Alpha Phi Alpha

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ΑΦΑ - Alpha Phi Alpha

Motto	First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All
Colors	Black █ and Old Gold █
Symbol	Great Sphinx of Giza, Great Pyramids of Giza, Pharaoh, Ape
Flower	Yellow Rose
Founded	December 4, 1906 at Cornell University (42.448510° N -76.478620° E)
Fraternity type	Service
Scope	International
Headquarters	2313 St. Paul Street Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Chapters	700+
Cardinal Principles	Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love For All Mankind
Homepage	Alpha Phi Alpha website

Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ) is the first intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University (42.448510° N -76.478620° E) in Ithaca, New York as a social fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha 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.

The 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." The fraternity expanded 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 members of the National Pan-Hellenic 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.

Alpha Phi Alpha evolved into a service organization and has provided leadership and service during the Great Depression, World Wars, Civil Rights Movements, and addresses 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 Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr., former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Olympian Jesse Owens, Justice Thurgood Marshall, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, and former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. Numerous other American leaders are among the men who have adopted the fraternity’s principles—manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.1.1 The Seven Jewels 1.2 Consolidation and expansion 1.3 History: 1919 - 1949 1.4 History: 1950 - 1969 1.5 History: 1970 - present 2 National programs 2.1 Go-To-High School, Go-To-College 2.2 Voter Education/Registration Program 2.3 Project Alpha 2.4 Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial 2.5 Pan-Hellenic membership 3 Pledging 4 Membership 5 Egyptian symbolism 6 Centennial celebration 7 Black fraternal movement 8 See also 9 Documentary films 10 References 11 Footnotes 12 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[2]

[edit] The Seven Jewels

The founders of The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. are considered the Seven Jewels. The orginal founding members of the first collegiate Greek letter organization for Negro students, with the Great Sphinx of Giza as their symbol were Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, Vertner Woodson Tandy, and James Morton. The latter would be replaced in 1952 with the name of Eugene Kinckle Jones.^[3]

Pictured below (from left to right): Callis, Chapman, Jones, Kelley, Murray, Ogle, and Tandy.

                 

[edit] Consolidation and expansion

Soon after the Cornell organization formed, members opened Alpha Phi Alpha chapters at other colleges and universities. Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha are given Greek-letter designations, assigned in order of installation into the Fraternity. No chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha is designated Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet that traditionally signifies "the end". Deceased brothers are respectfully referred to as having joined Omega Chapter.

The fraternity's constitution was adopted on December 14, 1907 and limited membership to "Negro male" students, and also provided that the General Convention of the Fraternity would be created following the establishment of the fourth chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.^[4] The preamble stated the purpose of Alpha Phi Alpha in part as:

To promote a more perfect union among college men; to aid in and insist upon the personal progress of its members; to further brotherly love and a fraternal spirit within the organization; to discountenance evil; to destroy all prejudices; to preserve the sanctity of the home, the personification of virtue and the chastity of woman.

Howard University, on December 20, 1907, where founders Jones and Murray chartered the fraternity's second chapter, (Beta), was the site of the organization of the first black Greek letter fraternity among historically black schools.^[5] Jones and Murray established (Gamma) on December 30, 1907 at Virginia Union University.

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."^[4]

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.^[6]

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.^[7] Today, the office of the General President wields great influence beyond the fraternity, and each newly elected president is automatically considered one of the "100 most influential Black Americans".

The fraternity established Alpha Lambda its first graduate alumni chapter in 1911 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Fraternity was again incorporated as a national organization on April 9, 1911, under the laws of Congress within the District of Columbia, under the name and title of The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.^[8]

In 1914, The Sphinx®, named after the Egyptian landmark, began publication as the fraternity's official journal. Still published, the Sphinx is the second oldest continuously published black journal in the United States. The NAACP's The Crisis, started by fraternity member W.E.B. DuBois, predates the Alpha publication.^[9] The National Urban League's (NUL) Opportunity Journal, was first published in 1923 under the leadership of Alpha founder Eugene Jones, with fraternity brother Charles Johnson as its executive editor.^[10] For almost 100 years these publications have afforded Alpha Phi Alpha and its members to have a voice and influence on politics, current-affairs and key issues facing the world.

