The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities

By Lawrence C. Ross

This comprehensive history of African American fraternities and sororities celebrates the spirit of Black Excellence in higher education that has produced American leaders in politics, sports, arts, and culture such as Kamala Harris, Colin Kaepernick, Michael Jordan, Thurgood Marshall, and Toni Morrison, and is sure to be a treasured resource for generations to come.

America’s Black fraternities and sororities are a unique and vital part of 20th century African American history, providing young black achievers with opportunities to support each other while they serve their communities and the nation. 
 
From pioneering work in the suffragette movement to extraordinary strides during the Civil Rights era to life-changing inner-city mentoring programs, members of these organizations share a proud tradition of brotherhood, sisterhood, and service.
 
Today, America’s nine black fraternities and sororities are millions of members strong with chapters at HBCUs, Ivy League Schools, and colleges across the nation including Stanford University, Howard University, and the University of Chicago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kensington Books
• Release date: Aug 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781496728883

Book preview

Updated With New Photos and Essays

THE DIVINE NINE

THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES

LAWRENCE C. ROSS, Jr.

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

DAFINA BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.

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New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2000 by Lawrence C. Ross, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Dafina Books and the Dafina logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

ISBN: 978-1-4967-2887-6

30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23

To My Wife

Because you believed in me when others doubted

I pledge my everlasting love to you always.

This book is my present to you.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

ONE

- T

HE

F

RATERNITIES

CHAPTER I - ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC.

CHAPTER II - KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC.

CHAPTER III - OMEGA PSI PHI FRATERNITY, INC.

CHAPTER IV - PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, INC.

CHAPTER V - IOTA PHI THETA FRATERNITY, INC.

VOICES

TWO

- T

HE

S

ORORITIES

CHAPTER VI - ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.

CHAPTER VII - DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC.

CHAPTER VIII - ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY, INC.

CHAPTER IX - SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.

THREE

- C

ONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER X - THE ACHIEVERS TALK

FOUR

- G

ENERAL

I

NFORMATION

CHAPTER XI - THE NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL

CHAPTER XII - MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

THREE TRADITIONAL POEMS OF THE FRATERNAL MOVEMENT

Notes

FOREWORD

There are usually six of us. We play bid whist. We say we go to a different home each week, but we mostly end up here at my house. My mother Yolande G., Maple A., Ginney F., Karen S., Kay G., and most times Gena C. are the card sharks. We are six daughters, six sisters, six aunts, four mothers. Three of us are sorority sisters, though not all from the same sorority. And that doesn’t matter.

We came together because we love cards. And laughter. And good food. Which is why we are at my house. My mother is a better cook than I am. She is a country cook. And a great one. Actually Kay makes the best bruschetta in the world. And tosses a mean salad. Gena makes really good soup, but she gets away with murder because we play more in warm weather than cool. Maple barbecues and sets a beautiful table. So maybe I’m wrong. We end up at my house, which I am privileged to share with Ginney, because we have the best music. We would, of course, like to have Carolyn join our group because her musical taste is so different. And she plays, as does Ginney, the piano. When she would have to sit out we would get wonderful versions of Keith Jarrett. I play the CD player. There was a time when I would have said the record player, but record players are mostly gone. I must admit, though, that I recently purchased a machine that will allow me to convert my Donna Summer LPs to CDs so that I can wish for Dinner with Gershwin.

The worst part of the loving is the losing. You don’t really think about loss at the beginning. Whether it’s your father or mother or sister. You don’t really think about it when you purchase, at an extreme price, a cute little thoroughbred doggie. You don’t think about loss until you lose. That’s an old blues song, isn’t it? You don’t miss your water ’til your well runs dry.

My father died thirty years ago. People always ask was it expected. Who expects death? You expect to get paid on Friday; else why to go work Monday through Thursday? You expect the oncoming traffic to stop when you have the green light. You might even expect your day to improve when you find a penny faceup on the sidewalk, but no one expects death. It’s an unwelcome visitor no matter when it comes.

My sister’s back hurt.

She had been lifting and hauling as she volunteered at the YWCA and was helping with the thrift shop. She had been saying she was going to quit smoking because no one in this academic community into which she and mommy had moved smoked. And I had been diagnosed with a lung tumor. But we do need to admit it: Smoking isn’t the only cause of lung cancer. People just say that so they can feel self-righteous. Sort of like when you murder a bunch of people and everyone wants to say, well, you were depressed. There are a lot of depressed folks who don’t murder. And there are a lot of cancer deaths that have nothing to do with smoking.

Her back hurt.

Then she took to napping. I am the family napper. Our father napped when he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Mommy never naps. I am the only Giovanni who thinks napping is a treasure.

