Alpha Kappa Alpha ivy leaf badge belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is an Alpha Kappa Alpha badge belonging to Etta Moten Barnett. It consists of a gold pin in the shape of a green enameled ivy leaf with a rim of small pearls. At the pinnacle of the leaf is a single clear crystal. The green enamel has gold Greek letters in the three lobes of the ivy leaf that spell “AKA.” In the center is a Greek symbol. The back of the pin had a vertical bar for pinning with a small, short gold colored chain hanging off it.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930-2004
• Issued by: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, founded 1908
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: pins (jewelry)
• Medium: enamel on metal with glass
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 9/16 × 9/16 × 5/16 in. (1.4 × 1.5 × 0.8 cm)
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Sororities
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.76
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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.