Lambda Pi Omega Chapter (Detroit, Michigan) of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® donated the largest single chapter donation to date from one of the nine historically African American sororities and fraternities. The $5,000 donation will be used to help reduce the backlog of untested rape kits and prevent future sexual assaults in Wayne County.
The donation, given to the African American 490 Challenge, supports the efforts to raise $657,000 to test the remaining 1,340 rape kits and is a part of the larger Enough SAID goal to raise $10 million. Kim Trent, President and Darci McConnell, Vice President, accepted the donation on behalf of the 490 Challenge. “We have some survivors whose kits have been sitting on a shelf for 20 years, and this donation will bring us one step closer to giving them closure,” said Trent. “We are truly grateful to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Lambda Pi Omega chapter for helping to bring these individuals justice.”
Peggy M. Brown, President of Lambda Pi Omega Chapter also said in a statement: “The African American 490 Challenge is an excellent vehicle for many rape kits to now be tested and a considerable number of survivors to have a chance at seeing their offenders brought to justice. With over 80 percent of the survivors associated with these kits being women of color, our chapter did not hesitate to give more.” Patricia Pickett, Connection Committee chairman added “Historically, African American women have played a major role in shaping civil rights and social justice policies in this country. The members of the oldest African American Greek Letter Sorority are maintaining the legacy by taking decisive action to support the forgotten victims.”
In 2009, more than 11,000 unopened, untested rape kits were discovered in a Detroit Police Department storage unit. The kits represented thousands of unprosecuted sexual assault cases, and potentially thousands of sex offenders still on the streets. Economic constraints in Detroit and Wayne County have limited funding available to address this backlog. Enough SAID was created to address the need for identifying and securing resources to process the county’s untested rape kits,
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