Lillie Burke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lillie Burke
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Lillie Burke, original founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha
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Lillie Burke was an important American woman who helped start the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 1908. This was the very first sorority created by African-American women. Lillie and her sister, Beulah Burke, were two of the nine original founders.
Lillie was a leader, an educator, and an organizer. She helped create important connections and support systems for African-American women. The chapter she helped start in Washington, D.C. supported women in their leadership roles for future generations. Lillie Burke showed how African-American sororities helped women gain influence and power in places where they often had little.
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Her Early Life
Lillie Burke was born around the mid-1880s in Hertford, North Carolina. Her family later moved to Washington, D.C. There, she and her sister Beulah attended the Howard Preparatory School. They both graduated in 1904. After that, they were ready to attend Howard University later that same year. Howard University was, and still is, a very important historically black college.
Making History at Howard University
Lillie Burke was one of the sixteen founders of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She was part of the first group of nine women who started it. Lillie and her sister Beulah were key in organizing the sorority. They also created its motto. Both sisters were skilled in studying ancient Greek, which helped them with the motto.
Lillie Burke earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Howard University. When she graduated, Howard was a top historically black college in the nation. At that time, very few people went to college. Only about 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of white people of college age attended any college. After Howard, Burke continued her education. She earned a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
A Career in Education
Lillie Burke had a long career teaching English. She mainly taught in public high schools in Washington, D.C., for most of her career. She also led the academic department at Downing Institute in Pennsylvania. In North Carolina, she taught at the State Normal School at Fayetteville. Her work there helped train new teachers, which was a very important job in the South.
Burke taught and encouraged many students over 30 years in the Washington, D.C. public school system. Even though schools were separated by race back then, African-American teachers in D.C. were paid the same as white teachers. This was because the federal government ran the District of Columbia directly. This system attracted highly skilled teachers, especially for Dunbar High School. Dunbar was the main academic high school for African Americans.
Giving Back to Her Community
After Lillie Burke returned to Washington in 1912, she helped start the Xi Omega alumnae chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She continued to help her community through her activities with the sorority. She also contributed through her church. Lillie Burke passed away in Washington, D.C. in 1949.
