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Alpha Phi Alpha

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Alpha Phi Alpha
ΑΦΑ
The official crest of Alpha Phi Alpha.
The official crest of Alpha Phi Alpha.
FoundedDecember 4 1906
Cornell University (42.448510°N -76.478620°E / 42.448510°N 76.478620°W / 42.448510; -76.478620 Coordinates: longitude degrees < 0 with hemisphere flag
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TypeService
ScopeInternational
Motto
First of All,
Servants of All,
We Shall Transcend All
ColorsBlack and Old Gold
SymbolGreat Sphinx of Giza, Great Pyramids of Giza, Pharaohs, Ape
FlowerYellow Rose
Chapters700+
Cardinal Principles
Manly Deeds,
Scholarship, and
Love For All Mankind
Headquarters2313 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland
USA
WebsiteAlpha Phi Alpha website

Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ) is an intercollegiate service fraternity generally recognized as the first established by African Americans. Founded on December 4 1906, on the campus of Cornell University (42.448510°N -76.478620°E / 42.448510°N 76.478620°W / 42.448510; -76.478620 Coordinates: longitude degrees < 0 with hemisphere flag
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid longitude) in Ithaca, New York, the fraternity has initiated over 175,000 men into the organization and has been open to men of all races since 1945. The fraternity utilizes motifs and artifacts from Ancient Egypt to represent the organization and preserves its archives at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

Founders Henry A. Callis, Charles H. Chapman, Eugene K. Jones, George B. Kelley, Nathaniel A. Murray, Robert H. Ogle and Vertner W. Tandy are collectively known as the "Seven Jewels" and they swiftly expanded the fraternity when a second chapter was chartered at Howard University in 1907. Beginning in 1908, the Howard chapter became the prototype for six of the remaining eight National Pan-Hellenic Council members, a predominantly African-American fraternal council. Today, there are over 700 Alpha chapters in the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the West Indies. The Alphas have encountered problems similar to other fraternities, including a two-year suspension for a 2001 hazing episode at Ohio State University.

The fraternity has provided leadership and service during the Great Depression, World War II, Civil Rights Movements, and addressed social issues such as apartheid and urban housing, and other economic, cultural, and political issues affecting people of color. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is a project of Alpha Phi Alpha and the fraternity jointly leads philanthropic programming initiatives with March of Dimes, Head Start, Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include former Jamaican Prime Minister and Rhodes Scholar Norman Manley; Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr.; former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey; Olympian Jesse Owens; Justice Thurgood Marshall; and former Atlanta Mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young. Numerous other American leaders are among the men who have adopted the fraternity’s principles—manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind.

History

Founding

The Arts Quad of Cornell University in 1919. Cornell was the site of the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. in 1905 although the organization would remain unnamed until 1906.

At the start of the 20th century, black students at American universities were often excluded from the personal and close associations the predominately white student population enjoyed in fraternal organizations.[1] During the 1905-06 school year, Cornell University witnessed the organization of the first Greek letter fraternity for black students, by black students. Alpha Phi Alpha was organized with the stated desire of providing a mechanism to build those associations and provide mutual support among African American students. At the outset, there was disagreement about the group's purpose. Some desired to organize a social and literary club where all persons could participate. Others in the group supported a traditional fraternal organization. The overwhelming sentiment was dissatisfaction with lack of access to a literary society and members proposed to enlarge the functions of the group. The fraternal supporters were in the minority and the society thereafter organized with the intention of providing a literary, study, social, and support group for all minority students who encountered social and academic racial prejudice.[2]

File:411EStateStreet.jpg
First meeting place of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, 411 E. State Street in Ithaca, New York

At the first meetings during the school year 1906-07, members formed the nucleus of the organization's internal structure for the yet unnamed "society." On October 23, 1906, Callis and Jones, acquainted with the Greek language, proposed that the organization be known by the Greek letters Alpha Phi Alpha, and Ogle proposed the colors to be old gold and black. The fraternity was still in process of formation and the divisive issue of whether the terms "club" or "fraternity" be used was debated within the group.[3]

By December 4, 1906, the members' views changed and the decision was made to become a fraternity. The prior designations of "club," "organization," and "society" were removed.[3] The founding members of the first collegiate Greek letter organization for Negro students, with the Great Sphinx of Giza as their symbol were Henry Callis, Charles Chapman, Eugene Jones, George Kelley, Nathaniel Murray, Robert Ogle and Vertner Tandy.[4][5]

Consolidation and expansion

The 1907 ΑΦA Constitution and By-Laws

Soon after the Cornell organization formed, members opened Alpha Phi Alpha chapters at other colleges and universities. Howard University, in 1907, was the site of the organization of the first black Greek letter fraternity among historically black schools.[6] Beginning in 1908, Howard became the founding site for five additional NPHC members.[7] Ethel Hedgeman Lyle was inspired by her then high school and college sweetheart George Lyle, a co-founder of Alpha's Howard chapter, to establish Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.[8] Omega Psi Phi (1911), Delta Sigma Theta (1913), Phi Beta Sigma (1914) and Zeta Phi Beta (1920), established their Alpha chapter at Howard University.

