Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved into a fraternity with a founding date of December 4, 1906. It employs an icon from Ancient Egypt, the Great Sphinx of Giza, as its symbol. Its aims are "Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love For All Mankind," and its motto is "First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All." Its archives are preserved at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

Chapters were chartered at Howard University and Virginia Union University in 1907. The fraternity has over 290,000 members and has been open to men of all races since 1945. Currently, there are more than 730 active chapters in the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. It is the largest predominantly African-American intercollegiate fraternity and one of the ten largest intercollegiate fraternities in the nation.

Alpha Phi Alpha is a social organization with a service organization mission and provided leadership and service during the Great Depression, World Wars, and Civil Rights Movement. The fraternity addresses social issues such as apartheid, AIDS, urban housing, and other economic, cultural, and political issues of interest to people of color. National programs and initiatives of the fraternity include A Voteless People Is a Hopeless People, My Brother's Keeper, Go To High School, Go To College, Project Alpha, and the World Policy Council. It also conducts philanthropic programming initiatives with the March of Dimes, Head Start, the Boy Scouts of America, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Members of this fraternity include many historical civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., NAACP founder W. E. B. Du Bois, John Mack (civic leader), Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian, and Dick Gregory. Other world renowned-members include political activist Cornel West, musicians Duke Ellington, Donny Hathaway, and Lionel Richie, NBA legend Walt Frazier, NFL Player Charles Haley, Jamaican Prime Minister Norman Manley, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Investor and founder of Vista Equity Partners Robert F. Smith, United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins, six time MTV Video Music Awards - winning director/choreographer Frank Gatson Jr., hero of the Nashville Waffle House shooting, James Shaw Jr., and ESPN sportscasters Stuart Scott, Stan Verrett, Jay Harris and Donald Driver.

Alpha Phi Alpha was directly responsible for the conception, funding, and construction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial next to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

History

Founding

At the start of the 20th century, African-American students at American universities were often excluded from fraternal organizations enjoyed by the predominantly white student population at non- black colleges. Charles Cardoza Poindexter organized a group of students for literary discussion and social functions at Cornell University. The group initially consisted of 15 students and included women. The initial study group consisted of 14 students. These students included four from Washington, D.C. – Robert Ogle, Fred Morgan Phillip, Fannie Holland, and Flaxie Holcosbe. There were also four men and a woman from New York State: George Kelley, Henry A. Callis, James Thomas, Gordon Jones, and Paul Ray. From West Virginia came Eugene Kinckle Jones and Mary Vassar. Vertner Tandy came from Kentucky, and C.H. Chapman was from Florida.

The group met every two weeks at 421 North Albany Street, where Poindexter roomed. Poindexter was stated to have a relationship with the other students of the group that was more faculty to student than peer-to-peer, given that he was the secretary of a professor at Cornell. In December 1905, Poindexter organized a meeting of students which included Murray, Ogle, Phillips, Chapman, Kelley, Callis, Tandy, and George Tompkins.

Robert Ogle had seen an article in the ''Chicago Defender'' magazine about a Negro fraternity at Ohio State University called Pi Gamma Omicron, of which the university had no knowledge. Pi Gamma Omicron inspired Ogle to try to transform the literary society into a fraternity. There was disagreement about the group's purpose: some wanted a social and literary club where everyone could participate; others wanted a traditional fraternal organization. Poindexter felt the group should serve the cultural and social needs of the black community and not be an elite secret society. The society decided to work to provide a literary, study, social, and support group for all minority students who encountered social and academic racial prejudice. On October 23, 1906, George Kelley proposed that the organization be officially known by the Greek letters Alpha Phi Alpha, and Robert Ogle proposed the colors black and old gold. Poindexter became the first President of Alpha Phi Alpha; under his leadership, the first banquet, initiation procedures, and policies were introduced.

The divisive issue of whether the terms "club" or "fraternity" should be used was still debated.. A vote again confirmed the name Alpha Phi Alpha with the colors of old gold and black. The initiation of new members Eugene Kinckle Jones, Lemuel Graves and Gordon Jones took place on October 30, 1906, at a Masonic Hall including James Morton was considered and selected, but at the time he was not registered at the university. Two founding members learned about fraternity rituals from other fraternal organizations: Henry A. Callis worked in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity House, and Kelly worked at Beta Theta Pi fraternity house. Coincidentally, an article about a Negro fraternity Pi Gamma Omicron's ambitions to become a national fraternity was noted by a Beta Theta Pi correspondent at Ohio State University. Callis said that these fraternities, SAE and BTP, were the original source of the fraternity rituals. The other members of the group felt that Poindexter, as a graduate student, dominated the meetings of Alpha Phi Alpha. In his absence in the meeting in November 1906, the fraternity idea was pushed for a vote by Murray and was seconded by Robert H Ogle. In December 1906, Thompson's resignation was accepted. Seven of the original 12 men from the initial meeting in December 1905 would continue on as members of the fraternity.

