In 1905, the year before the formation of our fraternity, racial segregation and the notion of separate but equal doctrine were conveyed during the US Supreme Court’s decision in 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In July 1905, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois (Later initiated in the Epsilon Chapter, Univ of Michigan 1909), then a professor at Atlanta University, and William M. Trotter, founder of the activist newspaper the Boston Guardian, called forth a select group of Black men in Niagara Falls, in Ontario, Canada to denounce Booker T. Washington’s views during his 1895 Atlanta Compromisespeech. In this except, Washington declared, “Our greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom, we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life; shall prosper in proportion as we learn to draw the line between the superficial and the substantial, the ornamental gewgaws of life and the useful.” The group represented some of the intellectual elite of the African-American community. The meeting had been initially planned to take place on the American side of the falls, but the delegates were denied accommodations by racially prejudiced hotel managers. Thus, the Niagara Movement denounced Booker T. Washington’s policy of accommodation and conciliation and his refusal to speak out on behalf of Black rights. The group issued a manifesto that demanded the rights of black people to vote, not to be segregated in public transportation or discriminated against elsewhere, and to enjoy all those liberties white citizens enjoyed. The manifesto read in part: “We claim for ourselves every single right that belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil and social; and until we get these rights, we will never cease to protest and assail the ears of America. The battle we wage is not for ourselves alone but for all true Americans. It is a fight for ideals, lest this, our common fatherland, false to its founding, become in truth the land of the thief and the home of the slave — a byword and a hissing among the nations for its sounding pretensions and pitiful accomplishment.” (see the attached photo of the Niagara Movement Founders)
By this time, the Niagara Movement had expanded to 170 members in 34 states by 1906. The declaration from the Niagara Movement was influential in the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. on Tuesday, December 4th, 1906.
Fast forward to 1940 at the 28th General Convention in Kansas City, MO-from the minutes presented by the Committee on Recommendations, Section 17-“that the word Negro be deleted from the membership clause of the constitution, the clause is not necessary since the ends desired by its use can be attained through the ritual’. At this time, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was officially integrated. (see the attached photo of the General Convention)
One year later- Friday, June 21, 1946, with four others, Bernard Levin (dental student) was initiated into the Theta Chapter at the Univ. of Illinois. Brother Dr. Bernard Levin commented on his Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. membership: “I hope my becoming a member represents a real start toward making the fraternity interracial. All Negro fraternities should become interracial and admit Whites. White fraternities should similarly admit Negroes”. (see the attached photo of Brother Levin with his line Brothers from L to R: Brothers William Rhetta, Spencer Hardy, Levin, James Gaither, and Hershal Wallace)
40th General Convention in Miami, Florida- During the 5th Business Session, with General President A. Maceo Smith, presiding Brother Roger Youmans (a medical student at the University of Kansas), gave an inspirational undergraduate address on the topic “Our Problem.” It was the first time in Alpha history that one of its Caucasian members had ever appeared at a General Convention as a scheduled speaker. Brother Youmans was initiated in the Upsilon Chapter in 1953 and received the Alpha Award of Merit at the 103rd General Convention in 2009. Here is an excerpt from his speech- “Brothers in Alpha, I consider it a real honor and a pleasure to stand before you today. I think any man would consider it an honor to address you, and I consider it a pleasure because what I have to say to you lies close to the heart”. (see the attached photo of Brother Youmans at the 40th General Convention)
59th General Convention in Chicago, IL-August 8th, 1965, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey became Honorary Life Member #2. Our 22nd General President, Brother Dr. Lionel Hodge Newsome, and Brother L. Howard Bennett led the occasion. Brother Bennett, a longtime associate of Brother Humphrey, pinned him during the ceremony. Also, during the ceremony, he was presented the Fraternity’s President Award with Jewel Callis as part of the presentation. (see the attached photo)
This is your Moment in Alpha History
Brother Sean C. Hall, Historian
“The founding of Alpha Phi Alpha is like a dream to those who started it, brought about by the beginning of a different line of thought youngsters in the early part of the 20th century. It represents an awaking by young Negro college men to unite. Up to September 1905, Cornell had several Negroes as entrees but few as graduates. We were like the saying that many sing, but few can”-Jewel Kelley, 39th General Convention, 1954.
Sources: The Sphinx Magazines, The Souls of Black Folks, W.E.B. Du Bois : Writings: The Suppression of the African Slave Trade / The Souls of Black Folk / Dusk of Dawn / Essays and Articles (Library of America), and Booker T Washington’s speech
