THE SPHINX | Spring 2014 | Volume 100 | Number 1 | 201410001

SPHINX Winter 2013/Spring 2014 | LEADERSHIP

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

SPECIAL

CENTENNIA L ISSUE

MARCH ON WASHINGTON MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPRING 2014

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The New Civil Rights | The Sphinx and The Struggle | The Fight for Black Men | Redeeming the Dream

M: EA l DR e oria HE d th em G Tha an g, Jr. M N I lp in

ILD hi A er K BU ha P Luth lp A

rtin

Ma

Own a piece Of HistOry. BUILDING T H E

A Brotherhood cAme together And stArted one of the greAtest movements the world hAs ever seen. Buy it todAy And tell the story. alpHa sHOp online | AlphAnet.ApA1906.net phone | 800.373.3089 toll-free emAil | memBersupport@ApA1906.net

DREAM A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BUILDING THE

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

MEMORIAL

WASHINGTON, D.C.

4 SPHINX

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

1

CONTENTS

in this issue

features

8

16

The New Civil Rights Defending the Dream

The New Sphinx

20

Service | Advocacy

Remembering the March

10

54

26

Speeches from the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

32

The Fight for Black Men

38

Redeeming the Dream Summit Drum Majors for Justice

40 SPECIAL SECTION: THE SPHINX AT 100

48

C.T. Vivian Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

16

Leadership | Politics | Social Justice Alpha Remembers Mandela

62

Arts | Sports | Entertainment It’s Alive, It’s Alive: I, Frankenstein

20

68

Lifestyle | Education | Wellness New Weapon in Fight Against AIDS

80

Business and Finance Tips for Your Resume

84

Chapter News

94

38

Omega

48 2

63 THE SPHINX

MASTHEAD

SPHINX

®

Official Publication of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Winter 2013-Spring 2014 | Volume 100, No. 1 www.apa1906.net EDITOR IN CHIEF Rick Blalock CREATIVE DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bryan J.A. Kelly MANAGING EDITOR Joshua S.D. Harris ASSOCIATE EDITORS Paul E. Brown, Robert L. Harris, Donald L. Ross COPY EDITOR Amy Kopperude, K. Thomas Oglesby

SENIOR WRITERS Sean M. Allen, Richard Butler, Terry Collins, Joshua Dubois, John M. Lee, Jamaal Myles

SPHINX Winter 2013/Spring 2014 | LEADERSHIP

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

SPECIAL

CENTENNIA L ISSUE

CONTRIBUTORS Phillip Agnew, Cory Anderson, DeShaun Artis, Thua Barlay, Fred A. Bonner II, Ismael Brown, Malik Bullard, Tony Lamair Burks, Richard Butler, Christopher Chance, Bryan Cotton, Alex Dejarnett, Delores Diggs, Chaka Fattah, Keon Hardemon, Christopher Hunte, Joseph Robinson, Jr., Kenneth Furlough, Jaquon C. Heath, Roy L. Irons, Rawn James Jr., William Douglass Lyle, Colin Marts, Gerard Merritt, Terrence Moore, Marc H. Morial, David Myers, French Pope, Marc A. Porch, Kevin Powell, Kenneth Robinson, Leo H. Ross, Cassius Rudolph, Victor K. Smith, Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., Calvin Stafford, Thomas Tatum, Billy Taylor, Stanley J. Taylor, Jr., Brandon Roderick Tucker, Marshall Washington, Eric Christopher Webb PHOTOGRAPHERS Bryan J.A. Kelly

MARCH ON WASHINGTON MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CENTENNIAL ISSUE

2014-2015 SUBMISSION DEADLINES (11:59 P.M. Eastern Time) Summer 2014: June 15, 2014 | Fall 2014: August 15, 2014 Winter 2015: October 15, 2014 | Spring 2015: January 15, 2014

1

The New Civil RIghts | The Sphinx and The Struggle | The Fight for Black Men | Redeeming the Dream

ON T HE COVER Brothers re-enact the 1963 March on Washington by holding signs and singing freedom songs as they walk to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. PHOTO BY BRYAN J. A. KELLY

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

EDITORIAL OFFICES Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 2313 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 212I8-5211 (410) 554-0040 www.apa1906.net ADVERTISING AND SALES ads@apa1906.net

© 2014 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

3

FOUNDING EDITOR’S NOTE

The history of Alpha is a constant repudiation of the false allegations of Anglo-Saxon intellectual superiority over people of African descent. That history is a beacon of light.

Raymond W. Cannon Mu Chapter Organizing Editor and 12th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Note: This letter was developed from a 1984 interview with Brother Raymond W. Cannon.

In this centennial year of The Sphinx we have made many changes to focus and reflect on the mission of our dear fraternity and how Alpha is impacting and relating to the world around us.

I hope you enjoy.

When they read that history, they see the achievements of black men. It will be an incentive for young black men to prepare themselves. It will give them hope and it will give them courage, and that is what Alpha Phi Alpha is all about. It was a long effort to get the history of Alpha Phi Alpha. lpha has rededicated itself to activism. Alpha Phi Alpha has lifted ourselves A by our own bootstraps, we’ve achieved, and we have accomplished, we’ve succeeded. The more we help other Greek-letter societies, the more we help ourselves. Just as the old African proverb says, “it takes a village,” Alpha also recognizes that we cannot build our communities alone. We must initiate collaborative efforts with not only other black Greek letter organizations but with like-minded organizations to greatly impact our communities.

