Before embarking on her political career, Harris was a politically active student, having participated in South African-apartheid protests and sparred with campus Republicans at Howard University, the alma mater of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice on the Supreme Court. While at Howard, Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated (AKA), the nation’s first Black sorority. At 300,000 members strong, AKA is a powerful network of influential women, and has often been described as Harris’ “secret weapon.”