By December 4, 1906, the decision on a name was made: "fraternity". The earlier terms "club", "organization", and "society" were permanently removed. Prior to the December 4th, 1906 meeting Poindexter had submitted his letter of resignation from the Alpha Phi Alpha club / society, as he took a new job in Hampton University in Virginia. 11 members were present during the date of the founding of the fraternity on December 4, 1906. Despite Poindexter's role in the formation of Alpha Phi Alpha, it was agreed that his name would not be linked to the early formation of the fraternity by its founders. Murray was emphatic in his belief that Poindexter should not be considered to be a founder despite his role. As Charles Wesley stated in the fraternity's history book, "C.C. Poindexter deserves special mention. Without his serious and eager leadership, it is probable that the fraternal organization would have advanced more slowly. He was the moving spirit in the literary organization which served as the predecessor of the fraternity. He acted as president of the group and continued in office during the formation of the early policies and also through the first initiation in Alpha Phi Alpha society." According to his wife, Poindexter did not oppose the idea of a fraternity.

The original fraternal founding members are now stated to be Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones (who replaced James Morton), George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy. Eugene Kinkle Jones who joined the group in October 1906 was given the title of a founder in 1952, while James Morton was removed because of his lack of enrollment in the Cornell. The founders are collectively known as the Seven Jewels.

Mrs. Annie C Singleton played a pivotal part in helping the organization in its early years. She became the Mother of the fraternity as a result.

Consolidation and expansion

The fraternity's constitution was adopted on December 4, 1906, limiting membership to "Negro male" students and providing that the General Convention of the Fraternity would be created following the establishment of the fourth chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. The preamble states the purpose of Alpha Phi Alpha:

Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha are given Greek-letter names in order of installation into the fraternity. No chapter is designated Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet and traditionally used for "the end". Deceased brothers are considered by brothers to have joined Omega Chapter.

Founders Eugene Kinckle Jones and Nathaniel Allison Murray chartered the second, third, and fourth chapters, at Howard University, Virginia Union University, and University of Toronto respectively, in December 1907 and January 1908. The charter at Howard made it the site of the organization of the first black Greek letter organization for men among historically black colleges. The first black Greek letter organization among historically black colleges was Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, as it was established early in November 1907. The charter at the University of Toronto also made Alpha Phi Alpha the first international intercollegiate black Greek letter organization. The establishment of chapters at what were not considered to be grade A universities was the source of debate among the founders. The non grade A universities included Negro universities, particularly other than Howard University.

The purpose and objective of the fraternity within the articles of incorporation were declared "educational and for the mutual uplift of its members." The fraternity has established the Alpha Phi Alpha Archives at Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center to preserve the history of the organization.

The fraternity chartered its first international chapter at the University of Toronto in 1908. Chapters have been chartered in London, Frankfurt, Monrovia, the Caribbean, South Africa, and South Korea.

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. Each newly elected General President is automatically considered one of the "100 most influential Black Americans."

The fraternity established its first alumni chapter Alpha Lambda in 1911 in Louisville, Kentucky. It was again incorporated as a national organization on April 3, 1912, under the laws of Congress within the District of Columbia, under the name and title of The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

For more than 100 years, Alpha Phi Alpha and its members have had a voice and influence on politics and current affairs. ''The Crisis'', the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was started by fraternity member W. E. B. Du Bois in 1910. In 1914, ''The Sphinx'', named after the Egyptian landmark, began publication as the fraternity's journal. ''The Crisis'' and ''The Sphinx'' are respectively the first and second oldest continuously published black journals in the United States. The National Urban League's (NUL) ''Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life'' was first published in 1923 under the leadership of Alpha founder Eugene K. Jones and Charles Johnson as its executive editor.

In 1912, Charles H. Garvin was elected as the fourth annual president of Alpha Phi Alpha at the fourth annual convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was the first individual to serve two terms as president. He served two terms as president, between 1912 and 1914. While in office he helped secure a chapter house, appointed a special committee to consult with the president of Howard, and asked members to 'use every means possible to raise the moral and scholastic tone of the Fraternity". Garvin saw that it was vital that the Fraternity establish a mindful image and perception for future generations. One of the most notable contributions made by Garvin was the national incorporation of the fraternity under the laws of Congress.
As president, Garvin wrote the fraternity's Esprit De Fraternite. In it he dictated:

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 many were first lieutenants). First Lieutenant Victor Daly was decorated with the for his service in France. Today, the fort is a museum and education center which honors the U.S. Army's first officer candidate class for African-American men in 1917.

