Huntington in Cabell County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

Lavinia Norman, Founder

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

Lavinia Norman Alpha Kappa Alpha Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 29, 2018

1. Lavinia Norman Alpha Kappa Alpha Marker

Inscription. Born on December 14, 1882, in Montgomery, WV. Lavinia Norman later attended Howard University in Washington, DC. In 1908, with eight other students, she founded Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest Greek-lettered organization for African American women. Norman taught at Douglass High School in Huntington for 40 years.

Erected 2012 by West Virginia Archives & History.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Women. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the West Virginia Archives and History series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is December 14, 1882.

Location. 38° 24.858′ N, 82° 25.848′ W. Marker is in Huntington, West Virginia, in Cabell County. It is at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Douglass Street / A D Lewis Avenue, on the right when traveling west on 10th Avenue. It is at Douglass High School building, now the Douglass Centre. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1449 10th Ave, Huntington WV 25701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West Virginia’s Kyova Tri-State Region

and in the Mid-Ohio Valley. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France

and also the territory of the Mississippian Culture.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Carter Godwin Woodson (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dr. Carter Godwin Wilson (about

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700 feet away); One Room School Museum (approx. 0.6 miles away); John Marshall (approx. 0.6 miles away); Chesapeake & Ohio Passenger Station (approx. 0.6 miles away); Marshall Memorial Boulevard (approx. 0.6 miles away); Marshall University (approx. 0.6 miles away); Huntington Mine Rescue Car (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntington.

Also see . . . AKA History. “Because they believed that Negro college women represented ‘the highest—more education, more enlightenment, and more of almost everything that the great mass of Negroes never had’ — Hedgeman and her cohorts worked to honor what she called ‘an everlasting debt to raise them (Negroes) up and to make them better.’ For more than a century, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sisterhood has fulfilled that obligation by becoming an indomitable force for good in their communities, state, nation, and the world.” (Submitted on November 6, 2018.)

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 29, 2018

2. Lavinia Norman Alpha Kappa Alpha Marker

Douglass High School Building, Huntington, West Virginia image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 29, 2018

3. Douglass High School Building, Huntington, West Virginia

Credits. This page was last revised on June 8, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 805 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 6, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.