Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter celebrates Women’s History Month by discussing the influence of Alpha Kappa Alpha founder Margaret Flagg Holmes in this Women In History video.
Margaret Flagg-Holmes (September 6, 1886 – January 29, 1976) 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.
She went on to earn a Master’s in Philosophy at Columbia University in New York. Holmes devoted her energies to teaching academic, or college preparatory, curriculum at the high school level for more than thirty years, mostly in Chicago, Illinois. She was voted "Best Latin Teacher" in the entire city. There Holmes distinguished herself further by leading the history department at Du Sable High School for several years, an unusual leadership role for any woman in those times.