Mommy is deaf. We had special phones put in her house. We had the Cadillac of hearing aids made for her. We had those special earphones for the television. She can’t hear. But something made her hear my sister, her daughter, our soror moan late one evening. And she ran out in the winter cold next door to Frieda to get help. They called me. But the word tumbled so differently. The outcome was not going to be good.

I think my mother died because she didn’t want to bury my sister. If ever there was a way to will yourself to heaven, Mommy did it. She died on 24 June 2005. We had to stop at the hospital to get emergency treatments for my sister so that she could attend our mother’s funeral. Our aunt Ann, who suffered from a bit of dementia, traveled from California with her daughter to be with us in Blacksburg, then take the long ride to Cincinnati where we all are or will be buried in Spring Grove cemetery. When we laid Mommy to her rest someone, I must say not me, thought we should get something to eat. Ann, our middle aunt, took the menu, but refused to order. I’m waiting on Yolande, she said. We are still not sure she understood Mommy was gone.

Gary died 10 August 2005.

For both Gary and Mommy our sorors of Delta Sigma Theta came from around the region and as far away as Detroit to give Omega Omega service. Our sorors in Cincinnati, who were mostly mommy’s age, sang The Sweetheart Song as Mommy’s body was wheeled out of the chapel.

If it wasn’t for Bid Whist and Delta, I wouldn’t have any sisters at all.

Nikki Giovanni

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No work of this nature can be completed without the help of generous, kind, and patient people. I would like to thank my wife, April Lampkins Ross, who was the most supportive, encouraging Delta woman that a man could ever wish for. My own future Alphaman, Langston Ashanti Ross, a son whom I wish to only give the world. I would also like to thank my literary agent, Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency, who believed in this young writer, and gave me the opportunity to put my dreams into a book. Also, I would like to thank my editor, Karen Thomas, of Kensington Publishing Corp. (and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha), who saw the potential of my book and kept it faithful to my vision. And Selena James, who did this update.

I would like also to thank all of my family including Shana Ross, Lawrence Ross, Sr., Mildred Lampkins, Alvin Lampkins, Jr., Marie Lampkins, and Gregory Daniel. And special thanks to both my mother Eveline Ross, and my father-in-law Alvin Lampkins, two people who’ve always believed in my ideas and vision, no matter how crazy it may have seemed to others.

From the NPHC organizations, I would like to thank the nine Executive Directors for all of their cooperation and help in providing their resources and time. I would like to especially thank Dwayne Dixon (Iota Phi Theta), Dr. Walter Kimbrough (Alpha Phi Alpha), Ron Carter (Phi Beta Sigma), Spencer Bruce (Kappa Alpha Psi), Jo Ellen El-Bashir of the Moorland-Spingarn Museum at Howard University, and everyone else whom I may have missed.

I would like to thank everyone whom I interviewed for the chapter spotlights and all of the celebrities who agreed to take time out of their busy schedules to speak with me. This is also the time to apologize to all of the personal assistants whom I badgered in order to get that time!

Last but not least, I would like to thank all of my best friends, who have persevered with me through this process, and have given me encouragement whenever I was tired: Dr. Robert Lyons (Alpha) and his wife Stacy (AKA), Sean Carter (Alpha), Antonio, Lisa and Avery Jordan (who I will convince to pledge Alpha in the year 2008), Michael Datcher (thanks for all of the mentoring), the past and present brothers of the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at the University of California at Berkeley, the brothers of Mu Sigma Lambda chapter, and everyone else who has touched my life.

INTRODUCTION

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

—T

HEODORE

R

OOSEVELT

Why am I writing this book? This is the question that I’ve been asked repeatedly for the two years since I put pen to paper (or in reality, keys to computer screen, but somehow, that doesn’t sound so poetic!). But for those who still want to know, the answer is quite simple. One day I was staring at our bookshelf and noticed that resting side by side were the history book of Alpha Phi Alpha (my fraternity), and the history book of Delta Sigma Theta (my wife’s sorority), and I realized something: In the nine years we had been together and in six years of marriage, not once had either of us opened each other’s history book. That fact intrigued me. Why didn’t I know about Delta history? For that matter why didn’t I know about the history of every African American fraternity and sorority? Wasn’t the history of these organizations a part of the larger history of all African Americans? Right then and there, I knew that the story of the Divine Nine had to be written.

The achievements of the nine national Pan-Hellenic organizations and their individual members are astounding when you consider the total history of oppressed Africans in America. To have created African American organizations that stressed education, philanthropy, self-improvement, and excellence, and to have them successfully thrive to this date, is a testament not only to the members of the organizations, but also to the vision of their respective founders.