The Training Camp at Fort Des Moines during World War I was the result of the fraternity's advocacy in lobbying 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13]

Frederick H. Miller, 3rd General President of Alpha Phi Alpha said,

Our race suffers largely because its leaders have been unselfish with axes of their own to grind together with limited intelligence and twisted mental habits. Need I say I think Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity is the most promising organization among Negroes in existence.[14]

[edit] 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.^[6]

The 1920s witnessed the birth of the Harlem Renaissance–a flowering of African American art, literature, music, and culture which began to be absorbed into mainstream American culture. Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers Charles Johnson, W.E.B. DuBois, Noble Sissle, Countee Cullen and other members were entrepreneurs and participants in this creative upsurge led primarily by the African American community based in Harlem, New York City. The fraternity had charted 85 chapters throughout the United States and initiated over 3,000 members by the end of the 1920s.^[15]

During the Great Depression, Alpha Phi Alpha and its members continued to implement programs which it deemed affected the black community. The Committee on Public Policy, the Alpha Phi Alpha Education Foundation and "The Foundation Publishers" were established at the 1933 general convention. The Committee on Public Policy took positions on issues many in the black community deemed important. The first investigation of the committee was of Franklin D. Roosevelt'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.^[16] Fraternity members Rayford Logan and Eugene Jones were members of Roosevelt's unoffical "Black Cabinet"–African American specialists and advisers for governmental departments.^[17] The Education Foundation was created in recognition of the increasing educational, economic, and social needs of African Americans in the United States. The foundation, led by Rayford Logan, was structured to provide scholarships and grants to African American students. The Foundation Publishers would provide financial support and fellowship for writers addressing African American issues. Historian and fraternity brother John Hope Franklin was an early beneficiary of the publishing company.^[15]

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.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20]

At the 1936 Summer Olympics, three fraternity brothers represented the United States: Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe and Dave Albritton.^[21] 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.^[22]

Alpha Phi Alpha supported legal battles against segregation and Alpha trial lawyers argued many of the nation's major court cases involving civil rights and civil liberties. The case of Donald Gaines Murray v University of Maryland (1935) was initiated by the fraternity and successfully argued by Alpha men Thurgood Marshall and Charles Houston to successfuly challenge biases at the university which had no laws requiring segregation in its colleges. The fraternity assisted in a similar case that involved fraternity brother Lloyd Gaines. In Gaines v. Canada, the most important segregation case since Plessy v. Ferguson, Gaines was denied admission to the Law School at the University of Missouri because he was black.^[23] Alpha brothers Houston and Sidney Redmon successfully argued "States that provide only one educational institution must allow blacks and whites to attend if there is no separate school for blacks."

After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the nation's entry into World War II, the fraternity fought to secure rights for its membership within the ranks of officers in the Armed Forces. 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. Alpha men served in almost every branch of the military and civilian defense programs during World War II. The leadership of the fraternity encouraged Alpha men to buy war bonds, and the membership responded with their purchases.^[24] The fraternity's long tradition of military service has remained strong to the United States and the world. Alpha's military leaders Samuel Gravely and Benjamin Hacker are followed by other fraternity members who lead and serve in the Armed Forces.

The fraternity sought to end racial discrimination within its own ranks. 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; the fraternity has been interracial since 1945.^{[25] [26]}

The fraternity continued its opposition to segregation and completely sponsored Henderson v. United States, that challenged the Interstate Commerce Commission's approval of railroad segregation practices. The case grew out of complainant Wlmer W. Henderson who was traveling as a first class passenger in 1942, of discrimination and refusal of dining car accommodations equal to those of white passengers.^[27] Belford Lawson, General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, led the legal team that won the case, resulting in a landmark lawsuit that abolished segregation in railroad dining cars.

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, appealed:

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.[28]

In 1947, Alpha Phi Alpha awarded Robeson the Alpha Medallion for his “outstanding role as a champion of freedom.”^[28] 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.