The fraternity's constitution was adopted on December 14, 1907 and limited membership to "Negro male" students. The constitution also provided that the General Convention of the Fraternity would be created following the establishment of the fourth chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. [9]

The Secretary of State of New York accepted the incorporation of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity on January 29 1908. The purpose and objective of the fraternity within these articles of incorporation was declared to be "educational and for the mutual uplift of its members."[9]

The first General Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha, held at Howard University in 1908

The fraternity became international when it chartered a chapter at the University of Toronto in 1908, (although shortly thereafter the chapter became defunct and its seat was transferred to what is now Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas). Other international chapters have been chartered in London, England, Frankfurt, Germany, Monrovia, Liberia, the Caribbean and South Korea.[10]

The first general convention assembled in December 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., producing the first ritual and the election of the first General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, Moses A. Morrison.[6]

The fraternity established Alpha Lambda its first graduate alumni chapter in 1911 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Fraternity was again incorporated on April 9 1911 within the District of Columbia.[11]

File:SphinxMagazine.jpg
The cover of the 2000 edition of The Sphinx magazine, the fraternity's official journal

In 1914, The Sphinx®, named after the Egyptian landmark, began publication as the fraternity's official journal. Still published, the Sphinx is America's second oldest African American publication.[12] Only the NAACP's The Crisis, started by fraternity member W.E.B. DuBois in 1910 predates the Alpha publication. The Fraternity was again incorporated on April 3 1914 within the District of Columbia.[9]

While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha's leaders recognized the need to correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African-Americans and the world community.[13] Alpha Phi Alpha began its continuing commitment of providing scholarships for needy students and initiating various other charitable and service projects and evolved from a social fraternity to a primarily community service organization.[14]

History: 1919 - 1949

The Fraternity's national programs date back to 1919 with the "Go-To-High School, Go-to-College" campaign to promote academic achievement within the African-American community being the first initiative. Alpha Phi Alpha would later participate in the voting rights debate and coined the well-known phrase A Voteless People is a Hopeless People as part of its effort to register black voters. The slogan remains in Alpha Phi Alpha's continuing voter registration campaign.[10]

During the Great Depression, Alpha Phi Alpha and its members continued to implement programs which it deemed affected the black community. The New Negro Alliance (NNA) was founded in 1933 by fraternity brother Belford Lawson, Jr. in Washington D.C. to combat white-run business in black neighborhoods that would not hire black employees. The NNA instituted a then-radical Don't Buy Where You Can't Work campaign, and organized or threatened boycotts against white-owned business. In response, some businesses arranged for an injunction to stop the picketing. NNA lawyers, including Lawson and Thurgood Marshall, fought back — all the way to the United States Supreme Court in New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co..[15] This became a landmark case in the struggle by African Americans against discriminatory hiring practices, and Don't Buy Where You Can't Work groups multiplied throughout the nation. The NNA estimated that by 1940, the group had secured 5,106 jobs for blacks because businesses could not afford to lose sales during the depression.[16] The fraternity sponsors an annual Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest in which collegiate members demonstrate their oratorical skills first at the chapter level, with the winner competing at the District, Regional and General Convention.[17]

File:JesseOwens 1936Olympics.jpg
Jesse Owens, saluting on the center dais, was one of three Alpha Phi Alpha members who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

The Committee on Public Policy was established at the 1933 general convention and took positions on issues many in the black community deemed important. The first investigation of the committee was of the national government's New Deal agencies. The committee's agenda was to determine the status of the black population, both as to treatment of agencies' employees and in the quality of services rendered to American blacks.[18]

At the 1936 Summer Olympics, three fraternity brothers represented the United States: Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe and Dave Albritton.[19] Alpha Phi Alpha was continuing to expand and once again became an international organization as in 1938 it extended its roster of chapters to London, England.[20]

The 1940s were significant years for the fraternity as it sought to end racial discrimination in its own ranks and secure rights for its membership after the nation's entry into World War II. The use of the word "Negro" in the membership clause of the constitution which referred to "any Negro male student" would be changed to read "any male student." This was the first official action by a black fraternity to allow the admission to men of all races.[21] The fraternity has been interracial since 1945.[22]

File:AlphaROTC.jpg
The Training Camp at Fort Des Moines during World War II. Alpha had the greatest representation of any organization or club at the camp and thirty-two Alpha men were granted commissions.