There is a reason that the Divine Nine organizations and their members are successful. They consistently step up into the arena in order to make the best effort for their community. The fraternity or sorority is more than the wearing of letters, or the singing of hymns. It is the collective realization that the unit is stronger than the individual, but that the achievements of the individual greatly enriches the unit. In this way, scholarship funds may be raised, mentorship programs implemented, and lives affected favorably. This is the overall purpose of the Divine Nine.

However, Divine Nine organizations are not without their critics. Some point to the history of hazing and the brutality within the pledge process as having a divisive effect on not only the organizations but the individuals who were the victims. Some say that fraternities and sororities divide rather than unite African Americans. And others point out that fraternities and sororities have an untapped potential, which has not been realized. And do you know what the answer is to all of these criticisms? In some ways, those arguments are absolutely right. As with any organization, things don’t always work smoothly, nor do the ideals of the organization always trickle down to each individual member. The fraternities and sororities don’t promise that they will have a perfect organization. What the fraternities and sororities do promise is that the greater body will make an effort to strive toward their lofty ideals. And this alone, makes the Divine Nine organizations relevant and indispensable.

This book attempts to enlighten fraternity and sorority members, prospective members of these organizations, high school students, and all those interested in African American history. I have attempted to give each reader an overview of the nine national Pan-Hellenic members. It also details the achievers and the achievements of the fraternities and sororities, while also giving a personal perspective from undergraduate chapters, graduate chapters, and prominent members.

But beside the achievements, there is also the brotherhood and sisterhood of membership within a Divine Nine organization. This feeling of belonging to a common cause is almost spiritual, because membership in a fraternity or sorority makes you realize that your life on earth has more meaning than just your own selfish needs. And the reassurance that there are many, many people who are just like you, makes your feelings of brotherhood and sisterhood that much deeper.

This book, The Divine Nine, is about hope and inspiration, and the right of all African Americans to be able to dream and to achieve. Read about each organization and the individuals who comprise them. Find the organization that fits your personality and your priorities and support its efforts. If you are not involved with community service and would like to be, get in contact with your local national Pan-Hellenic organization. They will be glad to have your helping hand with their events. But whatever you do, make sure that you take the time to step up into the arena.

Lawrence C. Ross, Jr.

Los Angeles, California

August 2008

ONE

THE FRATERNITIES

CHAPTER I

ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC.

F

OUNDED

D

ECEMBER

4, 1906

THE ALPHA HYMN

Words by A.L. Simpson

Arranged by John J. Erby

In Our Dear

APhiA

Fraternal Spirits Bind

All The Noble, The True and Courageous

Manly Deeds

Scholarship

And Love For All Mankind

Are the Aims

Of Our Dear Fraternity

Alpha! Phi Alpha!

The Pride of Our Hearts

And Loved By Us Dearly Art Thou

We Cherish Thy Precepts

Thy Banner Shall Be Raised

To Thy Glory

Thy Honor and Renown

College Days

Swiftly Pass

Imbued With Memories Fond

And The Recollection Slowly Fades Away

Our Renowned

APhiA

And Dear Fraternal Bond

May They Ever

Abide And With Us Stay

Alpha! Phi Alpha!

The Pride of Our Hearts

And Loved By Us Dearly Art Thou

We Cherish Thy Precepts

Thy Banner Shall Be Raised

To Thy Glory

Thy Honor And Renown

THE BEGINNINGS OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA

A few years ago, Sean Carter returned from his grandfather’s funeral. Responsible for packing up his grandfather’s personal effects, he decided to store the numerous boxes at his home. While looking through the dusty boxes, he found many things: family photos, old army memorabilia, yellowed letters and the such. However, as Sean was packing away the last box, he found something which linked him to this man of a different era, experience, and time. This source of commonality has bonded many men over the years, but this was special. In a plain brown box was C. C. Carter’s 1922 Alpha Phi Alpha Shingle. Neatly folded, this simple piece of paper was his certificate of membership into the oldest African American college fraternity in the world. Since Sean’s father, Thomas Carter, had also pledged Alpha Phi Alpha, this meant that three generations had successfully bonded around a set of principles, ideals, and traditions which were as relevant in 1992 as they were in 1922: manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind.

Tradition, ideals, and principles are words too often bandied about in this society, their relevance and meaning cheapened by unworthy causes and dead ideas. But the family line from C. C. Carter to Sean Carter was real as were the ideals of the fraternity which they both had chosen. So as Sean gently placed the shingle back into this old box, he knew that the legacy of his grandfather not only lived through himself, but in every Alpha he knew. To Sean Carter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated will always be eternal.

