In December 1935, Clara E. Williams was sent by her associates to the Boule in Richmond, Virginia to obtain permission to establish a graduate chapter at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama. Approval was granted and Beta Xi Omega Chapter was chartered on June 13, 1936. The charter members were Ola Christine Collins (Gomillion), Marion A. Boyd Johnson, Irma E. Kingsley (Johnson), Eleze Goodwin Pitts and Clara E. Williams.
Since its establishment, the chapter has made invaluable contributions to the community and sorority. Annual scholarships have been awarded to Macon County High School seniors since 1937 and also periodically to Tuskegee University students. The Free Christmas Gift Shop for Veterans at the VA Central Alabama Health Care System, formerly known as the Tuskegee Veterans Affairs Hospital, has been conducted yearly since 1955. In 1994, special activities were held in observance of the 40th Anniversary of the Gift Shop. The chapter donated six nineteen inch color televisions to the VA for a ward to acknowledge this anniversary.
Through the years, the chapter has sponsored significant programs and projects – many of them in collaboration with other organizations, community agencies and the Macon County schools. Some of them are as follows:
- Vocational guidance and career clinics
- Voter registration and participation drive
- Presentation of renowned artists
- Reading skills development, creative writing, music, computer literacy and science/math workshops
- Adopt-a-School and the Ivy AKAdemy projects
- Lifelong learning activities with Head Start teachers, aides, students and parents
- Support of the NAACP, UNCF, YMCA and the American Red Cross
- Ivy Reading AKAdemy
- Young Authors
- Relay for Life
- SIDS
- Childhood Obesity
- Arts on the Green
- Emerging Young Leaders
- ASCEND
- One Million Backpacks
- Think HBCU
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Caregiver Support Program
- Stoke and Heart Disease Awareness
- Mental Health Awareness
- Childhood Hunger Initiative
- Family Seasonal Wraps
- Fiscal Responsibility Programs
- AKA 1908 Playground Project (Restore, Refresh and Renew Project)
- Acts of Green Program
- UNA-USA
- Africare
Newly initiated programs for the 2018-2022 administration include:
- Signature Program:#CAPSM
- Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention
- Heart Health
- Nutrition and Wellness
- Care for the Caregivers
- Personal Financial Planning and Asset Accumulation.
- Credit Repair and Monitoring
- Entrepreneurship and the Black Dollar 365
- Operation AKA Assist
- Salute to the Harlem Renaissance
- Salute to the Black Arts Movement
- National Global Impact Day
- Global Assistance Activities
- Soles 4 Souls
- Lions Club International
- Pillowcase Project
- Refugees in America Assistance Program (RAAP)
Chapter Demographics
Year Chartered:
1936
Primary Geographic Area:
Tuskegee-Macon County Area (Alabama)
Professions within Chapter:
Educators, Healthcare Professionals, City Officials, Legal Professionals,
and a host of others