After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Alpha men served in almost every branch of the armed forces and civilian defense programs during World War II. The type of warfare encountered evidenced the nexus between education and war, with illiteracy decreasing a soldier's usefulness to the Army that could only be addressed with the inclusion of a large number of college educated men among the ranks of officers. The Training Camp at Fort Des Moines was the result of the fraternity's advocacy in convincing the government to create an officers’ training camp for black troops. Thirty-two Alpha men were granted commissions (four were made Captains and ninety percent were First Lieutenants). First Lieutenant Victor Daly was decorated with the Croix de Guerre for his service in France. The leadership of the fraternity encouraged Alpha men to buy war bonds, and the membership responded with their purchases.[23][24]

In 1946, fraternity brother Paul Robeson, in a Letter to the editor, published in The New York Times, referring to apartheid and South Africa's impending request to annex South-West Africa, a League of Nations mandate, appeals

to my fellow Americans to make known their protest against such conditions to the South African Ministry in Washington; to send to the Council on African Affairs, an expression of support for these grievously oppressed workers in South Africa; to keep the South African situation in mind against the time when General Smuts will come to the United Nations Assembly to demand the annexation of South West Africa, which means more Africans for him to exploit.[25]

In 1947, Alpha Phi Alpha awarded Robeson the Alpha Medallion for his “outstanding role as a champion of freedom.”[25] South Africa formally excluded Walvis Bay from the mandate and annexed it as a South African enclave. It took until after the date for the first fully democratic elections in South Africa in 1994 had been set, before sovereignty over Walvis Bay was formally transferred to Namibia at midnight on February 28, 1994.

History: 1950 - 1969

File:Alphamarch.jpg
Alpha Phi Alpha participates during the 1963 March on Washington.

The American civil rights movement coincided with Alpha Phi Alpha's 50th anniversary. The fraternity's first "pilgrimage" to Cornell was held in 1956 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee and drew about 1,000 members who traveled by chartered train from Buffalo, New York to Ithaca. Darryl R. Matthews Sr., general president of Alpha Phi Alpha in 2005, defined the centennial pilgrimage in a letter to members as; A pilgrimage is a personal, spiritual, historic and significant journey, which one takes to a place and for a purpose that has profound meaning to that individual.[26] Fraternity brother Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the keynote speech at the 50th anniversary banquet, chronicled in the documentary, Alpha Phi Alpha Men: A Century of Leadership. There were three living Jewels present for the occasion, Kelly, Callis and Murray.[27]

File:Tmarshall.jpg
George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, an Alpha Phi Alpha member, and James Nabrit, congratulating each other, following U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregation unconstitutional.

Alpha men were pioneers and at the forefront of the civil rights struggle. In Montgomery, Dr. King led the people in the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a minister, and later as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Birmingham saw Arthur Shores organize for civil rights while Thurgood Marshall was engaging in the fight for desegregation and integration in the landmark case of the United States Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education. Marshall employed mentor and fratenity brother Charles Hamilton Houston's plan to use the de facto inequality of "separate but equal" education in the United States to attack and defeat the Jim Crow laws.[28] In 1961 Whitney Young became the executive director of the National Urban League (NUL) and in 1963, the NUL hosted the planning meetings of civil rights leaders for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

In 1968, after the assassination of fraternity brother Martin Luther King, Jr., Alpha Phi Alpha proposed erecting a permanent memorial to King in Washington D.C. The efforts of the fraternity gained momentum in 1986 after King's birthday became a national holiday and led to the creation of The Washington D. C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc to collect funds of $100 million for construction.[29]

History: 1970 - present

Beginning in the 1970s, new goals were being introduced to address current environment. The older social programs and policies were still supported, however; the fraternity turned its attention to new social needs. This included the campaign to eliminate the ghetto-goal with the completion of three urban housing developments through Alpha Phi Alpha leadership in St. Louis, Missouri— the Alpha Gardens, Alpha Towne and Alpha Village.[30]

Arguably the most recognized Alpha Phi Alpha member, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington.

