When the Prophet Micah asked a fundamental question: “What is good and what does the Lord require of thee? The simple response was “to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). So often times we can often relate this scripture being part of this fraternity. For further understanding, I found myself referring to the “Espirit de Fraternite” toward my understanding. In that same manner of the Prophet Micah put in the ears of the hearers, I put in the ears of our Brothers the same fundamental question, “what is good and what does Alpha require of thee”? Well that can be answered in the…

“In our dear A Phi A, Fraternal Spirit Binds, All the noble the true and courageous”. This begins the first line to what we know as our “Fraternity Hymn”, our song revered by all Brothers and sung after every meeting, event, convention, and special occasions when Brothers gather. It was as early as 1909, three years after our founding, that then General President Roscoe Conkling Giles called for the composition of a fraternity hymn stating “surely, within the ranks of our organization of educated Negro college men composed of the best in the number of leading universities in the county, someone may be found to give impression to our ideals…

During this moment of Alpha history, I want to provide a reminiscent view of some of the early months from the Social Study Club leadingto the Literary Society, and ultimately the Fraternity. This information is from the reflections of Jewels Murray and Kelley and their recollection of the months leading up to the Fraternity. I believe September was an important month that set the stage for what was to come. During the year of 1905-06, fifteen students formed a “Social Study Club” called together by Mr. Charles C. Poindexter, who at that time, was a graduate student in Agriculture at Cornell University. His idea was to have or develop some social contact with the fifteen students at Cornell of…

“To all Alpha men, I propose the following pledge: “I pledge myself to become a registered voter as soon as I am eligible; to vote in all elections that are open to me; to work untiringly until Negroes have helped to break down the Fascist one-party system of the South established by the Supreme Court when it authorized the exclusion of Negroes from the Democratic Party”–Brother Rayford W. Logan, Director of Education. Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. has been in the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement as early as 1905 when Brother Dr. W.E B. Dubois organized the Niagara Movement, a forerunner of the NAACP. Brother DuBois stated “we claim for ourselves every…

Brothers with all that is going on, I want to pause and share that on October 30, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha held one of the first important acts of brotherhood with the initiation of four men. Undoubtedly, the place of our Seven Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha will be forever etched in the history of Alpha Phi Alpha, but lest we forget the act that happened on this day at Odd Fellows Hall (Red Man’s Hall) when Messrs. Eugene Kinckle Jones, Gordon Holmes Jones, Lemuel Eugene Graves became the first initiates of Alpha Phi Alpha, the only members bestowed this honor in the history of our existence (James A. Morton was later added but did not participate in the initiation ceremonies).  Prior to this action, there…

On Saturday, November 7th, as a Nation, we celebrated the election of Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris, who historically becomes America’s first female, first Black, and first South Asian Vice-President Elect in our country’s 200 plus year history. As a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. and a member of the pledge class of Alpha Chapter 1986 (38 Jewels of Iridescent Splendor, Line #15, Line Name “C Cubed”), her win is undeniably groundbreaking and historic in all accounts. But did you know she is not the first member of a Black Greek Lettered Organization (BLGO) to serve in the Vice President role.   Brother Hubert Horatio Humphrey, who served…