Posted Jan. 15, 2008 – Does Barbie have what it takes to join the pretty girls who wear 20 pearls?

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The nation's oldest, predominantly Black Greek sorority has caught her eye, and she wants in.  And if things go her way, she'll be a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha by the sorority's 100th anniversary.

On Saturday, Jan. 19, when the sorority kicks off its centennial celebration in Washington, D.C., Barbie will let it be known that "it's a serious matter" when she steps out in her salmon pink and apple green evening gown – the sorority's official colors.

The Mattel doll will cost about $50, and it will be available through BarbieCollector.com, the Barbie Collector catalog and other outlets and partnerships with the sorority.

 "It's such a landmark event," Elizabeth Grampp, director of Barbie collector marketing tells The Associated Press.

Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded Jan. 15, 1908 at Howard University.

The group has inducted more than 200,000 women over the century, including famous members of AKA such as Marian Anderson, the first African-American woman to sing at the Metropolitan Opera; award-winning novelist and poet Dr. Maya Angelou; accomplished author Bebe Moore Campbell; Miss America 1984, Suzette Charles; the late, internationally renowned  jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald; TV host Star Jones; singer Gladys Knights; actress Jada Pinkett-Smith; and many others.