AKAs, Zetas and Sigmas Rally at State Capitol to Advocate for Legislative Priorities
On April 27, members of two Black sororities and one fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma – all members of the Divine Nine (D9) — visited the California State Capitol for a day of legislative advocacy, including presentations on the Senate and Assembly floors led by lawmakers from the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC).
The State Capitol, Swing Space Annex, and surrounding areas were filled with members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., dressed in their signature colors of pink and green, and royal blue and white, respectively.
“Being a Zeta strengthened my commitment to community and reminded me that leadership is about showing up, especially for those voices too often unheard,” said Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-La Mesa). “I am honored to be joined today with 50 members of Zeta Phi Beta Incorporated, as well as the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., in the rear of the chamber and gallery.”
Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. were at the Capitol for their 27th Annual Day, meeting with legislators to discuss 2026 priorities, including voting rights protections. Their visit included recognition on the Senate floor, hosted by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles).
“Today, we recognize not only the legacy of Alpha Kappa Alpha, but the continued impact of its members who lead, serve, and uplift communities across the nation,” said Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood).
The D9 is the collective name for the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), an umbrella organization representing nine historically African American Greek-letter fraternities and sororities founded between 1906 and 1963.
Statement from Black Elected Officials of California on the Supreme Court’s Decision in Louisiana v. Callais
WE WILL NOT GO BACK!
We, the undersigned Black Elected Officials representing communities across the United States, and in particular the approximate 2.8 million Black Californians whose political voice hangs in the balance, rise today in unified condemnation of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
With this ruling, a majority of the Court has done what decades of voter suppression could not accomplish through the ballot box: it has gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law purchased not with ink, but with the blood, sweat, sacrifice, and lives of those who marched, bled, and died on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and throughout this nation.
By requiring proof of intentional discrimination rather than discriminatory results, Justice Alito’s majority opinion has erected a near-impossible legal standard, one that our communities, our attorneys, and our advocates cannot realistically meet. The Court has, in effect, handed state legislatures a roadmap to dilute Black political power without legal consequence.
This is not the first blow. In 2013, Shelby County v. Holder dismantled the preclearance formula that served as the Act’s frontline protection. In 2021, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee raised the bar for Section 2 challenges to voting restrictions. And now Callais v. Louisiana is an advancement of the dismantling. Taken together, these three decisions represent the most sustained judicial assault on Black voting rights since Reconstruction, and we refuse to pretend otherwise.
WE SPEAK DIRECTLY TO OUR COLLEAGUES IN CONGRESS AND IN STATE LEGISLATURES
This is not a moment for equivocation. The Supreme Court has made clear it will not defend the constitution and amendments that have been made for all to be seen as equal. That burden now falls squarely on the legislative branch. We call on Congress to immediately pass updated Voting Rights legislation that restores the results-based standard, establishes a new preclearance formula, and closes every loophole this Court has opened. We call on our colleagues in the California Legislature and in state legislatures across the nation to enact the strongest possible state-level voting rights protections, because the federal floor has collapsed.
THE STAKES FOR BLACK CALIFORNIA ARE IMMEDIATE AND CONCRETE
California is home to one of the largest, most politically active Black communities in the nation. Black Californians fought hard for, and won, fair representation in congressional and legislative maps. It has been California’s Black leadership that has influenced how the nation responds to policy and social shifts. That representation is not guaranteed by this Court. With redistricting cycles already underway and the legal tools to defend majority-minority districts severely weakened, the door is now open for challenges that could erase districts where Black Californians have, for the first time in generations, sent representatives who look like them and speak to their lived experience.
This ruling does not affect some abstract legal doctrine. It affects who represents Inglewood and Compton, San Bernardino and La Mesa, Watts and Oakland, Richmond and Sacramento. It determines whether the Black vote counts as a whole vote, or is once again carved, cracked, and packed into irrelevance.
As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent, this Court has, step by step, dismantled the key civil rights protections that generations of Americans sacrificed everything to secure. We echo her alarm — and we raise it.
WE CALL ON ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS, REGARDLESS OF PARTY, TO ACT
This is not a partisan issue. It is a question of democracy itself. We call on every governor, every state attorney general, and every member of Congress to use every tool at their disposal; legislative, executive, and legal, to protect the right to vote and the right to fair representation.
We will not be silent. We will not be diminished. And we will not go back.
Signed,
Wanda Williams
Supervisor, Solano County Dist.3
President
Dr. Steve Gibson
Pasadena City College Board President, Pasadena
Vice President of Membership
Dr. Gethsemane Moss
Former Benicia USD Trustee
Vice President of Donor Relations
Y’Anad Burrell
Board Member, Contra Costa County Behavioral Health
Vice President of Communications
Damon Alexander
Former Councilmember, City of San Bernardino
Assistant Treasurer
Kristina Elder
Commissioner, Suisun City
Secretary
Treva Reid
Former Councilmember
Oakland
Stevevonna Evans
Councilmember
Adelanto
Dr. Lynette McElhaney
Former Council President, Oakland
Past President
Marla A. Matime
Executive Director
Riverside