[edit] History: 1950 - 1969

The general convention in 1952 was the venue for a significant historical action taken regarding the Seventh Jewel Founder. The decision "of placing Brother [Eugene] Jones in his true historical setting resulting from the leading role which he had played in the origin and development of the early years of the fraternity history" was made by a special committee consisting of Jewels Callis, Kelly and Murray and fraternity historian Charles H. Wesley. James Morton was removed as a founder, yet continues to be listed as one of the first initiates. This convention created the Alpha Award of Merit and the Alpha Award of Honor, for appreciation of the tireless efforts on behalf of African Americans, and were awarded to Thurgood Marshall and Eugene Jones.^{[29] [30]}

God grant from this assembly, this noble assembly of fraternity men some of the leaders of our nation will emerge. —Martin Luther King, Jr., (Address to ΑΦΑ at Golden Jubilee)[31]

The civil rights movement coincided with Alpha Phi Alpha's 50th anniversary. Darryl R. Matthews Sr., general president of the fraternity defined a pilgrimage as "a personal, spiritual, historic and significant journey, which one takes to a place and for a purpose that has profound meaning to that individual."^[32] Alpha Phi Alpha'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. Fraternity brother Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the keynote speech at the golden anniversary banquet, in which he spoke on the "Injustices of Segregation". There were three living Jewels present for the occasion, Kelly, Callis and Murray.^[33]

Alpha men were pioneers and at the forefront of the civil rights struggle begun in he 1950s.^[12] 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 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.^[34]

In 1961, Whitney Young became the executive director of the National Urban League, 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.^[35]

[edit] 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; under the direction of former General President Ernest Morial the fraternity turned its attention to new social needs. This included the campaign to eliminate the ghetto-goal on numerous fronts with housing development and entrepreneurship initiatives.

The Federal Housing Act (of 1963) requested non-profit organizations to get involved with providing housing for low-income familes, individuals and senior citizens. Alpha Phi Alpha was poised to take advantage of this program with government in improving urban housing living conditions. The Eta Tau Lambda chapter created Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Inc. to address these needs in Akron, Ohio. In 1971, Alpha Homes received an $11.5 million grant from HUD to begin groundbreaking on Channelwood Village with the Henry Arthur Callis Tower as it centerpiece. Channelwood contains additonal structures named after General Presidents James R. Williams and Charles Wesley, and streets named for fraternity founders Tandy and Ogle. The Alpha Towers in Chicago and three other urban housing developments in St. Louis, Missouri— the Alpha Gardens, Alpha Towne and Alpha Village saw completion through Alpha Phi Alpha leadership.^[36]

In 1976, the fraternity celebrated its 70th Anniversary with dual convention locations: New York City 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. Benjamin Hooks, NAACP Executive Director stated "Alpha Phi Alpha provided the largest single gift ever received by the civil rights group."^[13]

In 1981, the fraternity celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in Dallas, Texas, featuring a presentation of the New Thrust Program consisting of the Million Dollar Fund Drive, the Leadership Development and Citizenship Institutes, and the quest to obtain a national holiday for fraternity brother Martin Luther King, Jr.^[37]

As Alpha Phi Alpha 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, the 28th General President of the fraternity said, "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."^[13]

	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.
—Henry Ponder, Ebony

In 1996, The World Policy Council was created as a think tank to expand Alpha Phi Alpha's involvement in politics, and social and current policy to encompass international concerns. Since its founding, the council has offered positions on the AIDS Crisis, War on Terrorism, world hunger, and foreign and domestic policy to Congress, the White House, and those whose decisions shape the future.^[15]

The United States Congress, in 1996, 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.^[38] The fraternity laid a marble and bronze plaque to dedicate the memorial site on December 4, 2000. The groundbreaking is scheduled to coincide with the centenary of the fraternity. Alpha Phi Alpha's goal is to dedicate the Memorial in 2008 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King's death.^[39]

In 2006, Alpha Phi Alpha members gathered in Washington, D.C. to participate in the fraternity’s centennial convention to lay the groundwork for another 100 years of service, and to encourage and assist young African American men to take on leadership roles in the world.

