Chapter History

Beta Beta Omega Chapter History

Beta Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated was chartered on April 21, 1934 in Charleston,, West Virginia which is located in the Great Lakes Region. Charter Members were: Emma Barnes, Cleopatra Brown, Kathryn Brown, Elizabeth Burke, Lillyan Crichlow, (Basileus), Anne Davis, Elsie Davis, Anna Gardner, Jessie Hall, Helen Jones, Edna Page, Florence Seals, Thelma White, Octavia Williamson, and Margaret Wooster.

 

Early in the history of the sorority, programmatic goals were developed which reflected the national objectives of the sorority. Beginning in 1946, the Beta Beta Omega Chapter presented a style show (Fashionetta) as a fundraising event to raise money to open a nursery kindergarten in the West Side Negro neighborhood. In January 1957, the school began operating in the annex of Ebenezer Baptist Church with one full time teacher, Soror Jane Dunlap, and one aide, Mrs. Oretha Estes. The church donated use of the building and the sorority members gave time for storytelling, finger painting, music and short-term substitute work. The nursery operated for five years.

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Beginning in 1950, the chapter awarded a campership for a local Girl Scout to attend the Washington Carver 4-H Camp at Clifftop, West Virginia each year; and, a college scholarship to a high school graduate. Other projects included a Blood Bank Program to aid the Red Cross, contributions to the March of Dimes, NAACP, Polio Fund, the Well-Baby Clinic, the Community Council of Kanawha Valley, the Salvation Army, the Mattie V. Lee Home, the Ivy Rose Ball, the Mad Hatters Ball, and the annual projects to support local and fraternal organizations. Through the years, sorority members have been involved in tutoring services and cultural contribution.

 

In 1978, Beta Beta Omega began the Annual Debutante Cotillion, which has served as a cultural, social, and academic event for high school juniors and seniors. Young ladies from local high schools participate in community service projects; such as Salvation Army Bell Ringing, UNICEF Drives, tutorial programs, volunteer programs, cultural events, social activities and workshops which focus on academic enrichment, career planning, etiquette, personal development and grooming. Awards presented include awards for the highest scholastic average, community service, talent, and activity participation.

 

In 1990, Beta Beta Omega Chapter worked with young women on the campus of West Virginia Institute of Technology in Montgomery, WV to charter Nu Pi Chapter. The sponsorship of Nu Pi Chapter officially ended in 2017 when West Virginia University closed the Montgomery campus and moved to Beckley, WV, where Epsilon Delta Omega Chapter assumed the sponsorship role. In 1998 Beta Beta Omega became the sponsoring graduate chapter for Nu Chapter at West Virginia State University.

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Annually, all chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. convene in ten regions in the United States and in the international region. West Virginia is in the Great Lakes Region (Ohio, West Virginia, Western New York, Michigan, and Western Pennsylvania). Regional Conferences were hosted by Beta Beta Omega Chapter in 1976 and by the entire West Virginia Cluster in April 1987, April 2000, and April 2018.

 

The West Virginia Cluster consists of six alumna chapters and five undergraduate chapters throughout the state. More than four hundred delegates were hosted at the Daniel Boone Hotel in 1976. When the Regional Conference convened in Charleston in 1987, more than 1,000 delegates met in collaboration with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Another “first” was implemented – this was the first time in Alpha Kappa Alpha’s history that chapters in an entire state’s Cluster had hosted the Regional Conference. This 55 th Great Lakes Regional Conference was the largest African American convention ever held in the Charleston area. In the new millennium, the WV Cluster hosted the first Regional Conference of the 21 st Century in April 2000 with over 1,000 members in attendance. The 87 th Great Lakes Regional Conference, which was hosted by the WV Cluster, welcomed over 1,300 members in April 2018.

 

Beta Beta Omega played an instrumental role in initiating the Cluster Concept in the Great Lakes Region. The first Cluster Meeting was organized by Soror Merle Leasure, Past Basileus of Beta Beta Omega and was held in Beckley, West Virginia. The concept was developed to afford members of the sorority the opportunity to discuss pertinent sorority issues at the state level. After Soror Leasure left the area, the position of Cluster Coordinator was filled by SororPatricia Petty Wilson, Past Basileus, who became the first Regional Cluster Coordinator from West Virginia. Other Beta Beta Omega Sorors who have served as Cluster Coordinator are Sorors Christine Price, Doris Payne, Delories Davis, Rena Cosby, and Daton Dean.

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Beta Beta Omega Sorors have also received regional and national prominence. Soror Elsie M. Davis was National Supreme Parliamentarian and Art Editor of the Ivy Leaf, the national publication of the sorority. Soror Mary L. Williams served as President of the American Teacher’s Association, and Sorors Beatryce Mickey, Patricia Petty Wilson, and Nicole Cofer-Fleming served as members of International Committees. Soror Patricia A. Petty Wilson served on the Directorate as the 23 rd Great Lakes Regional Director from 1994-1998.

 

In 1990, Beta Beta Omega Chapter worked with young women on the campus of West Virginia Institute of Technology in Montgomery, WV to charter Nu Pi Chapter. The sponsorship of Nu Pi Chapter officially ended in 2017 when West Virginia University closed the Montgomery campus and moved to Beckley, WV, where Epsilon Delta Omega Chapter assumed the sponsorship role. In 1998 Beta Beta Omega became the sponsoring graduate chapter for Nu Chapter at West Virginia State University