| Carrie Snowden | |
| Occupation: | Switchboard operator |
| Known For: | Founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; |
| Birth Name: | Carrie Estelle Snowden |
| Birth Date: | 1884 |
| Birth Place: | Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Carrie Estelle Snowden (– 1948)[1] was one of the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women.[2] [3] [4]
Snowden was born in Pennsylvania c. 1884.[5] She grew up in Washington, D.C., where she attended public schools.[6] In June 1902, she graduated eighth grade at the Lincoln School and was promoted to high school.[7] In June 1906, she graduated from M Street High School where she served as her class vice president.[8]
She enrolled in Howard University in the School of Arts and Science in 1906.[9] [10] There were only a few women enrolled in Howard at the time. She graduated from Howard with a B.A. in May 1910, having studied English, French, German, and history.[11] [12]
While at Howard, she and fifteen other women formed Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Snowden was admitted to the sorority without initiation in February 1908.[13] She served as the epistoleus (corresponding secretary) of what became the Alpha chapter of the sorority in the fall of 1909.
In 1923, Snowden was a charter member of Xi Omega alumnae chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha in Washington, D.C. She was active in its membership and amenities committees.
In 1917, Snowden was appointed a substitute librarian for high schools and normal schools in Washington, D.C.[14] Later in life, Snowden worked in administration at Howard University as a switchboard operator until she retired.
Snowden and Silas Hinton married on January 4, 1906, in Washington, D.C.[15]
Snowden's job at the university allowed her to take classes there. She pursued lifelong learning, taking courses in a wide range of subjects such as commerce, economics, mathematics, and social work. In 1943, she took a course in typing at Howard.
Snowden died in 1948 in Washington, D.C. She was buried in Washington, D.C. Her sorority friends remembered her as "small, slim, and gracious".