Lavinia Norman

Lavinia Norman was one of the 16 original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first sorority founded by African American women at Howard University in 1908.

Norman grew up in Montgomery, West Virginia, and moved to Washington, D.C., when her father got a job with the U.S. Postal Service. She started her secondary work at Howard Preparatory School and graduated in 1905 with a diploma and entered Howard University.

While there, she met the other 15 women who formed the new sorority. She drafted the constitution for AKA along with Margaret Flagg and Ethel Hedgeman. In 1909, she graduated from Howard University, cum laude, with degrees in French and English.

She came to Huntington and taught Latin, French, Dramatic Arts and English at Douglass High School. She received a second bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State College in 1934. During her tenure at Douglass, she coached the school’s drama team and was the advisor to Douglass’ newspaper staff. She also was active with the Huntington Chapter of AKA Beta Tau Omega Chapter. In 1950, she retired and returned to Washington, D.C., and affiliated with Xi Omega Chapter.  In 1978, Norman was honored at the Sorority’s 70^th anniversary celebration in the unveiling of a window in the Rankin Chapel at Howard University. A landmark was erected in her honor in front of Douglass High School on 10^th Avenue.