In 1976, the fraternity celebrated its 70th Anniversary with dual convention locations: New York and Monrovia. The fraternity launched the Million Dollar Fund Drive with three prime beneficiaries—the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the National Urban League and the NAACP. (NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Hooks says that Alpha Phi Alpha provided the largest single gift ever received by the civil rights group.) Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

In 1996, the United States Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior to permit Alpha Phi Alpha to establish a memorial on Department of Interior lands in the District of Columbia.[31] The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial will be the first to honor an African American in the National Mall area, and King will be the second non-President to be commemorated in such a way. The memorial is scheduled for completion in 2008 and will be located on a 4-acre site that borders the Tidal Basin and within the sightline of the Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service will maintain the site.

As the organization approached the end of the 20th century, its long-term commitment to the social and economic improvement of humanity remained at the top of its agenda. Henry Ponder, a former General President of the fraternity says "We would like the public to perceive Alpha Phi Alpha as a group of college-trained, professional men who are very much concerned and sensitive to the needs of humankind; We will go to great lengths to lend our voices, our time, our expertise and our money to solve the problems that humankind must solve as we move into the 21st century."[14]

Alpha Phi Alpha asserts the Fraternity has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans, the African diaspora, [32] and the countless special problems that affect Black men.[14] The fraternty has established an Alpha Phi Alpha Archives at Howard University in Washington, D.C. to preserve the history of the organization.[33]

National programs

National programs are projects adopted by the General Convention and the national office is tasked with overall fraternity supervision and program management.

   ΑΦA National Programs[34]   
Mentoring World and National Affairs
Education Continuing the Legacy
Project Alpha Leadership Training Institute
Alpha Academy Go To High School, Go To College
Alpha Head Start Academy A Voteless People is a Hopeless People
Alpha and the NAACP Commission on Business
Cooperative Programs and Economic Development

The fraternity combines its efforts in conjunction with other philanthropic organizations such as Head Start, Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America,[35] Project Alpha with the March of Dimes, NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, and Fortune 500 companies. The Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation is a project of Alpha Phi Alpha to construct the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.[36]

Alpha Phi Alpha provides for charitable endeavors through the Fraternity's Education and Building Foundations, providing academic scholarships and shelter to underprivileged families.[9] Alpha's "Designated Charity" benfits from the approximately $10,000, one-time contribution fund-raising efforts at the fratenity's annual general convention.[14] The Fraternity also has made commitments to train leaders with national mentoring programs.[9]

Go-To-High School, Go-To-College

Established in 1922, the Go-To-High School, Go-To-College program is intended to afford Alpha men with the opportunity to provide young participants with role models. The program concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a path to advancement and to provide information and strategies to facilitate success.[37]

Voter Education/Registration Program

File:Seven Architects.jpg
The "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" campaign poster was produced in the 1930s to raise awareness of the voting problems that African-Americans faced.

"A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" was initiated as a National Program of Alpha during the 1930s when many African-Americans had the right to vote but were prevented from voting because of poll taxes, threats of reprisal, and lack of education about the voting process. Voter education and registration has since remained a dominant focus in the fraternity's planning. In the 1990s the focus has shifted to promotion of political awareness and empowerment, delivered most often through use of town meetings and candidate forums.[38]

The fraternity's Nu Mu Lambda chapter of Decatur, Georgia, held a voter registration drive in DeKalb County, Georgia in 2004, from which Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, rejected all 63 voter registration applications on the basis that the fraternity did not follow correct procedures, including obtaining specific pre-clearance from the state to conduct their drive. Nu Mu Lambda filed Charles H. Wesley Education Foundation v. Cathy Cox on the basis that the Georgia Secretary of State's long-standing policy and practice of rejecting mail-in voter registration applications that were submitted in bundles and/or by persons other than registrars, deputy registrars, or the individual applicants, violated the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by undermining voter registration drives. A Senior U.S. District Judge upheld earlier federal court decisions in the case, which also found private entities have a right under the NVRA, to engage in organized voter registration activity in Georgia at times and locations of their choosing, without the presence or permission of state or local election officials.[39]

Project Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha and the March of Dimes began a collaborative program called Project Alpha in 1980. The project consists of a series of workshops and informational sessions conducted by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers to provide young men with current and accurate information about teen pregnancy prevention.[40] Alpha Phi Alpha also participates in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica and raised over $95,000 in 2004.[40]

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

Main article: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
File:Washington mlk map.jpg
Location for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The project to create a memorial to Dr. King on the National Mall is being driven by Alpha Phi Alpha.