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. Alpha Phi Alpha has a long history of providing scholarships for needy students and initiating various other charitable and service projects. It evolved from a social fraternity to a primarily community service organization.

History: 1919–1949

The fraternity's national programs date back to 1919, with its "Go-To-High School, Go-to- College" campaign to promote academic achievement within the African-American community as its first initiative.

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. Du Bois, 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. By the end of the 1920s, the fraternity had chartered 85 chapters throughout the United States and initiated over 3,000 members.

During the Great Depression, Alpha Phi Alpha and its members continued to implement programs to support 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 numerous issues important to the black community. It investigated the performance of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal agencies to assess the status of the black population, both as to treatment of agencies' employees and in the quality of services rendered to American blacks.. Alpha men Rayford Logan and Eugene K. Jones were members of Roosevelt's unofficial Black Cabinet, an informal group of African-American public policy advisors to the President.

The Education Foundation was created in recognition of the 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 and was the 2006 Kluge Prize recipient for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity.

In 1933 fraternity brother Belford Lawson Jr. founded the New Negro Alliance (NNA) 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 Supreme Court of the United States in '' New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co.'' This ruling in favor of the NAACP became a landmark case in the struggle by African Americans against discriminatory hiring practices. "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" groups multiplied throughout the nation. 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.

The fraternity began to participate in voting rights issues, coining the well-known phrase "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" as part of its effort to register black voters. This term was coined by the Alpha Omicron Chapter located at Johnson C. Smith University in 1936. The Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy said "Alpha Phi Alpha...developed citizenship schools in the urban South and with its slogan "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" registered hundreds of blacks during the 1930s, decades before the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) launched their citizenship schools in the 1960s." The slogan is still used in Alpha Phi Alpha's continuing voter registration campaign. Alpha Phi Alpha member and former Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry was the first chairman of the SNCC.

Seven Alpha men represented the United States at the politically charged 1936 Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Fritz Pollard Jr., Cornelius Johnson, Archie Williams, Dave Albritton, and John Woodruff. In 1938, Alpha Phi Alpha continued to expand and became an international organization when a chapter was chartered in London, England.

Alpha Phi Alpha supported legal battles against segregation. Some of its members who were trial lawyers argued many of the nation's major court cases involving civil rights and civil liberties. The case styled ''Murray v. Pearson'' (1935) was initiated by the fraternity and successfully argued by Alpha men Thurgood Marshall and Charles Houston to 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. Alpha men 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."

In 1940, true to its form as the "first of first", Alpha Phi Alpha sought to end racial discrimination within its membership. 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." The unanimous decision to change the constitution happened in 1945 and was the first official action by a BGLO to allow the admission of all colors and races. Bernard Levin became the first non-black member in 1946, and Roger Youmans became the first non-black member to address the fraternity at the 1954 general convention.

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 types 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. The fraternity's long tradition of military service has remained strong. Alpha's military leaders Samuel Gravely and Benjamin Hacker were followed by other fraternity members who lead and serve in the armed forces.

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:

In 1947, Alpha Phi Alpha awarded Robeson the Alpha Medallion for his "outstanding role as a champion of freedom."

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 ugeneJones 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, Kelley 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 K. Jones.

In 1956, the fraternity made a "pilgrimage" to Cornell in celebration of its Golden Jubilee which 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 50th anniversary banquet, in which he spoke on the "Injustices of Segregation". There were three living Jewels present for the occasion, Kelley, Callis and Murray.

Alpha men were pioneers and at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. In Montgomery, Martin Luther King Jr. led the people in the Montgomery bus boycott as a minister, and later as head of the SCLC. Birmingham saw Arthur Shores organize for civil rights in '' Lucy v. Adams''. Thurgood Marshall managed the landmark US Supreme Court case ''Brown v. Board of Education'', in which the Court decided against segregation in public schools. Marshall employed mentor and fraternity 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. The actions by Alpha activists provoked death threats to them and their families, and exposed their homes as targets for firebombing.

In 1961, Whitney Young became the executive director of the National Urban League. In 1963 the NUL hosted the planning meetings of civil rights leaders for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Alpha Phi Alpha delegation was one of the largest to participate in the March on Washington.

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 was designated a national holiday. They created the Washington D. C. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. to collect funds of $100 million for construction.

History: 1970–2000

Beginning in the 1970s, new goals were being introduced to address the current environment. The older social programs and policies were still supported, however; under the direction of 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

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