Zeta Beta Omega Chapter was organized on April 21, 1952 and chartered on January 24, 1953 by members from Flint and Saginaw, Michigan. Zeta Beta Omega Chapter is the 62nd graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®. We are grateful for our charter members who had the vision to extend Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's standard of service to the Greater Flint Community.
Zeta Beta Omega Chapter was chartered on January 24, 1953, in Flint, Michigan. Two women were initiated by the Lansing, Michigan Chapter and were added to the Flint group to form a body of thirteen women. With an additional six women from Saginaw, Michigan the interest group was formed. The charter members were Oris Laurie Jones Beane, Margaret Griffin Brown, Mildred Walters Cambridge, Frances Moton Carter, Marie Walden Claytor, Vivian Starks Edmuns, Mary Faust Hammons, Lola Gordon Gibson Jones, Gwendolyn A. Glover, Dorothy Holden, M.D., Doris Howard Horton, Princetta Phillips McAfee, Bertha Wood Simms, Edith Prunty Spencer, Evelyn Thomas Moody, Hellen Joan Banks Turpin, Mabel Stafford Pritchett Union, Jacqueline Orr Weaver, and Marion Coates Williams. The members alternated meetings between Flint and Saginaw. After serving together for nine years, Eta Upsilon Omega was chartered in Saginaw on February 10, 1962, the year after Flint hosted its first regional conference. Zeta Beta Omega initially demonstrated “ Services to all Mankind” as Bertha Sims and Edith Prunty Spencer, our first Diamond Soror, drove a hospitality truck to deliver water and food to residents of Beecher community, an area devastated by a deadly tornado in 1953. Bazaar's card parties and scholarship teas served as fundraisers to fund scholarships for high school students.
Our members/were/are first in various professional fields. Lois Holt was the first black professional hired by the Flint Board of Education. Due to a hearing challenge, she had to be a visiting teacher. Marion Williams, mother of Dr. Karen Weaver, our first female mayor, was the first black classroom teacher. Mildred Smith was the first black female Director of Elementary Education. Bertha Simms was the first Black realtor and Dorothy Holden, MD. was the first black female intern at Hurley Hospital. Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea is the first Black president of Mott Community College.
In the early years, Zeta Beta Omega engaged in various local and international service projects. We proudly recall when chapter decorated t-shirts, candy, and seeds were taken to Senegal by chapter member, Nina Jones Lewis, who graced the cover of the Ivy Leaf. Our current service programs and activities include the MLK Day of Service, Pink Goes Red, Pink Sunday, Akettes Youth Group, Alzheimer’s Walk, Breast Cancer Walk, Scholarships “ Write it Right” workshop, Voters Registration Drives, Mother Daughter Brunch, Men Making a Difference Calendar, and Line Dancing Parties. We also regularly distribute water and food to Flint residents due to the ongoing water crisis. The chapter purchased the former medical office building of Dr. Billie and Dr. Vivian Lewis and renamed it the Ivy House, which is located at 1908 Longway Blvd. It is our home for chapter and committee meetings, and social activities and is the site of the Ivy Closet. Xi Chi, our local undergraduate chapter, also has activities there.
Zeta Beta Omega currently has 102 active members and proudly serves the Flint and surrounding community.
