Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.: FAMU's Beta Alpha Chapter Singing After Graduation in Spring 2012
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The stroll song that is the focus of this post begins at 1:22 in this video until the end of the video. My unofficial transcript of these lyrics is found below.
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a 2012 YouTube video of Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. performing a gradution stroll that consists of the letters for the Greek alphabet. That stroll song has the same tune and some of the same lyrics of the African American Gospel song "Glory Glory Hallelujah" ("Since I Laid My Burdens Down").
My unofficial transcript of that song is included in this post along with some performance notes. Additions and corrections are welcome.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to members of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. who are featured in these video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Songs, chants, steps, hops, strolls, calls, and/or gestures that are associated with a historically Black Greek letter organization should never be performed by anyone who isn't a member of that specific sorority or fraternity.
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INFORMATION ABOUT ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Kappa_Alpha
"Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (ΑΚΑ) is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority.[4] The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African-American women in areas where they had little power or authority due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early 20th century.[5] Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT THIS ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. (AKA) SONG
[Additions and corrections are welcome.]
This song is part of a YouTube video of members of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) 's Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. singing after that university's Spring 2012 graduation ceremony. The sorority members who just graduated wear customized kente cloth stoles that have the official colors of that sorority: salmon pink and apple green.(and other forms of pink and green).
The portion of this video focuses on the stroll song introduced as "The Alphabet". The alphabet that is referred to in that song is the Greek alphabet that every person who pledges (joins) a Greek letter organization must learn.
This AkA song has a call & response pattern.
This video shows members of this chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. performing a stroll that consist of multiple songs. The sorors stand in a vertical line and stand still or "stroll" forward in a circlular manner while singing thesee songs.
Historically Black Greek letter organization (BGLO) strolls are usually performed to recorded music (usually Hip Hop/Rap or R&B). However, in this video, the only music is the women's voices, their synchronized bass sounding foot stomps, and their individual hand claps. The only other movement that is made while the women move around their self made circle is a "lean back" motion that they make on the word "down".
The bass sounding foot stomps and individual hand claps that the women performed as well as the call & response structure of this "Alphabet" stroll song remind me somewhat of the performance activities of foot stomping cheers*, but not those cheers' words.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-cheers.htmlfor an overview of foot stomping cheers for information about foot stomping cheers.
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UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF THIS ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC SONG
Additions and corrections are welcome.
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwKCm-Tbfw&feature=emb_logo [beginning at 1:22 in this video]
[Sorors stroll in a counterclockwise circular formation while singing, doing bass sound foot stomps, and individual hand claps. There is no record or live musical instrumentation.]
Group/Response) - Yes
Caller/leader - Let’s do this
Leader - the Alphabet
[The sorors perform three bass sounding foot stomps followed by one clap. For the "clap", their hands going up and then
down near the ground.
This beat routine continues throughout the entire song without stopping. The
vertical line of sorors strolls forward each time they do this complete beat
routine. In between the Greek alphabet that the group sings, the caller says
some interjections that are sometimes indecipherable to me. However, I added those words that I believe I
heard.]
Group - Alpha Beta
Gamma Zeta
Delta Epsilon
Zeta Eta Theta
Leader -Iota Kappa
Group- Iota Kappa
Lambda Mu
Caller- Sing it loud
Group -Nu Xi omicron
Leader- Sing it now
Group -Rho Sigma
Upsilon
Phi Chi Psi
Omega
Since we laid our pledges down [On the word "down", the sorors lean slightly back
before continuing the stroll beat routine.]
I feel better
Oh so much better
Leader - Since what?
Group - Since we laid our pledges down
I feel better
Oh so much better
Caller- You did what?
Since we laid our pledges down.
Leader - Twenty pearls, y’all.
Group -Twenty pearls
What special pearls
Leader - Since we did what?
Group - Since we crossed the burning sand.
Leader- Twenty pearls
What special pearls
Leader - Since we did what?
Leader - [Says something about the alphabet]
Beta Alpha skee wee
Beta Alpha skee wee
Beta Alpha skee wee
Beta Alpha skee wee
Since we laid our pledges down.
Woo! [Sorors arop srolling, but remain standing in their straight vertical line. Sorors wave their hands in the air smiling.]
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Other members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. probably replace the Greek letters of their chapter with the "Beta Alpha skee wee etc." that is used in FAMU's version of this song.
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EXPLANATIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS IN THIS SONG
"crossed the burning sands"
From https://everythingwhat.com/what-does-crossing-the-burning-sands-mean
"The term “crossing the burning sands” describes pledging a Greek-letter organization and crossing over from being a pledge to becoming a full member."
**
pledge - A person who is going through the process of joining a Greek letter organization. That process is called "pledging". "Hazing" used to be a large part of pledging, but hazing is prohibited now.
"since we laid our pledges down" - since our pledge period ended and we became full members of that Greek letter organization.
**
sorors
"Sorors" (from the word "sorority" means "sisters". "Sorors" is a term that is used by historically Black Greek letter sororities to refer to members of that sorority as well as members of other historically Black Greek letter sororities. People who aren't members of a historically Black Greek letter organization shouldn't use the referent "soror" to address a member or members of those organizations.
**
"twenty pearls"
From https://aka1908.com/about/quick-facts#:~:text=%E2%80%9CTwenty%20Pearls%E2%80%9D%3A%20Refers%20to,Flower%3A%20Pink%20Tea%20Rose
"Twenty Pearls - a term that refers to the Founders and Incorporators of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. "
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