How Africa News
The Divine 9 branch’s sororities and fraternities have always devoted a significant portion of their missions to community service.
The Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Society and the sorority’s foundation, Ivy Alliance Foundation, are working together to rebuild Ethel Hedgemon Lyle’s former St. Louis house. The abandoned property, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, will be turned into a museum commemorating Black American women.
“For over a hundred years, we have been providing service to mankind,” the leader of the chapter’s buildings and properties committee, Tracey Clark Jeffries, said regarding the sorority’s mission.
“NOW THE COMMUNITY WILL KNOW WHERE TO FIND US.”
The Jeff-Vander-Lou residence is at 2844 St. Louis, just northwest of the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency site. The museum and an accompanying community center for career aid and skill training are part of the $4 million project.
Jeffries discovered the home owned by developer Paul McKee and his Northside Regeneration, the largest landowner in north city, after a decade-long search for a location for the Ivy Alliance Foundation. McKee allegedly sold it to the sorority at a reasonable price in order to support the organization’s initiative.
“THEY OWNED THE LAND, AND THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO SELL THE LAND,” JEFFRIES SAID OF THE COMPANIES.
According to Jeffries, Lyle’s house will be renovated into a museum, with construction set to begin next fall and the museum expected to open to the public in summer 2024. The Kwame Building Group is the project’s contractor, Midwest Bank Centre is the lender, and Sensient Technologies Corp. will help connect residents with jobs.
“DEVELOPING UNDERDEVELOPED AREAS IS A GREAT THING,” JEFFRIES SAID.
“What we hope is that the people of the community will be able to benefit from it.”
“WE WANT TO BE THERE TO HELP THEM BENEFIT FROM IT.”
