Clipping from an interview with Dana Owens on pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
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Clipping from an interview with Dana Owens on pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
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Description
Clipping of an interview of Dana Owens conducted by Ariauna Buckingham on November 18, 2020. Owens describes pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, how her experience was different since she was the only pledge her year, her close relationship with her sorors, and how her interaction with Alphas growing up led her to pledge.
Clipping transcript:
Dana Owens: I pledged spring of ’95. So, I was a junior and I had a private room then, so I guess--in a private dorm. And the reason why I say that was because when I pledged, I can remember bring all my sisters, bringing all my stuff I had been gifted in my room. It was a great experience. It was different because I was a line of one. So, there were a couple of others that experienced the same thing. The line before me had more than one person, and then… I think the two lines before me had more than one person. So, it was good on the one hand to pledge and be a part of a sorority that I already knew I would be a part of just because of my upbringing and the relationships I had with ladies in my community that influenced me in that way. They were all AKAs. On the other hand, being a line of one like there’s not as much comradery. Which makes sense, I didn’t have a lot of sisters. But, I did have a special bond with sorors who were also a line of one. So like, we have that special bond, even to this day. We talk about what that was like. But in general, it was awesome to be a part of. Unique and special to be a part of that organization, specifically, because it was the first Black sorority. And then, so for me being a part of it, knowing how I grew up, knowing that was my influence, and then coming here and—let me go back and rephrase that. That was the only sorority at the time. Deltas came many years later. But for me, it was an easy choice, because it was what I knew I would do. With that being said, there were some other Black female organizations that were around, but I never joined any of them. I only joined the sorority.
Clipping transcript:
Dana Owens: I pledged spring of ’95. So, I was a junior and I had a private room then, so I guess--in a private dorm. And the reason why I say that was because when I pledged, I can remember bring all my sisters, bringing all my stuff I had been gifted in my room. It was a great experience. It was different because I was a line of one. So, there were a couple of others that experienced the same thing. The line before me had more than one person, and then… I think the two lines before me had more than one person. So, it was good on the one hand to pledge and be a part of a sorority that I already knew I would be a part of just because of my upbringing and the relationships I had with ladies in my community that influenced me in that way. They were all AKAs. On the other hand, being a line of one like there’s not as much comradery. Which makes sense, I didn’t have a lot of sisters. But, I did have a special bond with sorors who were also a line of one. So like, we have that special bond, even to this day. We talk about what that was like. But in general, it was awesome to be a part of. Unique and special to be a part of that organization, specifically, because it was the first Black sorority. And then, so for me being a part of it, knowing how I grew up, knowing that was my influence, and then coming here and—let me go back and rephrase that. That was the only sorority at the time. Deltas came many years later. But for me, it was an easy choice, because it was what I knew I would do. With that being said, there were some other Black female organizations that were around, but I never joined any of them. I only joined the sorority.
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Black Cultural Center Oral History Collection
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BCCOH_Owens_20201118_AKAclip
Citation
Owens, Dana, “Clipping from an interview with Dana Owens on pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,” Tennessee Tech University Archives and Special Collections, accessed May 16, 2024, https://tntecharchives.omeka.net/items/show/384.
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