Alpha Phi Alpha asserts the Fraternity has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans, the African diaspora,^[40] and the countless special problems that affect Black men.^[13] The fraternty has established an Alpha Phi Alpha Archives at Howard University in Washington, D.C. to preserve the history of the organization.^[41]

[edit] 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[42]
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

Alpha Phi Alpha provides for charitable endeavors through the Fraternity's Education and Building Foundations, providing academic scholarships and shelter to underprivileged families.^[4] 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,^[43] Project Alpha with the March of Dimes, NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, and Fortune 500 companies.

We must not shoot in the air, but accomplish results. Each chapter must put its part of the program over with interest and drive. —Lucius L. McGee, 10th General President ΑΦA[44]

Alpha's "Designated Charity" benfits from the approximately $10,000, one-time contribution fund-raising efforts at the fratenity's annual general convention.^[13] The Fraternity also has made commitments to train leaders with national mentoring programs.^[4]

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.^[45]

[edit] 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.^[46]

[edit] Voter Education/Registration Program

"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.^[47]

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.

	The Court finds and hereby DECLARES that the rejection of voter registration applications on the grounds that they were submitted in a bundle, or by someone who was not a registrar or deputy registrar, violates the NVRA.
—U.S. Court of Appeals, Wesley v. Cox.[48]

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.^[49]

[edit] 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.^[50] Alpha Phi Alpha also participates in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica and raised over $95,000 in 2004.^[50]

[edit] Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

Main article: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

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.^[45] In 1996, the United States 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.^[45]

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.

[edit] 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.^[51] 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.^[52]

[edit] Pledging

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.^[53] 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".^[54]

Let there be no complaints about brutality. The emphasis should be upon history and purposes of the Fraternity rather than upon physical punishment. —Rayford Logan, 15th General President ΑΦA[55]

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.^[56] 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.^[57]

Hazing is now against the law in many U.S. states; that and the objections of parents, students, and fraternity alumni have 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.^[58]

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.^[59]

[edit] Membership

Further information: Members of Alpha Phi Alpha

Accomplishments by Alpha Phi Alpha Men "First African American"[85]
Dennis Archer	President of the American Bar Association
Richard Arrington	Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
Edward Brooke	State Attorney General, Senator since Reconstruction
Willie Brown	Mayor of San Francisco
Emanuel Cleaver	Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
Charles Diggs	Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus
E. Franklin Frazier	President of the American Sociological Association
Malvin Goode	Reporter on American Broadcasting Company
Samuel Gravely	Commandant of a U.S. Fleet
Charles Houston	Editor of the Harvard Law Review
Maynard Jackson	Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
John Johnson	Forbes 400 List
Ernest Morial	Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
Thurgood Marshall	Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Fritz Pollard	Head coach in the National Football League
Chuck Stone	President of the National Association of Black Journalists

Alpha Phi Alpha's membership is predominantly African American in composition with brothers in over 700 college and graduate chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.^[40]

As Alpha Phi Alpha expanded to over 175,000 members, the ranks of its membership grew to include a plethora of prominent and accomplished activists, educators, politicians, businessmen, philanthropists entertainers and athletes. 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, musician Donny Hathaway, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, the first elected Premier of Bermuda Sir Edward T. Richards, and former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry.^[60] In the United States, among professional black males, the fraternity claims 60% of all doctors, 75% of all lawyers, 65% of all dentists, and 95% of black colleges have had Alpha Men as their president.^[61]

Alpha men were instrumental in the founding and leadership of the NAACP (DuBois),^[62] People's National Party (PNP) Norman Manley, ^[63] Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) (Jesse E. Moorland),^[64] UNCF (Frederick D. Patterson),^[65] and the SCLC (King, Walker and Jemison).^[66] The National Urban League has had eight founders in it almost 100 years of existence; six of its leaders are Alpha men: Eugene Jones, Lester Granger, Channing Tobias, Whitney Young, Hugh Price and Marc Morial.

The fraternity provided 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.^[67] 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.^[68] The fraterntiy no longer inducts Honorary members.

