Eight suspended members of Alpha Kappa Alpha can sue the sorority and a number of its officers and directors alleging irregularities in the organization’s fiscal management, an appeals court has ruled.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals unanimously reinstated a lawsuit this month against the country’s oldest Black sorority stemming in large part from controversial payments to former international president, or “Supreme Basileus,” Barbara McKinzie, and her use of an AKA credit card.
At the same time, however, the court upheld dismissal of all claims against the sorority’s affiliated foundation, the AKA Education Advancement Foundation.
Melody McDowell, the sorority’s chief information officer, said of the ruling, “While it’s pending, we have no comment about it.”
AKA was founded in 1908 at Howard University
The suit filed in 2009 alleges large-scale misspending without the authorization required from AKA’s policymaking body, the Boule. The challenged spending included a lump sum $250,000 payment and recurring $4,000 monthly “pension stipends” to McKinzie, the decision said.
The presidency had been a voluntary position prior to McKinzie’s tenure, according to court documents.