I never thought that I would be this involved in Alpha Phi Alpha, and it has been a very interesting tour of duty. I call it duty because this organization is among our first activist organizations of the black community. I encourage you to go to a general convention whenever you can and live up to the mission of Alpha Phi Alpha.

It’s not the individual or the army as a whole, but the everlasting teamwork of every booming soul; so a good thing to remember but a better thing to do, is you work with a construction game, not the wrecking crew.

When The Sphinx was first published in 1914, a dearth of publications focused on issues and concerns of black America.

4 4 SPHINX THE SPHINX

FROM THE GENERAL PRESIDENT

Greetings, Brothers, Every member of Alpha is asked to embrace challenges, combat oppressive acts, be progressive in meeting the challenges of the 21st century and continue the fight on the proverbial ice! We are conditioned to seek ice rinks! The ice rink we seek is in single-family homes, where brothers are lining up to eradicate a list of young boys who need positive black male role models.

The ice rink we seek is in Florida with our brother, Phillip Agnew, the executive director of the Dream Defenders, galvanizing our brothers and staging sit-ins to protest the inequality of the “stand your ground� law and other laws that disproportionately affect young men and women of color.

The ice rink we seek is in our schools in many of our cities, where legions of Alpha men are tutoring, touring college campuses with students and financially contributing to their education and development for future endeavors and careers.

Mark S. Tillman General President

The ice rink we seek is in our voting booths where we encourage our communities to not feel hopeless and to understand the importance of each and every vote.

Educating and informing them on the issues, getting them to the polls and making no excuses. The ice rink we seek is right there in your city, and up the expressway in neighboring cities, in Washington, D.C. where our brothers on Capitol Hill are developing policies for our cities and our country.

But we are asked not to rest on our laurels, take backward steps or regress to the point where we are no longer useful. We are asked not to just talk about it, but to be about it.

2014 is the start of another year for Alpha to assert itself on the political stage. Now is the time for us to reinvest in providing advocacy for our communities. We must continue to fight on ice for all of those issues that impact our communities and those who we serve.

The war for civil rights is not over and done. Each and every day a new battle for equality and justice is being waged; there is a battle against ignorance, a battle against apathy and a battle against greed. As Alpha men it is our duty to be on the front lines in these battles. This year we will employ The Sphinx in this effort.

The timing is perfect with its new look and feel, as we celebrate the magazine’s 100th anniversary.

It is our duty to support our brothers who have decided to take on the responsibility and hold offices of public service. Support them financially, support them with your time and talents, support them so that Alpha can continue to fight for and support the communities we serve. If you take a good look around I guarantee you will find a brother who is standing in the middle of an ice rink near you, fighting on the ice and needing the support of his brothers. I implore you to seek out the ice rink and rush to the frontlines.

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

5

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Celebrating 100 Years of Journalistic Excellence In 1914, a lot was happening around the world. In my home town of Highland Park, Mich., Henry Ford introduced the assembly line for the Model T automobile.

In Washington, the Lincoln Memorial construction began. In Brussels, the first successful blood transfusion was completed. Congress established Mother’s Day in the United States. The first African-American heavyweight boxer, Jack Johnson, beat Frank Moran in 20 rounds to maintain his boxing title. The U.S. Army started flying planes as World War I began. And, The Sphinx was born, thanks to a Midwestern brother named Raymond Cannon.

Rick Blalock Editor-in-Chief

Much has happened since Alpha Phi Alpha became the second continuously published African-American magazine in the world. The Sphinx has been a publication of record, of all the major events—especially the events and issues that have impacted people of color, both here in the United States and around the world. This issue marks the beginning of our 100th anniversary coverage.

Beginning with this issue, with the leadership of our communications team in the General Office of Bryan J.A. Kelly and Joshua Harris, we usher in some modifications to ensure that The Sphinx remains on the cutting edge. This includes our storytelling, design, and The Sphinx will expand its digital imprint.

For me, this milestone is also personal. In 1987, I met Brother Cannon when I was a months-old member in the fraternity at Pi Upsilon Chapter at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. A year later, Cannon, at the time the eldest past general president, administered the oath of office to me as Midwestern assistant vice president to sit on the fraternity’s board of directors. We would have several conversations about journalism, The Sphinx, its role and mission to serve not only the brothers, but to be a journalistic beacon to the world, providing information to, for, by and about the African-American community. Little did I know at that time, that in its 100th year, I would be the editor-in-chief of the magazine he created. I remain honored and still get emotional about it whenever the topic comes up.