We are counting on Alpha men to show their true colors. —Antonio M. Smith, 17th General President ΑΦA[69]

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.^[70] 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' 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.^[71]

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." The Presidential Medal of Freedom, designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors", has been awarded to many members including 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.^[72]

[edit] Egyptian symbolism

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. ^[73] 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."^[73] 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.^[73]

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. —Charles H. Wesley, 14th General President ΑΦA[74]

The fraternity's 21st General President, Thomas W. Cole said, "Alpha Phi Alpha must go back to her ultimate roots; only then can she be nurtured to full bloom" ^[75] Fraternity members organize travel to Egypt to walk across the sands of the Giza Plateau (coordinates 29°58′33″N, 31°07′49″E) to the Great Sphinx of Giza and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

[edit] 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 a Centennial Convention July 25 - 30, 2006, in Washington, D.C.

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. ^[32]

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^[12] as part of the 2006 Black History Month theme, "Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social and Civic Institutions."^[76]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and special privilege to address this great body on such an auspicious occasion. As a proud member of this fraternity, I feel special esteem in joining the entire House to recognize the historical significance of the centennial anniversary of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. —David Scott[77]

The Centennial Convention, called Reflects on Rich Past, Looks Toward Bright Future, began on Capitol Hill with Congressman and fraternity member David Scott stating that Alpha men "convene to chart and plan for the fraternity’s future, celebrate its 100th anniversary, and reinvigorate its founding principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity" to the House of Representatives.^[77] The House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 384, approved 422-0, which recognized and honored Alpha Phi Alpha as the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, its accomplishments and its historic milestone.^[77]

The resolution was co-sponsored by the eight members of the House of Representatives who are brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha which include Emanuel Cleaver, Robert Scott and Chaka Fattah. While in Washington, fraternity members such as National Urban League head Marc Morial and Congressman Gregory Meeks witnessed the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by President George W. Bush in a signing ceremony at the White House. A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with an hour-long reflection at the site of the King Memorial was witnessed by Alpha's General Presidents, president and CEO of the fraternity's Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Harry Johnson, and a host of the more than 5000 members assembled for the convention. Grammy Award winning singer Lionel Richie gave a performance for his fraternity at the John F. Kennedy Center.^[78]

The House of Alpha, The Centennial Exhibit of Alpha Phi Alpha, opened its doors at the convention. The featured materials are part of the records of Alpha Phi Alpha, local chapters and the personal collection of fraternity members. Alpha Phi Alpha shares the story of the House of Alpha with the world when the exhibit opened at Atlanta University Center's library in September 2006, and scheduled viewings in other locations. The exhibit was curated by fraternity member Herman Mason and sponsored by AARP.

[edit] Black fraternal movement

There is some dispute as to whether Alpha Phi Alpha was the first intercollegiate black fraternity. Black-sponsored Greek letter organizations may have begun in the year 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.^[73][79] 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.^[80]

Sigma Pi Phi, founded in 1904, is also considered 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.^{[73] [81]} 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.^[82]

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded in 1908 as a first among African-American sororities and among black greek organizations established at a black college. Ethel Hedgeman Lyle was inspired by her then high school and college sweetheart George Lyle, a co-founder of the Alpha Phi Alpha's Howard chapter, to establish Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard.^[83] Howard became the founding site for four additional NPHC members when Omega Psi Phi (1911), Delta Sigma Theta (1913), Phi Beta Sigma (1914) and Zeta Phi Beta (1920), established their Alpha chapter at Howard University.^[84]

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."^[80]

First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All —Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Motto

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.^[4]

[edit] See also

• List of African American firsts

[edit] Documentary films

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

[edit] References

• Mason, Herman "Skip" [1997] (1999). The Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha, 2nd edition, Four-G Publishers. ISBN 1885066635.
• Wesley, Charles H. [1929] (1981). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, A Development in College Life, 14th edition, Foundation Publishers. ASIN: B000ESQ14W.
• Wesley, Charles H. [1929] (1950). The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in Negro College Life, 6th edition, Foundation Publishers.