The turn of the century was an especially abusive and oppressive time for African Americans. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled through its Plessy v. Ferguson decision, that separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional. Segregation, or Jim Crow laws proliferated throughout the country, both in the South with its strict and visible segregation, and in the North with de facto segregation. The late 1800s also saw an African American leader basically agree to social inequality with white Americans. Booker Washington would offer the infamous Southern Compromise in which he stated that in all things social, African Americans and whites could be separate as the fingers on my hand. The turn of the century was rapidly becoming a period of racial inequality and social disadvantage for African Americans.

On the Cornell University campus, the situation for African American students was reflective of the challenges presented by the greater society. African American students were isolated and segregated from the general student population, resulting in an abysmal African American student retention rate. The six African American students from the 1904–05 class at Cornell University failed to re-enroll for the 1905–06 year. Alarmed, a group of students, including the founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, decided to create a study and support group for the remaining African American students at Cornell.

Secret societies in 1906 provided the support structure for students on the Cornell campus. Besides the benefit of finding students of common interest, secret societies such as fraternities and sororities also provided students with housing, study groups, and a social environment in which students could grow with others. However, since African American students were excluded from these organizations, there was literally nowhere for these African American students to turn except inward for solutions. With the success of the study group during the 1905–06 year, the students began investigating ways of making this group more purposeful and permanent. The idea of creating a fraternity among the members was broached. On December 4, 1906, a cold and snowy night in upstate New York, Henry Arthur Callis, Eugene Kinckle Jones, Robert Harold Ogle, Charles Henry Chapman, Nathaniel Allison Murray, George Biddle Kelly, and Vertner Woodson Tandy, decided to create an organization for which there had been no predecessor. These seven Cornell students became the founders of the first African American college fraternity in the United States.

Dubbed the Seven Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, these men were visionaries. As the Seven Jewels decided to base the ideals of Alpha Phi Alpha on manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind, it is no coincidence that one of the earliest members of Alpha Phi Alpha was the leading African American scholar of the time, W. E. B. Du Bois. An African American intellectual who fought for human rights, and who would later help found the NAACP in 1909, DuBois’ ideas of fighting injustice in American society would be reflected in the work of the individual members of Alpha Phi Alpha, along with the actions of the fraternity itself.

After consolidating this new organization at Cornell, the Seven Jewels decided to expand to other campuses. In 1907, the second chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha was founded at Howard University. Since Howard University was and is the preeminent African American university in the country, the Seven Jewels found it necessary to introduce fraternity life to the Howard student body. The Seven Jewels realized that even though Alpha Phi Alpha was founded on a white campus, the greater societal issues which caused the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha were everywhere, including predominantly African American campuses.

A FAMOUS BROTHER OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA . . .

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (1929–1968)

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was the son of a Baptist pastor. He studied at Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University, and became a leader of the black civil rights movement. Using his oratorical gifts, and following Mahatma Ghandi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance, he received the Kennedy Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize. His greatest success came in challenging the Jim Crow laws of the South. After 1965, he turned his attention to social conditions in the North, which he found less tractable. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, and a national holiday in King’s honor was created in 1986.

As Alpha Phi Alpha continued to spread from campus to campus, it became clear that the Seven Jewels were creating a powerful organization. However, maintaining connections with chapters and fraternity members during an era in which communication was rudimentary at best, was no small feat. Through the Sphinx, the second oldest African American national magazine and Alpha Phi Alpha’s fraternity organ, Alpha brothers were able to keep track of fraternity business, provide information on social activities, and write essays on the pending issues of the time. Also, Alpha Phi Alpha bridged the communication gap by hosting annual conventions, meetings which not only set policy for the fraternity, but also secured and strengthened the fraternal bonds of Alpha brothers.

COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN ALPHA PHI ALPHA

In 1922, Alpha Phi Alpha began pointing its resources directly to the community in which it served. In a time when few African Americans finished high school, and even more rarely went to college, Alpha Phi Alpha created a program which tutored students, provided financial help, and increased the educational level of young African Americans throughout the country. Thus was established the first national community service program for Alpha Phi Alpha: the Go-To-High School, Go-To-College program. Eminently successful, this program became a catalyst for other community service programs, such as the Alpha Phi Alpha Voting Rights Program. Under the famous phrase, A Voteless People is a Hopeless People, Alpha Phi Alpha began voter registration drives at a time when voting rights were not guaranteed to African Americans. These programs, while beneficial to the communities served, were also beneficial to the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha. Leadership and organizational qualities were developed by these young men, qualities which would serve them well later in life.

The Fraternity’s national programs are devoted to the uplifting of the African American community. Alpha Phi Alpha today has formed national mentoring partnerships with organizations dedicated to helping minority youth, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, Boy Scouts of America, March of Dimes, and the Head Start program. The Fraternity is also involved with the Habitat for Humanity project to provide decent and affordable housing to the needy.

