A University of Kentucky chapter of the National Association for Colored Women's Clubs Incorporated (NACWC) has been established on campus. 

Eleven students were inducted as inaugural members of the university’s chapter this past weekend. 

The inducted members include: 

Kiaura Acklin 

Iyahna Wilson

Raven Reeves 

Andrea Cummings 

Shakira Washington

Jeliah Logan

Essence White 

Eunique Gaither 

Renisha Davis 

Cymone Webb 

Kendall Hoofe

Te’Asia Martin, program coordinator for the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives, will serve as the campus advisor. 

“I am just honored to be a supportive resource to these ladies as they learn how to lead one another, themselves and hopefully the greater community,” Martin said. “Jeliah Logan approached me in the fall of the 2019-20 academic year and asked me to advise this aspiring organization. From there, she introduced me to a small group of ladies who were ambitious and had the desire to see this through to chartering.”

According to the association's website, The NACWC Inc. are women of color dedicated to uplifting women, children, families, the home and the community through service, community education, scholarship assistance and the promotion of racial harmony among all people, so that those we serve are better able to take their proper and rightful place in society as citizens, community leaders, parents and family members.

Founded in 1896 in a time where Black women were not permitted in other prominent feminist organizations, the NACWC Inc. is the first organization created specifically for Black women.

The WISE chapter of the NACWC Inc. at UK will be the first chapter of the association in the state of Kentucky, creating history for both the university and the Commonwealth as a whole.

Joined by the likeness of Harriet Tubman and Helen Appo Cook (both NACW Inc. founders), Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Cooper, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and a plethora of unnamed others whose lives were devoted to the struggle to free people of color from the bondage of slavery, illiteracy and prejudice, these 11 women hope to continue on in the footsteps of those who came before them to uplift the community through service and community education.

With a motto of “Lifting As We Climb,” Martin hopes the club will do just that on UK’s campus. 

“After meeting with national members about the ladies throughout their chartering process, the legacy of Black women’s contributions to our communities and American history is something I look forward to seeing these ladies embody and carry out,” Martin said. “Not only are NACWC’s chartering members remembered for their tenacity, but also for their efforts that benefited Black women, Black men and the greater communities they were citizens of. In that same mind, I believe these ladies will carry that torch of responsibility and tenacity. This is the type of light we all need to support us in releasing our light within ourselves.

“This is a silver lining to the overcast days I have seen a multitude of people enduring. In a time where conversations have suggested Black women’s lives don’t matter, this is a positive reminder that their contributions to the community makes it a better place for everyone.”

Any young woman who is interested in supporting the ideals, goals and mission of the NACWC Inc. and has a minimum of a 2.5 GPA is welcome to participate in the NACWC.

For more information on the NACWC Inc., visit the association's website.