The campaign to erect a permanent memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the fraternity.[36] In 1996, Congress authorized with Public Law 104-333 and President Bill Clinton confirmed the fraternity's request to establish a foundation (The Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation) to manage the memorial's fundraising, design and construction.[36] The fraternity laid a marble and bronze plaque to dedicate the memorial site on December 4, 2000. In 2001, Dr. King's family stood in the path of the foundation's efforts to erect the memorial, because the family wanted the foundation to pay a licensing fee for the right to use King's image. The foundation, beset with languid donations, has stated the last thing it needs is to have to pay an onerous license fee to the King family. "If nobody's going to make money off of it, why should anyone get a fee?" The Washington Post quoted Joseph Lowery, past president of the King-founded Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[41] The groundbreaking is scheduled to coincide with the centenary of the fraternity. The fraternity's goal is to dedicate the Memorial in 2008 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King's death.[42]

Pan-Hellenic membership

Main article: National Pan-Hellenic Council
Main article: North-American Interfraternity Conference

The fraternity maintains dual membership in the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The NPHC is composed of nine international black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities, and Alpha Phi Alpha is the only member founded at an Ivy League school. The council promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information, and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions.[43] The NIC serves to advocate the needs of its member fraternities through enrichment of the fraternity experience; advancement and growth of the fraternity community; and enhancement of the educational mission of the host institutions.[44]

Pledging

File:Alphapledges.jpg
ΑΦΑ Pledge Line

The pledge period is the time that a potential new member of the fraternity engages in before being initiated as a brother. This period is the time the pledge learns of the organization's history, principles, and tenacity of brotherhood.

In the selection of candidates for membership, certain chapters had not escaped challenges of racial stereotyping and allegations of colorism. In a biography of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the authors recounted how certain chapters of the fraternity used a "brown paper bag test" and would not consider students whose skin color was darker than the bag.[45] Former General President Belford Lawson, Jr. lamented this attitude and condemned initiation practices of snobbery and exclusivity, and said "Jesus Christ could not make Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity today; they would blackball Him because He was not hot enough".[46]

There are periods in the history of the fraternity where hazing was involved in certain pledge lines. The fraternity has never officially condoned hazing, but has been aware of problems with "rushing" and "initiations" dated as far back as the 1934 General Convention when the fraternity founders communicated their concern with physical violence in initiation ceremonies.[47] At the 1940 General Convention, a pledge manual was discussed that would contain a brief general history, the list of chapters and locations, the achievements of Alpha men, outstanding Alpha men, and pledge procedures.[48]

File:Alpha Phi Alpha shield.jpg
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity shield, depicting—seven stars, torch, dove, fasces, pyramids and Sphinx

In 2001, the chapter at Ohio State University was suspended for two years by both the university and the national Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity for hazing and other violations. The incident involved two prospective members injured seriously enough to require medical care.[49]

Many hazing incidents have resulted in civil actions; that and the objections of parents, students and fraternity alumni, prompted Alpha Phi Alpha to implement its current policy—abolishing pledging as a means of obtaining membership. The fraternity's official policy is that hazing is against the purposes and goals of the Fraternity and has been discontinued as a condition or manner of initiation into the membership of Alpha Phi Alpha. It is no longer legal within the organization for members to establish a pledge line or to require aspirants to the organization to submit to hazing. All membership intake activities for the fraternity are conducted by the National Intake Office and must occur in the presence of a National Intake Officer.[50]

Membership

See also: category:Alpha Phi Alpha brothers

Template:Alpha Men First Accomplishments As Alpha Phi Alpha expanded to over 175,000 members, the ranks of its membership include a plethora of prominent and accomplished activists, educators, politicians, businessmen, philanthropists entertainers and athletes.[22][51] Although interracial, the organization remains predominantly African America in composition.[52] Alpha claims 60% of black doctors, 75% of black lawyers, 65% of black dentists, and close to 90% of black college presidents in the United States, with brothers in over 700 college and graduate chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. [32] The fraternity's membership roster includes activist Dick Gregory, Princeton Professor Cornel West, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, former HUD secretary Samuel Pierce, entrepreneur John Johnson, athlete Mike Powell and musician Donny Hathaway.[51]

Alpha Phi Alpha member Hubert H. Humphrey

The fraternity provides classifications for honorary and exalted honorary membership; one of the highest honors that Alpha Phi Alpha can bestow upon a person who has not obtained membership through the traditional pledge program. Honorary members include Vice President Hubert Humphrey (who is Caucasian), jazz musician Duke Ellington, and activist W.E.B. DuBois.[53]

Omega chapter was distinguished to contain the names of deceased fraternity members. Frederick Douglass is distinguished as the only member initiated posthumously when he became an exalted honorary member of the fraternity's Omega chapter in 1921.[54]