[edit] Footnotes

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[edit] External links

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity website The Sphinx Magazine, Spring 2003, Volume 88, No.1PDF World Policy Council—Statement on the Middle East Conflict Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial website Alpha Phi Alpha Images 2006 Centennial (Celebration) Pilgrimage photos Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Virtual Tour Alpha Phi Alpha iconography Satellite images of the Giza Plateau Panoramas of the Giza Plateau

External Websites Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Alpha Phi Alpha: A Centennial Celebration, Cornell University Alpha Phi Alpha Politicians Skip's Historical Moments Fort Des Moines Museum Charles H. Wesley Education Foundation v. Cathy Cox. Public Law 104-333 Congressional authorization for Memorial to Dr. KingDOC H. Con. Res. 384: Recognizing and honoring the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Alpha Phi Alpha FraternityPDF Cairo/Giza travel guide from Wikitravel

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. General Presidents

Moses A. Morrison, 1908-1909  • Roscoe C. Giles, 1910  • Frederick H. Miller, 1911  • Charles H. Garvin, 1912-1913  • Henry L. Dickason, 1914-1915  • Henry A. Callis, 1915  • Howard H. Long, 1916-1917  • William A. Pollard, 1917-1918  • Daniel D. Fowler, 1919  • Lucius L. McGee, 1920  • Simeon S. Booker, 1921-1923  • Raymond W. Cannon, 1924-1927  • Bert A. Rose, 1928-1931  • Charles H. Wesley, 1932-1940  • Rayford W. Logan, 1941-1945  • Belford V. Lawson, Jr., 1946-1951  • Antonio M. Smith, 1952-1954  • Frank L. Stanley, 1955-1957  • Myles A. Paige, 1957-1960  • William H. Hale, 1961-1962  • T. Winston Cole, Sr., 1963-1964  • Lionel H. Newsom, 1965-1968  • Ernest N. Morial, 1968-1972  • Walter Washington, 1973-1976  • James R. Williams, 1977-1980  • Ozell Sutton, 1981-1984  • Charles C. Teamer, 1985-1988  • Henry Ponder, 1989-1992  • Milton C. Davis, 1993-1996  • Adrian L. Wallace, 1997-2000  • Harry E. Johnson, 2001-2004  • Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. 2005-current

National Pan-Hellenic Council
Alpha Kappa Alpha  • Alpha Phi Alpha  • Delta Sigma Theta  • Iota Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Psi  • Omega Psi Phi  • Phi Beta Sigma  • Sigma Gamma Rho  • Zeta Phi Beta

North-American Interfraternity Conference

Acacia  • Alpha Chi Rho  • Alpha Delta Gamma  • Alpha Delta Phi  • Alpha Epsilon Pi  • Alpha Gamma Rho  • Alpha Gamma Sigma  • Alpha Kappa Lambda  • Alpha Phi Alpha  • Alpha Phi Delta  • Alpha Sigma Phi  • Alpha Tau Omega  • Beta Chi Theta  • Beta Sigma Psi  • Beta Theta Pi  • Chi Phi  • Chi Psi  • Delta Chi  • Delta Kappa Epsilon  • Delta Phi  • Delta Psi  • Delta Sigma Phi  • Delta Tau Delta  • Delta Upsilon  • FarmHouse  • Iota Phi Theta  • Kappa Alpha Order  • Kappa Alpha Psi  • Kappa Alpha Society  • Kappa Delta Phi  • Kappa Delta Rho  • Lambda Chi Alpha  • Lambda Phi Epsilon  • Lambda Sigma Upsilon  • Lambda Theta Phi  • Order of Omega  • Phi Gamma Delta  • Phi Iota Alpha  • Phi Kappa Psi  • Phi Kappa Sigma  • Phi Kappa Tau  • Phi Kappa Theta  • Phi Lambda Chi  • Phi Mu Delta  • Phi Sigma Kappa  • Phi Sigma Phi  • Pi Kappa Alpha  • Pi Kappa Phi  • Pi Lambda Phi  • Psi Upsilon  • Sigma Alpha Epsilon  • Sigma Alpha Mu  • Sigma Chi  • Sigma Lambda Beta  • Sigma Nu  • Sigma Phi Delta  • Sigma Phi Epsilon  • Sigma Phi Society  • Sigma Pi  • Sigma Tau Gamma  • Tau Delta Phi  • Tau Epsilon Phi  • Tau Kappa Epsilon  • Theta Chi  • Theta Delta Chi  • Theta Xi  • Triangle  • Zeta Beta Tau  • Zeta Psi