A FAMOUS BROTHER OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA . . .

PAUL ROBESON (1898–1976)

One of the greatest singers and actors of the first half of the twentieth century, Paul Robeson was born in Princeton, New Jersey. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar before embarking on a stage career in New York City in 1921, appearing in Britain in 1922. Although he was successful as an African American actor, he was more popular as a singer. He appeared in works ranging from Show Boat to plays by O’Neill and Shakespeare, and he was known par ticularly for his Othello, a part which he first played in London. He toured widely giving song recitals, notably of black spirituals, and appeared in numerous films. In the 1950s his outspoken opposition to racial discrimination, and his Communist sympathies, led to professional ostracism at home, and he retired from public life in the 1960s.

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE

Achievement is one of the hallmarks of being an Alpha brother. From the beginnings of the organization, Alpha Phi Alpha has stressed that Alpha men were to strive to be the cream of American society, while making all efforts to improve the lot of African Americans.

Alpha men Paul Robeson and Jesse Owens were two early examples of this emphasis on excellence. Alpha brother Paul Robeson had been the first All-American athlete at Rutgers University, and was one of only four students admitted to Phi Beta Kappa in their junior year. Valedictorian of his class, Robeson later earned a law degree from Columbia University. However, it was his work as an actor, singer, and a civil rights activist which set him apart. Robeson made over 300 musical recordings, appeared in numerous films, including O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones, but gave this all up to fight for the rights of African Americans. Denounced as a communist, and essentially blackballed from performing in the United States, Robeson never compromised his principles. Given the NAACP’s highest award, the Spingarn Award, Robeson was consistently recognized for his sacrifice on behalf of African Americans.

Entering Ohio State University in 1933, Alpha brother Jesse Owens quickly established himself as one of the greatest track athletes of all time. As a student in 1935, he broke the world record for the long jump, broke the world record for the 220 low hurdles, and tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. Elected as the captain of the Ohio State track team, the first African American of any sport at Ohio State to have that honor, he won three places on the 1936 Olympic team. Simultaneously debunking Hitler’s Aryan superiority myths and bringing Americans of all races together, Owens won a record four events in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, to the obvious dismay of the German leader. After the Olympics and throughout his life, Owens worked to gain African Americans the civil rights which they so desperately sought. Owens represented the best ideals of an Alpha man.

While Jesse Owens was breaking barriers in Hitler’s Germany, another Alpha man was preparing lawyers for the upcoming civil rights battle. Charles Houston graduated from Amherst College when he was 19 years old; then he taught at Howard University Law School. From 1935 to 1940, Houston was the NAACP’s first full-time special counsel; in this position, he mentored future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Houston won his first major civil rights victory in the University of Maryland v. Murray. This case caused the University of Maryland to admit Donald Murray, an African American, to its law school. Houston’s work led to other important legal decisions, and his name lives on at Howard University, where the law school building is named after him.

The postwar period of the 1950s saw the synergy between the organization of Alpha Phi Alpha and the leadership of its members ultimately create a period of dynamic activism. In the previous decades Alpha brothers had been establishing themselves as the leaders of the African American community. While becoming educators, doctors, lawyers, and other leaders of the African American community, there was a natural dissatisfaction with the overall plight of African Americans. With its strong financial support of civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP (chapters had been encouraged to become life members), the 1950s found Alpha Phi Alpha on the front lines of a burgeoning civil rights movement. Alpha brother Thurgood Marshall was the chief counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, an organization which fought legal battles challenging the inequality of laws within the United States; one of Alpha Phi Alpha’s founders, Eugene Kinckle Jones, had been the Executive Secretary of the National Urban League for over twenty years; and a young Alpha minister from Montgomery, Alabama, named Martin Luther King, Jr., would lead a nonviolent movement for human rights which would change America forever.

The rise of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in America was largely shaped by the leadership and support of individual Alpha men and the national fraternity. As a young brother of Alpha Phi Alpha, Martin Luther King, Jr. was able to garner the large and important resources of the fraternity. Alpha Phi Alpha, through its financial and organizational and legal support, helped coordinate marches, rallies and fund-raisers for the movement. In 1955, Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Alpha Man of the Year award, for his efforts in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Young Alpha men in the civil rights movement such as Andrew Young, Adam Clayton Powell, and Thurgood Marshall led America to its promises of equality for all. But it was the ordinary Alpha Phi Alpha brothers, through undergraduate and graduate chapters nationwide, who were instrumental in providing the backbone of the movement. One of the earliest organizations that Alpha Phi Alpha supported was the NAACP.

