Beulah E. Burke

        Beulah E. Burke was one of the most active of the founders of Alpha 
Kappa Alpha Sorority both during the period of incorporation as well as at 
the time of the original establishment and provided wise counsel throughout 
her 67 years of membership.
        Ms. Burke and her sister, Lillie, entered the Preparatory Department 
of Howard University in 1900.  They had attended the same classes through 
grade school in Hertford, North Carolina and were to continue together 
through Howard University.
        Ms. Burke was an excellent scholar and graduated from the College 
of Arts and Sciences in 1908 with a B.A. degree.  She majored in Latin and 
also studied Greek, German, English, political science, chemistry and physics.
        After graduation, she taught for one year in Georgia and then moved 
to Kansas City, Kansas to teach in Sumner High School.  At Sumner, she was 
employed to teach Latin, German and English as well as one class in home 
economics.  Her work in home economics was so exceptional, she was asked to 
consider concentrating in this subject area since there were so few teachers 
in what was considered a new field.  Accordingly, she studied at the 
University of Chicago and at Columbia University where she earned her master's 
degree in home economics.
        In 1913, when Nellie Quander was considering the incorporation of the
sorority to preserve its name and integrity for all time, Ms. Burke was 
contacted to help in nationalizing the sorority because of her strong support
for this step.  She chartered the first three chapters after incorporation: 
Beta Chapter in Chicago (1913), Gamma Chapter at the University of Illinois 
(1913), and Delta Chapter at the University of Kansas (1914).
        Ms. Burke contributed further to the development of Alpha Kappa Alpha
as a national organization by establishing additional graduate chapters.  In 
1920, she established Beta Omega Chapter in Kansas City, Missouri, and in 
1922, Mu Omega Chapter in Kansas City, Kansas.  She served as basileus of 
both chapters.  She was also hostess basileus at the Kansas City Boule of 
1922.  From 1923 to 1924, she served as second supreme anti-basileus.  In 
1925, she was elected Midwestern organizer (regional director).  She attended
and contributed to many other Boules and on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary 
Boule in 1958 had this to say:

                "I think fundamentally we should regard our fiftieth 
                anniversary as just another milestone in our history 
                - as another opportunity to rededicate ourselves to 
                the high purposes which have been emphasized and 
                reemphasized throughout the history of Alpha Kappa 
                Alpha Sorority.

        After leaving the midwest, Ms. Burke taught in Dover, Delaware at 
Delaware State College and then in Atlantic City, New Jersey She always 
considered her experience as village consultant in home economics in Atlantic
City to be the most enjoyable of her life.
        In the mid 1940s, she returned to Washington and became a member of 
Xi Omega Chapter.  She participated in chapter activities and attended Boules
and regional conferences.  Ms. Burke served for a time as manager of Slowe 
Hall, a residence for graduate women students at Howard University, named for
Howard's first dean of women - her classmate Lucy Slowe.  She took this 
position after her retirement from the Atlantic City public school system.
        In 1968, she was honored at the 60th anniversary celebration of 
Founders' Day in Washington at a special banquet where Norma Boyd and Lavinia
Norman were the other featured guests.
        Ms. Burke was a member of the NAACP and the YWCA in Washington, D.C.,
and also was a member of the Workers Organization which helps young women to
find gainful employment.  She was active in her professional organization, 
the National Education Association.  Ms. Burke continued to practice her 
skills in home economics and was known for her beautiful sewing and tailoring.
        After her retirement from her position at Howard University, Ms. Burke
continued her interest in the New Hampshire Avenue Neighborhood Club and the 
Berean Baptist Church where she was a loyal and valuable member.  She 
participated in senior citizen activities until her death.
        Her faithful friends in Xi Omega Chapter knew her as a loyal Alpha 
Kappa Alpha woman - a good person who always helped people and shared her all 
with anyone whom she found in need.
        Beulah Elizabeth Burke died on April 8, 1975 in Washington, D.C. She 
is buried in Lincoln Cemetery.