Sharon Pratt, the First Black Woman Elected Mayor of a Major U.S. City, Is a Soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Did you know that Sharon Pratt, the first Black woman elected mayor of a major American city, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.? Pratt was initiated through the sorority’s Alpha Chapter at Howard University in 1964.

Sharon Pratt was born on January 30, 1944, in Washington, D.C., the daughter of a D.C. Superior Court judge. After losing her mother at a young age, she was raised with the help of her grandmother and aunt. She graduated with honors from Roosevelt High School and went on to Howard University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1965 and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1968.

Pratt built a distinguished career in law and public service. She taught at the Antioch School of Law and became an executive at the Potomac Electric Power Company, where she was the first woman and first African American to serve as a vice president. She was also deeply active in Democratic politics, serving as the District of Columbia’s representative to the Democratic National Committee and becoming the first woman to hold the post of DNC treasurer.

In 1990, Pratt made a bold bet on her hometown. Running as a reform-minded outsider, she was the only mayoral candidate to call openly for the resignation of scandal-plagued incumbent Marion Barry. After earning the endorsement of The Washington Post, her campaign surged, and despite having the smallest staff and budget in the race, she won. On January 2, 1991, she was sworn in as the mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first woman to lead the city and the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city.

As mayor, Pratt pursued an aggressive reform agenda and became a leading advocate for D.C. statehood. After leaving office, she continued her career in business and consulting, and she has remained a respected voice on the future of the nation’s capital. A trailblazer whose achievement opened doors for the Black women who followed her into city halls across the country, Pratt embodies the ideals of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Black Greek-letter sorority, founded at Howard University in 1908.