ALPHA AND THE NAACP

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity continues to serve as a light to the community as the Fraternity is involved in a campaign to assist the financially troubled NAACP. In assisting the country’s oldest civil rights organization, the Fraternity has renewed its long-standing partnership with the NAACP and pledged to donate funds to the group. Alpha Phi Alpha donated more than $30,000 to the NAACP during the Fraternity’s 89th Anniversary Convention in Orlando, Florida. In addition, the Fraternity’s chapters are giving financial support to the NAACP by purchasing life memberships. Alpha Phi Alpha similarly aided the NAACP in 1960 when Fraternity Brothers Thurgood Marshall and then-General President Judge Myles A. Paige led an effort to restore the freedom-fighting organization to leadership and power. In the early 1980s, Alpha Phi Alpha again supported the NAACP and several other black organizations with a $1 million fund-raising campaign.

A Quick Question and Answer With . . .

Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Howard University, Washington, D. C.

Chartered, December 7, 1907

How Many People Are Currently Members Of Beta Chapter?

Seven.

What Type Of Community Service Has Beta Chapter Performed This Year?

We had a variety of programs, and we try to break them up into campus, community, and international categories. On the campus level, we do a variety of programs and projects. Beginning in the first week of the school year, we have a freshman program that’s been a tradition for a few years now called Makin’ it at the Mecca. Designed mainly for freshmen males, this year we did it in conjunction with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority chapter on our campus, with a similar program that they have on campus for women. We bring in student leaders and other people who represent facets of campus life and it’s basically a chance for the leaders to introduce themselves to the campus freshmen and explain what their organization or entity does on campus, and also gives the students a forum for a question-and-answer period for the freshmen.

In September, we normally do our Alpha Week programs. We start on Sunday with a Call to Chapel, and we usually end on Saturday with a social event. During this past year’s Alpha Week, the theme was A Community of Men With A Mission, Ninety Years of Beta Excellence.

The Call to Chapel was on Sunday and on Monday, we sponsored a program called How To Travel The World For Free. The program focused on our international community service project, StepAfrika, and other international travel opportunities.

Another program sponsored during Alpha Week was For Women which turned out to be a very dynamic program. Each year, we try to do a woman’s program. That Wednesday, we had a program entitled, Relationships: A Male Perspective featuring Van Whitfield, author of Beeperless Remote. The book is about a brother who dates various women and devises certain patterns and groupings that women fall into based on his experiences. So we used that as a springboard for the discussion on relationships. Our relationship forum is always a well-attended program.

Thursday is our cultural day, and is called Harambee: The Legacy of Art And Expression: An Evening of Art, Dance, Poetry and Jazz. And the evening turned out to be just that; it went very well.

We try to have one brother in the chapter head and be responsible for each program. A lot of things go into these programs: scheduling, getting honorariums, publicity, arranging the travel and lodging for the speakers, organizing transportation and that kind of stuff. It is a big burden of time and money for the chapter. So it is important that we get everything done right.

We ended Alpha Week with a party on Saturday night, but first we had a clothing drive on Saturday morning. We donated clothes to an organization called Martha’s Table. It’s a shelter here in D.C., and we traditionally give them a donation. We were happy to do that. And this ends our Alpha Week.

During October, our main activity is the Howard Stepshow. That takes a lot of time and dedication, and after two months of work, we placed first runner-up in the 1997 Homecoming Stepshow.

In November, during the third Tuesday, we put on a Brother To Brother Youth Conference, and 1999 marked our sixth annual conference. Traditionally, we do it in conjunction with the Howard University College of Arts and Science student council. What we do is bring about 100–200 high school youth to Howard University for a day, and we have various programs, beginning with Chapel and a morning address. We have motivational speakers and we take them into our center for workshops. This year, our luncheon speaker was a recent Beta president and Howard graduate, Brother Desmond Dunnam, who is now teaching at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. He is very much a role model for not only the youth, but the college brothers at Howard.

The workshops at the conference were entitled: African American Values: Loving Each Other as Brothers, Career Choices for the 21st Century, So This Is College Life, and the last one was Sex and Responsibility. As you can see, we had a variety of topics. Some of the workshops were headed up by brothers, and others by experts on campus. We like to expose the student to all aspects of campus and Greek life. During the day, we also stepped, as did the Deltas and AKAs.

The overall theme of this year’s conference was Moving Forward With The Strength of My Brothers. We sold ads and had a banquet later on during the day. The banquet was geared more toward the university community while the workshops were for the kids and the chaperones. We had about fifteen schools participate and we did all this with a budget of $3,000. A lot of that was out-of-pocket donations from the brothers in Beta chapter and our local graduate chapter.

