Alpha Phi Alpha
| Alpha Phi Alpha | |
|---|---|
| ΑΦA | |
| Founded | December 4, 1906 Cornell University |
| Type | Service |
| Scope | International |
| Motto | First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All |
| Colors | Black and Old Gold |
| Symbol | Sphinx, Ape, Pharaoh |
| Flower | Yellow Rose |
| Chapters | 700+ |
| Cardinal Principles | Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind |
| Headquarters | 2313 St. Paul Street Baltimore, Maryland USA |
| Website | Alpha Phi Alpha website |
Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ), Fraternity (known as A-Phi-A, but also Alphas and A-PHI) is the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity established for African Americans when established on December 4, 1906 on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
The founders, known as the Seven Jewels, were Henry A. Callis, Charles H. Chapman, Eugene K. Jones, George B. Kelley, Nathaniel A. Murray, Robert H. Ogle and Vertner W. Tandy.
History
The fraternity was born of a desire to promote close association and mutual support among African Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Initially it provided a literary, study, social and support group at the founders' university, Cornell, for all minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educational and social.
The Sphinx is the fraternity's journal, printed quarterly since 1914. It is among America's oldest periodicals serving as the official publication of an African American organization. The first, founded by fraternity member W.E.B. DuBois in 1910 is NAACP's The Crisis.
Alpha Phi Alpha is amongst the first to accept homosexual, but has struggled with these members [1] .
Since its founding, the fraternity has initiated over 150,000 men into the organization; it has been interracial since 1945.
The fraternity will celebrate a century of service in 2006.
Mission
The objectives of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Inc.) are to stimulate the ambition of its members; to prepare them for the greatest usefulness in the cause of humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and to aid downtrodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social, economic, and intellectual status. The first two objectives
- to stimulate the ambition of its members, and
- to prepare them for the greatest usefulness in the cause of humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual
provide the basis for the establishment of Alpha University.
Chapters
The first chapter established at Cornell University is named Alpha chapter. Chapters were developed at other colleges and universities, many of them historically black; the second chapter Beta was established at Howard University. The fraternity established Alpha Lambda its first graduate alumni chapter in 1911 at Louisville, Kentucky.
The fraternity's international scope was established early. In 1908 it chartered undergraduate chapter Delta at University of Toronto; shortly thereafter, the chapter became defunct. Its seat was transferred to what is now Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas in 1939. In 1938 the fraternity chartered Beta Psi college chapter in London, England. The Theta Theta Lambda alumni chapter was chartered 1963 at Frankfurt, Germany. Other chapters have been chartered in Monrovia, Liberia, Caribbean islands, Vietnam and South Korea.
Omega chapter was distinguished to contain the names of deceased fraternity members. Frederick Douglass became an honorary member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's Omega chapter in 1921, enjoying the distinction of being the only member initiated posthumously.
National programs
The Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation is a project of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Inc.) of which King was a member. In 1998, the fraternity was authorized by United States Congress to establish a foundation to manage fundraising and design of a memorial to Dr. King [2].
The fraternity sponsors Project Alpha in conjunction with March of Dimes. Other programs of the fraternity are Go To High School, Go To College and Voteless People Is a Hopeless People. The fraternity combines its efforts with Head Start, Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
The fraternity is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), composed of nine (9) International Greek-letter sororities and fraternities, and the only one founded at an Ivy League school.
Centennial Celebration
Alpha Phi Alpha's official 2006 Centennial (Celebration) will occur July 25 - 30, 2006 in Washington, D.C.. The 2006 Centennial Celebration Kickoff was a pilgrimage to Cornell University on November 19, 2005 which united over 700 fraternity brothers. During the daylong pilgrimage, members marched across campus and unveiled a new centennial memorial to Alpha Phi Alpha. The memorial, a wall in the form of a "J" in recognition of the Jewels, has a bench and a plaque and is in front of Barnes Hall. [3]
The first pilgrimage was held in 1956 to celebrate the 50th anniversary and drew about 1,000 members who traveled by chartered train from Buffalo to Ithaca.
Notable Alphas
List of Alpha Phi Alpha members
The United States Postal Service has honored fraternity members W.E.B. Dubois, Duke Ellington, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson and Whitney M. Young with a commemorative stamp in their popular Black Heritage Stamp series of famous African Americans.
Hazing + Pledging
Alpha Phi Alpha has had a long history of hazing as well as pledging. Pledging has been abolished since the early 1990's. The issue with hazing has embroiling the fraternity in numerous deaths, arrests, injuries, and resulting lawsuits against the fraternity. Although officially prohibited, the problem nevertheless persists. See for more info [4].
External links
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity website
- Alpha Phi Alpha iconography
- 2006 Centennial (Celebration) Pilgrimage photos
- National Pan-Hellenic Council
References
- Wesley, Charles H., The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life, Chicago, Foundation Publishers, 1981
- Mason, Herman "Skip", Jr., The Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha , 1991, 2005
- Ross, Lawrence C. Ross, Jr., "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities", 2000