Suit Claims Sorority President Spent Money on Wax Statue of Herself
A lawsuit filed by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority claims its international president should be ousted because she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the group’s money on a wax statue of herself and other personal items.
The suit says the wax statue of international President Barbara McKinzie cost $900,000, but lawyer Edward Gray Jr. says he has since learned the figure is the amount paid for two wax statues—one of McKinzie and another of the group’s first international president, the Associated Press reports. The statues reportedly are to be displayed in the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.
McKinzie counters that the two statues only cost $45,000, and the $900,000 was to help defray expenses of the group’s 2010 convention, according to the AP story and an account in the Chicago Sun-Times. A statement issued by the sorority says the suit is “based on mischaracterizations and fabrications … not befitting our ideals of sisterhood, ethics and service.”
The suit alleges that McKinzie used the sorority’s American Express card to buy designer clothing, jewelry and lingerie, and she used credit-card awards points to buy a big-screen television and gym equipment, according to the stories. In all, the suit says, she spent almost $400,000 on personal expenses, the Sun-Times reports.
McKinzie says that, under her leadership, auditing practices have been improved and cost overruns eliminated. She maintains the lawsuit is a reaction to “enforced stringent financial standards as part of a professionalization of our organization.”
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