December is our unique StepAfrika program, and this year was the fourth trip Beta brothers have made to South Africa. I don’t know of another group of African American men who go to South Africa in the name of community service. Being there in Soweto and Alexandria townships, and working with kids who have experienced apartheid firsthand is utterly amazing. We in this country have heard about the African American civil rights struggle of the 1960s, but these kids have experienced it. And these South African kids can tell you stories.

We found out that the veil of apartheid is not completely removed from South Africa. We have drawn a lot of comparisons in our visits between our experience and theirs. You can see all of that when you travel to their country.

The brothers learned African dance and in turn, we showed them our fraternity stepping, and we were able to draw comparisons between their dance and ours. We had tribes such as the Zulu and the Xhosa show us their dances.

We took two or three days and spent the time in Venda, in northern South Africa, which is close to the Zimbabwe border. This is a place where it seems that time has stood still. There were no paved roads. We slept in the jail, and we met the queen of the village. It took a nine hour road trip, but when we arrived at the village, the people put on a festival for us.

We have our rededication ceremony in December and we come back in January to put on our annual Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute. We have that at the Rankin chapel on the Howard campus, and the speaker this year was the Rev. Derek Harkins, pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist church. He is also a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha. We try to have a brother speak every year on Dr. King and his message. We also celebrate Dr. King with poetry, prose and song. Each year we try to have our activities as close to his birthday as possible.

This year, we had the first Miss Black and Gold beauty and scholarship pageant in about fifteen years. We had about four contestants and it was an overwhelming success. We have a spread in the Howard yearbook which shows the pageant, and the Howard campus newspaper, the Hilltopper, covered it, so we are very proud of the event.

In March, our chapter won District Chapter of the Year, District Brother of the Year, and we won the District Oratorical Contest. We end our year with our Senior send-off which is a very casual meeting; this year we were lucky to have Brother James O. Wilson, who pledged in 1982, speak before the current undergraduate brothers. Beta has had the lucky fortune to have a close bond with brothers who have pledged before us. It is always an emotional event, because this is a time to say goodbye, and we take this time to lift up each brother. Brothers stand up and talk about all of the good things that the brother has brought to Alpha. And that concludes our year.

Who Are Some Of Beta Chapter’s More Successful Members, And What Do They Do That Makes Them Stand Out?

Some of our recent graduates from Beta chapter are very successful. We have one brother who is publishing his second book. We have two brothers at Beta who have started their own business called Designs.com, which is a graphics design and multimedia firm. These brothers have had the opportunity to do a lot of work with BET and the BET Soundstage. We have a brother, Herman Warren, who runs an Internet startup company in South Africa and we have Brian Jackson, who originated the StepAfrika Project. We have brothers in law school, business school, and medical school.

What Types Of Social Events Does Beta Chapter Have Each Year?

We always try to do a number of parties during the year, because they are a source of money for the chapter. We will also join in with other groups, even though we may not spearhead those events.

What Does Beta Chapter Do To Foster Brotherhood Among Its Members?

We’ve become close as brothers because of the high volume of business that we do each year. We have meetings every week on Friday, so Friday night is the night to hang out with the brothers. After the meeting we will hang out somewhere and get a bite to eat. We’ve found also that you bond a lot after three-hour step practices, spending a month planning an Alpha week, or taking three months to plan a Brother To Brother youth conference. We’ve been up with brothers at four in the morning running copies at the local Kinko, while cracking jokes. You have occasions where brothers get heated just like other families. We fight, we argue and then we come together. And those are the types of experiences that help you bond.

Academically, How Does Beta Chapter Compare To The Rest Of The Campus, And What Is The Average Grade Point Average For Beta Chapter?

In competing for the Howard awards this year, we have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20. Two brothers graduated with honors and all of the brothers who have graduated will be gainfully employed. We have an environment which promotes academic success. And a lot of that has to do with the Howard purpose and the culture that exists here. Howard is a school and environment where there are a lot of extracurricular activities, but also, there is a lot of emphasis on academics. You have students at Howard who are talented enough to do both. A lot of what makes Beta chapter is also what makes Howard.

Also, Beta chapter is also older than all of the other African American fraternal organizations. It has an incredible legacy. We have the Beta reunion, where we had about one hundred and fifty brothers visit on August 1, 1997; the oldest was initiated in 1947 and the youngest was initiated in 1996, the closest travel was D.C., the farthest was Japan. It was truly a remarkable event, with brothers of all ages, from college age brothers to retired senior citizens, sitting around singing songs, exchanging stories, passing things on; it was moving. It showed us that the legacy of excellence does not start with us, nor does it end with us.

What Makes Beta Chapter Different From The Rest Of The Fraternal Organizations On The Campus And What Makes Beta Chapter The Same As The Rest Of The Fraternal Organizations?

