Alpha Kappa Alpha jacket worn during the Women's March on Washington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An Alpha Kappa Alpha pullover jacket worn during the Women's March on Washington by Dr. Calonie Gray. The dark green, nylon jacket has full-length sleeves, elastic wristbands, and a drawstring hood and hem with plastic cord locks. The jacket closes at the center front with a dark green zipper and has a large pouch at the front waist with a Velcro closure. The pouch has a side opening that act as hand pockets. Over the proper right breast is dark pink embroidered text that reads [ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA] in pink thread and bordered above and below with pink thread. Below are three (3) large embroidered letters [AKA] in green thread, outlined in dark pink. The jacket interior is fully lined with white cotton. Sewn to the interior collar is the manufacture’s label. The label is black with their company logo embroidered in white thread: a single rower in a shell depicted in profile, rowing with two (2) oars. The logo is bordered with a double lined, white embroidered oval with the text [CHARLES / RIVER] at the top and [APPAREL] at the bottom. Below is white embroidered text that reads [CHARLES / RIVER]. Sewn to the bottom of the tag is a smaller tag with sizing, materials, manufacturing information, and washing instructions. The back of the jacket is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1990s
• Manufactured by: Charles River Apparel, American, founded 1983
• Subject of: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, founded 1908
• Subject of: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, American, founded 1886
• Subject of: Zeta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, American, founded 1908
• Subject of: Women's March, American, founded 2017
• Type: jackets
• Medium: nylon and cotton (textile) with thread and plastic
• Dimensions: H x W (flat): 27 3/16 × 38 3/4 in. (69 × 98.5 cm)
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Feminism
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Resistance
• Object number: 2017.96.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Calonie Gray
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.