Alpha men were instrumental in the founding and leadership of the NAACP (DuBois),[55] NUL (Eugene Jones),[56] People's National Party (PNP) Norman Manley, [57] Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) (Jesse E. Moorland),[58] UNCF (Frederick D. Patterson),[59] and the SCLC (King, Walker and Jemison).[60]

From the ranks of the fraternity have come a number of pioneers in various fields. Honorary member Kelly Miller was the first African-American to be admitted to Johns Hopkins University. Todd Duncan was the first actor to play "Porgy" in Porgy and Bess. During the Washington run of Porgy and Bess in 1936, the cast—as led by Todd Duncan—protested the audience's segregation. Duncan stated that he "would never play in a theater which barred him from purchasing tickets to certain seats because of his race." Eventually management would give into the demands and allow for the first integrated performance at National Theatre.[61] Kunle Fagbenle is the first lawyer of Nigerian descent in the United States to receive a Legal Excellence Award conferred by the Maryland Bar Foundation.

Charles Houston, a Harvard Law School graduate and a law professor at Howard University, first began a campaign in the 1930s to challenge racial discrimination in the federal courts. Houston's campaign to fight Jim Crow Laws began with Plessy v. Ferguson and culminated in a unanimous Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Ron Dellums campaign to end the racist, apartheid policies of South Africa succeeded when the House of Representatives passed Dellums's anti-apartheid legislation, The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, calling for a trade embargo against South Africa and immediate divestment by American corporations. President Ronald Reagan vetoed the bill; however, Congress' override of his veto was the first presidential foreign policy veto in the 20th century.[62]

File:Robeson10.jpg
USPS Black Heritage stamp of fraternity member Paul Robeson.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Spingarn Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded posthumously by President Jimmy Carter. The Presidential Medal of Freedom has also been awarded to members William Coleman and Edward Brooke. The Spingarn Medal, awarded annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by a Black American, has been awarded to brothers John Hope Franklin, Rayford Logan and numerous fraternity members. The Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award of the United States Congress was awarded to Jesse Owens and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Prime Minister Norman Manley was a Rhodes Scholar (1914), awarded annually by the Oxford based Rhodes Trust on the basis of academic achievement and character. Andrew Zawacki, a white man, is a second Rhodes Scholar recipient.

A number of buildings and monuments have been named after Alpha men such as the Eddie Robinson Stadium, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and its building, the Hubert H. Humphrey Center, and the W.E.B. DuBois library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The United States Postal Service has honored fraternity members W.E.B. Dubois, Duke Ellington, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson and Jesse Owens with a commemorative stamp in their popular Black Heritage Stamp series.[63]

Egyptian symbolism

Alpha Phi Alpha chose to use Egyptian symbolism more representative of the member's African heritage. The Great Sphinx of Giza and Great Pyramids of Giza are fraternity icons.

Alpha Phi Alpha utilizes motifs from Ancient Egypt and uses images and songs depicting the Sphinx, pharaohs, and other Egyptian artifacts to represent the organization. This is in contrast to other fraternities that traditionally echo themes from the golden age of Ancient Greece. [64] The Heremakhet and Alpha's constant reference to Ethiopia in hymns and poems are further examples of Alpha's mission to imbue itself with an African cultural heritage. Fraternity brother Charles H. Wesley wrote, "To the Alpha Phi Alpha brotherhood, African history and civilization, the Sphinx, and Ethiopian tradition bring new meanings and these are interpreted with new significance to others."[64] Pharaoh often appears and is a title used to refer to the Egyptian god-kings.

The pyramid, a symbol of foundation, sacred geometry and more, is another African image chosen by Alpha Phi Alpha as a fraternity icon.[64]

Fraternity members organize travel to Egypt to walk across the sands of the Giza Plateau (coordinates 29°58′33″N 31°07′49″E / 29.97583°N 31.13028°E / 29.97583; 31.13028) to the Great Sphinx of Giza and the Great Pyramids of Giza. Charles H. Wesley wrote, "I have stood beside the Sphinx in Egypt in Africa in July on my third visit there, and I brought greetings to this silent historical figure in the name of Alpha Phi Alpha and I crossed the continent to Ethiopia." [65]

Centennial celebration

Alpha Phi Alpha has declared 2006 the beginning of its "Centennial Era" as it readies for its Centenary, framed by the slogan First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All. These preparations will consist of nationwide activities and events, including the commissioning of intellectual and scholarly works, presentation of exhibits, lectures, artwork and musical expositions, the production of film and video presentations, and culminated with the Centennial Convention, July 25 - 30, 2006, in Washington, D.C.

