first Black woman to serve as Dean of Women at any American university. She was a founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority founded by African-American women.
References
McNealey, Earnestine G. (2006). Pearls of Service: The Legacy of America's First Black Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. LCCN2006928528.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
