Politics: Why women are wearing pearls
Shhh. It's sort of a 2024 secret handshake
All of a sudden, pearls seem to have made a comeback.
It’s like a secret handshake during this political cycle.
Choker pearls. Classic neckline pearls. Long strings of pearls.
Some women confess to wearing pearls for the first time in memory. They’re digging them out of old jewelry boxes to wear them with T-shirts and jeans, as well as with suits and dresses.
You seem to see them everywhere now.
I first noticed when attending the Labor Day march through Corktown, the city’s oldest neigborhood, named for immigrants who came to Detroit from County Cork, Ireland.
Felicia Wiseman, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 58 honored for her commitment and integrity by the AFL-CIO, wore a triple set of choker pearls.
She wasn’t alone that day.
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) wore pearls, too. So did others.
Women explained to me that the pearls are a nod to Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historic college sorority that includes Kamala Harris as a member.
So while Converse shoes get a lot of attention as something men and women of all ages now wear to quietly support the Democratic nominee, others are wearing pink and white strings of pearls as quiet recognition of their loyalty.
A woman from Burtchville, Michigan — an hour or so north of Detroit along Lake Huron — has spent much of her life devoted to teaching Bible studies, and she told me that she won’t remove her pearls until after Election Day.
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was “the first Negro Greek letter sorority,” founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., according to its official website.
The prestigious college, established in 1867 by Civil War General Oliver O. Howard, is part of a network of schools established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to educate Black students.
These Historically Black Colleges and Universities (known by just about everyone nowadays as HBCUs) were created to provide opportunities to students who lacked access to higher education or whose access was limited because of their race.
Howard is known for its rigorous academics and currently producing the most Rhodes Scholars from any HBCU to attend the University of Oxford in England.
Kamala is a loud, proud alum of Howard U.
Kamala Harris, an AKA sorority member, graduated Howard in 1986 and then went on to earn a law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.
The social and political influence of the sisterhood has always been well established but the Harris campaign for president shifted the spotlight again.
They’re easy to find in their sorority colors of salmon pink and Kelly green.
But Ethel Hedgemon (Lyle) and her classmates at Howard did more than establish a color scheme. They created an influential Alpha Kappa Alpha that:
In 1921, sent a letter to President Warren Harding urging passage of the Dyer Anti-lynching Bill.
In 1928, created educational loans.
In 1934, led a Mississippi Health Project to aid families in the Mississippi Delta.
In 1939, became the first organization to get life membership to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), inspiring other Greek organizations to join with the NAACP in their fight for justice.
A legacy of civil rights
Activism included funding to sickle cell anemia and nutrition research, Black-owned businesses and the United Negro College Fund. Alpha Kappa Alpha has played a key role in education and job training.
Today, the sorority is a national and global powerhouse by every measure.
Famous members of Alpha Kappa Alpha include, according to its website:
tennis legend Althea Gibson
author Toni Morrison
scientists Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Johnson Vaughan and Mary Winston Jackson, profiled in the 2016 NASA film “Hidden Figures”
lawyer Constance Baker Motley (Brown v. Board of Education)
former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
actress Phylicia Rashad
comedian Wanda Sykes
A headline on a 2024 Fortune magazine article says that Alpha Kappa Alpha changed the life of Kamala Harris.
Their motto: “By Culture and By Merit.”
It’s part of the “Divine Nine,” a group of Greek organizations that describe themselves as being devoted to uplifting each other and all Black people.
Alpha Kappa Alpha: A history of pearls
A 91-minute documentary film made in 2022 called “Twenty Pearls” tells their story of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sisterhood and its social justice leadership.
In 2021, Town & Country magazine wrote about Kamala Harris wearing pearls by Wilfredo Rosado to honor her sorority sisters when she was sworn into office on January 20 as vice president.
Now, women around the country have joined many of the 300,000 or so Alpha Kappa Alpha members wearing pearls with style and grace, often in quiet support of a presidential candidate.
If you know, you know.
PS: As a former political reporter at The Des Moines Register and a guest lecturer at the annual Okoboji Writers Retreat in Iowa, I’m grateful to be part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. See below for a collection of great writing.
I was just in Algona, Iowa a few days ago, which is located in a very red county (Kossuth). My host has been wearing pearls regularly and mentions Harris whenever she is complimented on them. She gave me a necklace as well!
I had no idea what the pearls meant! Thanks.