One thing that makes Beta chapter the same as the other fraternal organizations on campus is that we are all dedicated to doing community service. The chapters on campus in some way compete in trying to do the most community service. How we differentiate ourselves is through the caliber of brothers that we initiate into Beta chapter, and the activities that we do. There is no other organization on campus which has as rigorous a yearly program as we do. Other organizations are beginning to pattern their programs after ours, which is good. But there is no animosity at the campus however.

Does Beta Chapter Step, And Have You Won Any Awards While Stepping?

Yes, we do step at the Howard stepshow each year, and as I stated earlier, we came in as first runner-up in 1997.

If Beta Chapter Had Unlimited Resources, What Would It Try To Do?

We fully fund a scholarship which is named after a brother who was recently killed. We would also probably take StepAfrika to the next level.

Does Beta Chapter Have Any Former Members Who Have Become Somewhat Famous?

We have Ambassador Andrew Young, Mayor David Dinkins, the late Donnie Hathaway, and tons of other brothers who have achieved.

What Is The Profile Of Individuals In Beta Chapter?

This past year we had a business major, an architecture major, a political science major, a psychology major, one brother in physical therapy, and one brother in pharmacy school. We traditionally also have had brothers in engineering and sciences.

Does Beta Chapter Actively Participate At The Alpha Phi Alpha National Convention?

Yes, we helped put on the last general convention in Washington, D.C., and took a delegation to Orlando in 1995. We’ve always competed at the regional and national level.

Has There Ever Been An Instance Where A Beta Member Was In Trouble, And Either The Chapter Or A Chapter Member Came To His Aid?

Every week that happens. Being close and seeing brothers every week, you know when a brother is coming up short financially. We try to help whenever we can.

What Is Beta’s Vision For Alpha Phi Alpha In The 21st Century?

To be true to our mission of being a fraternity. We are a wonderfully huge organization with a lot of potential. We have an immense amount of resources and potential, but we shouldn’t move into becoming a membership organization. And lastly, graduate brothers should mentor younger brothers.

A FAMOUS BROTHER OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA . . .

THURGOOD MARSHALL (1908–1993)

Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Judge, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied at Lincoln University and Howard University Law School, and then began work for the NAACP, becoming head of its legal staff. As an attorney he won a historic victory in the case of Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka which declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. He then had further successes in cases concerning racial discrimination against African Americans. He was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1961 and named solicitor general in 1965. He became the first African American member of the Supreme Court in 1967.

THE POST–CIVIL RIGHTS ERA

After the marches and gains of the 1960s, opportunities for African Americans reached levels previously unseen in American history. However, if the gains of the civil rights movement were to be realized, leaders were going to have to step forward. Alpha Phi Alpha provided those leaders. Whether it was politicians such as Maynard Jackson, Ernest Morial, Charles Rangel, and William Gray; or the first black senator since Reconstruction, Edward Brooke from Massachusetts, Alpha Phi Alpha had adequately trained men for the numerous firsts which would occur during the post–civil rights era.

A FAMOUS BROTHER OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA . . .

W. E. B. DU BOIS (1868–1963)

One of the greatest African American minds ever, historian, sociologist, and equal rights campaigner, W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He studied at Fisk, Harvard, and Berlin universities, and in his writings explored the history and lives of African Americans. In politics he campaigned for full equality, and he opposed the tactics of Booker T. Washington, who had developed a nonconfrontational approach to racial equality. Du Bois actively confronted racism, and he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Feeling that America was not willing to progress racially, W. E. B. Du Bois became an exile and lived in Ghana until his death.

Within Alpha Phi Alpha, the fraternity was maturing. By the 1970s and 1980s, Alpha Phi Alpha had grown to over 700 chapters worldwide with more than 175,000 members. The fraternity was now truly an international organization. Its scope had ultimately moved beyond the domestic issues of America and had expanded to include issues which affected African Americans and Africans worldwide.

As Alpha Phi Alpha heads into the year 2000, the essential goals that initially attracted Sean’s grandfather to Alpha Phi Alpha are the same goals that Sean’s grandchildren will see in Alpha Phi Alpha: manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind. These traits are the foundation on which Alpha Phi Alpha not only exists, but thrives.

A Quick Question and Answer With . . .

Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Alumni Chapter, Kansas City, Missouri

Chartered, 1919

What Is Your Chapter Name, Where Is It Located And When Was It Founded?

We are Beta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and we are located in Kansas City, Missouri. We were founded in 1919. We are the second graduate chapter in the fraternity, and the first west of the Mississippi.

How Many People Are Currently Members Of Beta Lambda?

Financially, we have some 78 brothers in the chapter.

What Are The Current Objectives Of Beta Lambda?

We refer to our objectives as