File:APhiA Cornell 007.jpg
ΑΦA General Presidents at centennial memorial site, Cornell University campus.

The 2006 Centennial Celebration Kickoff launched with another "pilgrimage" to Cornell University on November 19, 2005. That event brought over 700 fraternity members who gathered for a day long program. Members journeyed 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—features a bench and a plaque and is situated in front of the university's Barnes Hall. [26]

File:House of Alpha.JPG
The House of Alpha, The Centennail Exhibit of Alpha Phi Alpha. The poster features the founders of the fraternity within the windows of its first meeting place—the house located at 411 E. State in Ithaca, New York.

Alpha Phi Alpha Men: A Century of Leadership, is a historical documentary on Alpha Phi Alpha's century of leadership and service. The film premiered February 2006 on PBS[13] as part of the 2006 Black History Month theme, "Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social and Civic Institutions."[66]

The House of Alpha, The Centennial Exhibit of Alpha Phi Alpha was presented at the general convention in 2006. The featured materials are part of the records of Alpha Phi Alpha, local chapters and the personal collection of fraternity members. Alpha Phi Alpha will share the story of the House of Alpha with the world when the House of Alpha opens in Atlanta in September 2006, a traveling portion of the exhibit is displayed in other cities, and the production of a Centennial Exhibit DVD and a Pictorial History catalog. The Centennail Exhibit was curated by fraternity member Herman Mason and sponsored by AARP.

The first black fraternity?

There is some dispute as to whether Alpha Phi Alpha was the first black fraternity. Black-sponsored Greek letter organizations may have begun in 1903 on the Indiana University Bloomington campus, but there were too few registrants to assure continuing organization. In that year a club was formed called Alpha Kappa Nu Greek Club to "strengthen the black's voice", but the club disappeared after a short time. There is no record of any similar organization at Indiana University until Kappa Alpha Nu was issued a charter in 1911.[64][67] Two of the founders had prior interaction with Alpha Phi Alpha and its Beta chapter while students at Howard University before transferring to Indiana University.[68]

File:Alphahistorybook.gif
The cover of The History of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Sigma Pi Phi, founded in 1904, has also claimed to be the first although many argue this is a misnomer. Sigma was founded as an organization for professionals and college graduates and not as an organization of black college students.[64] [69] Historian Charles H. Wesley, a member of both Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi, authored The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life and The History of Sigma Pi Phi and asserts that Alpha Phi Alpha was the first Greek-letter organization among black college men.[70]

Alpha Phi Alpha claims its historical position as the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, and the paragon for NPHC members.[9] The history books of Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi and Phi Beta Sigma omit the fraternity's place and contribution to the college Negro fraternal movement. Historian and Alpha archivist Herman Mason has stated, "As a historian who recognizes that laying a foundation for any period of history, I find their omission inexcusable and without merit." [68]

Documentary films

  • Alpha Phi Alpha Men: A Century of Leadership , 2006, Producer/Directors: Alamerica Bank/Rubicon Productions

