 The most remarkable leadership in the African American
community in the 20th century has without question come from the ranks
of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Since its founding on December 4, 1906,
the Fraternity has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African
Americans and people of color around the world. Alpha Phi Alpha, the first
intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established
for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized
the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood between African Americans. The
visionary founders, known as the "Jewels"
of the Fraternity, are: Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene
Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold
Ogle and Vertner Woodson Tandy. The Fraternity initially served
as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice-
educationally and socially-at Cornell. During those beginning days, the
Jewel founders and early leaders of the Fraternity worked to lay a solid
foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship,
good character and the uplifting of humanity.
The certificate of incorporation
for the organization was filed and recorded in the office of the Secretary
of the State of New York as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. on January
29, 1908. The Fraternity was again incorporated on April 3, 1914, under
the laws of the District of Columbia. The purpose and object of the Fraternity
was declared to be "educational and for the mutual uplift of its members." The constitution, adopted
on December 14, 1907, provided that following the establishment of the
fourth chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the general organization of the Fraternity
would be set up. Soon after the founding at
Cornell, Alpha Phi Alpha chapters were developed at other colleges and
universities- many of them traditionally black schools.
On December 28, 1908, the
Fraternity's first general convention assembled at Howard
University in Washington, D.C. The convention expressed the hope that
"the influence of Alpha Phi Alpha would reach every (African American)
college and university in the land, to bring together under one band and
with one bond of fraternal love, all the worthy leading college men wherever
found, to form, as it were, a link to join them together."
The first general convention
and subsequent conventions have continuously exhorted chapters and members
to remember that "manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind" are
the aims of the Fraternity. While continuing to stress
academic excellence and pursuit among its members, the Fraternity also
recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political
and social injustices faced by African Americans. The Fraternity's national
programs date back to 1919, when Alpha Phi Alpha introduced its "Go-to-High
School,
Go-to-College" campaign to increase the education level of the African
American community. Alpha Phi Alpha later took the lead in the voting rights
struggle for African Americans and coined the nationally famous phrase:
"A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" as part of its effort to register
black voters. The slogan remains the battle cry today for Alpha voter registration
efforts.
Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood
at the forefront of the African American community's fight for civil rights
and human dignity. From the Fraternity's ranks have come outstanding civil
rights leaders such as: W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward
Brooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William
Gray, Paul Robeson, Julius Chambers, Maynard Jackson and many others. The Fraternity's leadership
development and community service training for young men has made Alpha
Phi Alpha the most prestigious organization of its kind today.
Today, Alpha Phi Alpha continues
its commitment to the African American community through the Fraternity's
Education and Building foundations which provide scholarships to outstanding
students and shelter to underprivileged families. The Fraternity also has
dedicated itself to training a new generation of leaders with national
mentoring programs and partnerships designed to ensure the success of our
children and youth.
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