The brotherhood and sisterhood of the Divine Nine lives on in Bardstown as local residents bring service back to Nelson County.
Five Birdstone members reflect on their membership in historically black sororities and fraternities.
For Shona Sheckles, her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (aka), provided the sisterhood she felt everywhere. When she lived in Germany, she said, she was connected to Greek life and she never felt alone, and when she traveled to Florida, her AKA sisters happened to be her He said he was seated right behind a group of friends.
“No matter where you go in the world, it's a lifelong brother-sister relationship,” Shekels said. “…wherever you go, you always find AKA. … We didn’t know them. They didn’t know us, but we were able to have a conversation. It’s all about unity is.”
Mr. Sheckles is a member of sororities and fraternities, along with Rhonda Churchill (AKA), Donovan Nance (Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc.), Roland Williams (Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.), and Roscoe Linton (APA). I shared my experience. Nance, a 2020 graduate of the University of Kentucky, said his mentors encouraged him to attend college and that the Iota Brotherhood welcomed him with open arms.
Thanks to Nance's mentorship and fraternity, he came full circle to become a coach and teacher at Bardstown City Schools. He said he continues to give back to the community, just as it lifted him up in his youth.
“I joined a fraternity, I joined a mental health program that I started with kids, I helped kids,” Nance said. “It gave me a new lease of life because I wanted to continue doing this. Eventually, I moved back home to start my career and started coaching kids. I'm a coach. I'm a teacher, and most of the kids talk to me. It's like I'm spooning out the same thing someone gave me.”
Linton said being an Alpha means, first and foremost, that you are a servant of your community. He said it's important to have an impact in the community and bring Alpha Phi Alpha's values to Bardstown and throughout Nelson County. Alpha Phi Alpha began at Cornell University in 1906 for “manly conduct, scholarship, and love for all mankind.”
“I think the most important thing for me is being a servant to the community and reaching out to young men,” Linton said. “Even though we don’t have a chapter here, we still try to have influence and visibility in the community, so we want to bring that to the forefront.”
The history and influence of the Divine Nine, the nickname given to nine historically black Greek-letter organizations, is deep. In Churchill's case, she came to the interview wearing a pink and green AKA cardigan and a shirt with the face of a famous AKA alumnus. Famous AKA alumni include current U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, poet Maya Angelou, and singer Ella Fitzgerald. History and sisterhood over the years are extremely important to Churchill, who talks about her connections to her sisters.
“Every sorority or fraternity has some pretty prominent members, past and present,” Churchill said.
Both Williams and Sheckles were able to meet famous alumni of fraternities and sororities, and Sheckles was starstruck. Linton had the opportunity to attend Alpha Phi Alpha's presidential inauguration, which is an important moment for him. Mr. Williams said he had the opportunity to meet Thurgood Marshall's son, and Mr. Sheckles was able to meet Mr. Angelou at a conference in Atlanta.
“I was able to talk to her and she touched my face, and that's all I remember,” she said. “That was just a pivotal moment. Everything that her poems said. Everything that she represented as an African American woman. Then she just came over and touched my face.”
“I've never met a famous AKA unless I was moved and remembered,” Churchill jokes. “But I've had a lot of encounters in my life, just joining a sorority and meeting people. That's probably what I'll always remember.”
Service and connection are at the forefront of Greek life, and Shekels has used her voice as an AKA to amplify the voices of domestic violence survivors, she said. In her work with her domestic violence program, she has seen her AKA sisters show up to support their efforts and events, making them more successful.
“When they lose their voice, I become a temporary voice,” she said. “Even though I'm working, I've tried to put an extra spin on it. It's all aligned with who I am and how I feel about myself and being AKA my girlfriend. It’s the life I live.”