References

  • Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999). The Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha. Four-G Publishers, Inc. ISBN 1885066635.
  • Wesley, Charles H. (1981). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life. Foundation Publishers. ASIN: B000ESQ14W.
  • Wesley, Charles H. (1950). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in Negro College Life. Foundation Publishers.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Wesley, Charles H. (1981). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life p. 15.
  2. ^ Wesley, op. cit., pp. 15-16.
  3. ^ a b Wesley, op. cit., pp. 19-27.
  4. ^ "The Founders of Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ )—(Seven Jewels)". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  5. ^ "ΑΦΑ:A Brief History". rmc.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
  6. ^ a b "ΑΦA First General Convention". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Gamma Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  7. ^ "National PanHellenic Council Aboutpage". NPHC. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  8. ^ Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-04-16). "The ties that bind". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "ΑΦA Fraternity History". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Zeta Iota Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  10. ^ a b "History of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Epsilon Theta Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
  11. ^ "District of Columiba Organization Information". dcra.dc.gov. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  12. ^ "The Sphinx Magazine". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
  13. ^ a b "Alpha Phi Alpha Men: A Century of Leadership". Maryland Public Television. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  14. ^ a b c d "Α legacy of leadership and service - Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity - Part 2". Ebony. 1989-11. Retrieved 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "NEW NEGRO ALLIANCE v. SANITARY GROCERY CO". findlaw.com. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
  16. ^ "New Negro Alliance's Sanitary Grocery Protest Site". Cultural Tourism: District of Columbia. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
  17. ^ "Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest". alpha-midwest.org. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  18. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 204-205.
  19. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 476.
  20. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 239.
  21. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., p. 244.
  22. ^ a b "ΑΦΑ Integrates the Fraternity". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  23. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., p. 248.
  24. ^ "Alpha Phi Alpha and the Great War". rmc.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  25. ^ a b "The 20th Century's Greatest Renaissance Man". bayarearobeson.org. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
  26. ^ a b D'Andrea, Theresa (2005-11-05). "ΑΦΑ Centennial Pilgrimage to Cornell University". Cornell News Service. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  27. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 381-386.
  28. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 366-369.
  29. ^ Gray, Butler T. (2006). "ΑΦΑ Proposes Permanent Memorial". black-collegian.com. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  30. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., pp. 472-476.
  31. ^ "H.B. 104-190". thomas.gov, A Bill to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  32. ^ a b "Hartford Alumni Chapter". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Beta Sigma Lambda Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
  33. ^ "Preservation of Alpha Phi Alpha History". Education Online. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  34. ^ "ΑΦA National Programs". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Rho Sigma Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
  35. ^ "ΑΦA Special Projects and Programs". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  36. ^ a b c "ΑΦA Martin Luther King, Jr. Project". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  37. ^ "ΑΦA Go - To - High School, Go - To - College Program". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
  38. ^ "ΑΦA Voter Registration Program". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  39. ^ Epting, Sarah (2006-03-10). "Cox Violated Voter Rights, Judge Declares". Atlanta Progressive News, The Wesley Foundation is the Georgia nonprofit charitable affiliate of Nu Mu Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Retrieved 2006-05-25.
  40. ^ a b "March of Dimes: Alpha Phi Alpha". March of Dimes. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  41. ^ Fears, Darryl (2002-04-08). "Entrepreneurship Or Profiteering?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-06-06.
  42. ^ Koch, Wendy (2006-01-06). "Organizers of MLK memorial quicken pace to get slain leader among greats". USA Today, King is one of ten 20th-century Christian martyrs from across the world depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminister Abbey. Retrieved 2006-06-06.
  43. ^ "National Pan-Hellenic Council Homepage". NPHC. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  44. ^ "North-American Interfraternity Conference". NIC. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  45. ^ Davis, Michael D., et al. (2001). Thurgood Marshall: Warrior of the Bar, Rebel on the Bench. Ch. 7.
  46. ^ Mason 1999, op. cit., p. 295.
  47. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., p. 214.
  48. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., p. 242.
  49. ^ "University, national group sanction Alpha Phi Alpha". Ohio State News. 2001-01-11. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  50. ^ "ΑΦΑ Membership Intake Policy". alphaphialpha.net. Retrieved 2006-04-16.
  51. ^ a b "Noteworthy Alpha Men". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Eta Pi Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
  52. ^ Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-06-08). "The Lighter Side of Alpha: White Brothers in the Fraternity". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  53. ^ Wesley 1981, op. cit., p. 81, 116 & 453.
  54. ^ "Frederick Douglass, first Honorary member of Alpha Phi Alpha". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Rho Sigma Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  55. ^ See, e.g., Niagara Movement.
  56. ^ "The National Urban League". NUL. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
  57. ^ "The Birth of the People's National Party". pnpjamaica.com. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
  58. ^ "Jesse_Moorland Civic Leader and Much More". African American Registry. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  59. ^ "The United Negro College Fund". UNCF. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  60. ^ "The Southern Christian Leadership Coference". SCLC. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
  61. ^ "Porgy and Bess: Today in History, September 2". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  62. ^ Norment, Lynn (1994-08). "How African-Americans helped free South Africa - Special Issue: Nelson Mandela and the New South Africa". Ebony. Retrieved 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  63. ^ "USPS Black Heritage Stamp series". United States Postal Service. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
  64. ^ a b c d e "Black sponsored Greek letter organization". Alphi Phi Alpha Fraternity, Mu Nu Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  65. ^ Mason 1999, op.cit., p. 273
  66. ^ "The 2006 Black History Theme". Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Retrieved 2006-04-08. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 37 (help)
  67. ^ "The History of Kappa Alpha Psi". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Germantown Alumni Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  68. ^ a b Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-04-26). "Revisionist Fraternities: The Omega, Kappa, Sigma Conspiracy". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-05.
  69. ^ Mason, Herman "Skip" (1999-05-11). "ΑΦΑ and Sigma Pi Phi (ΣΠΦ)". skipmason.com. Retrieved 2006-05-05.
  70. ^ Wesley, Charles H. (1950). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in Negro College Life (Foundation Publishers).

Alpha Phi Alpha

Outside websites



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