When Cannon started it, The Sphinx was just a six-page typeset and folded publication. I marvel at how it has evolved—and what 22 men before me and our current editorial team have managed to do with “his” magazine. It is a team effort to make The Sphinx what it is when it lands in mailboxes on nearly every continent. Specifically, I want to thank our outgoing design team, from over the past five years: Michelle Glennon and Toni O’Neal Mosley. They helped breathe a fresh look into our magazine when I became editor in 2009. Thanks to Brother Wendell Eckford, our outgoing chairman of the fraternity Publications Committee, and we welcome new chairman Brother Paul Brown. Our thanks also go to all the associate editors in chapters that provide updates, news and stories. We look forward to even more in the next 100 years!

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THE SPHINX

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF INDEX

Raymond W. Cannon Editor-in-Chief 1914

Lucius L. McGee Editor-in-Chief 1915

William A. Pollard Editor-in-Chief 1916

V.D. Johnston Editor-in-Chief 1917

V.E. Daniel Editor-in-Chief 1917

Carl J. Murphy Editor-in-Chief 1918-1922

Oscar C. Brown Editor-in-Chief 1923-1929

P. Bernard Young, Jr. Editor-in-Chief 1930-1933

Arnett G. Lindsay Editor-in-Chief 1934-1935, 1948

Lewis O. Swingler Editor-in-Chief 1936-1943 1946-1947 1949-1950

Meredith G. Ferguson Editor-in-Chief 1943-1944

Reid E. Jackson Editor-in-Chief 1945

W. Barton Beatty, Jr. Editor-in-Chief 1951-1961

C. Anderson Davis Editor-in-Chief 1962-1965

George M. Daniels Editor-in-Chief 1966-1968

J. Herbert King Editor-in-Chief 1969-1972 1973-1974

Laurence T. Young, Sr. Editor-in-Chief 1973

Michael J. Price Editor-in-Chief 1974-1990

James B. Blanton, III Interim Editor-in-Chief 1990

Charles F. Robinson, III Editor-in-Chief 1991-1993

John J. Johnson, III Editor-in-Chief 1993-1996

Seaton J. White, III Editor-in-Chief 1997-2000 2006-2008

John I. Harris, III Editor-in-Chief 2000-2001

William Douglass Lyle Editor-in-Chief 2001-2006

Rick Blalock Editor-in-Chief 2009-Present

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

7

INTRODUCTION

BY BRYAN J.A. KELLY

Brothers, welcome to the NEW SPHINX ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

W

ith the insight of the general president and the leadership of the executive director, we gave your magazine a major overhaul for the 100th anniversary of its printing.

My grandmother raised three little girls by getting down on her hands and knees and cleaning people’s homes, coming home dead tired every day and still finding the strength to cook, clean and a way to encourage her daughters to go to college. Not just a hard worker, my grandmother has been known to tell the harsh truth, whether you solicited it or not. She had always been that kind of woman to me: tough and truthful. So one day, when she gave my brother and cousin candy to eat and not me, I didn’t say a word. This would go on for a few days. They would get candy, and I wouldn’t. I didn’t cry; I just sat back and accepted that I didn’t get candy those days. I would be left to wonder, however, “Why can’t I have some candy?”

I saw my grandmother giving away candy again one day, but this time I walked right up to her and said, “Why don’t you give me candy?” She looked down at me and said, “Well, because you didn’t ask.” What she said next, although simple enough, would be something that I always recall to this day: “If you don’t ask questions, you won’t learn anything new. If you don’t learn anything new, nothing will change.”

creative uses of white space in the redesigned layouts.

You requested more information about the amazing things brothers are undertaking, and we have provided that in great supply.

One of the most exciting changes is the integration of the “Brothers on the Move” department. Brothers now can seek information based on careers or field of study in our new seamless reposition of this Alpha favorite. For example, if a brother submitted a story about his new promotion at a bank, we will post this accomplishment in the Business | Finance department of the magazine. Brothers, whether you are interested in finding more information about individual brothers or specific careers, it will now be easier locating what is important to YOU. When The Sphinx magazine was first published in 1914, a dearth of publications focused on issues and concerns of black America. Since then, African Americans have added several magazines and numerous websites that speak to various aspects of black life, both in America and beyond. So if our magazine is no longer the magazine for the accomplishments of the African-American experience, what should our magazine be about?

Brothers, welcome to the new Sphinx.

We want to produce a magazine that encourages brothers to execute the mission of Alpha, but also discusses issues that affect African-American men every day. How many magazines tackle our issues?

How many focus on the issues of the black male? We can produce that publication, with the help of every Alpha brother.

The paper is different: it is more refined, textured and matted to make smudges more difficult to see and the cover easier to read. We have utilized a toned effect for the cover to distinguish it from other publications.

The images are bold, as clear reminders of who we are and what we do. We have redefined the magazine’s departments to track our mission. Inside, you will find

Brothers, we want your feedback. As you know, submitting stories can be as easy as sending them through your regional associate editors of The Sphinx. We also encourage you to send your comments and, of course, your questions to feedback@apa1906.net. Just like my grandmother impressed upon me, we can only get better if we ask more questions. S

After careful reflection and review, we have created a new magazine for the Alpha man.

8 8 SPHINX THE SPHINX

INTRODUCTION

7

SPHINX

NEW ASPECTS OF THE SPHINX

Winter 2013/Spring 2014 | LEADERSHIP

2. NAMEPLATE Modern and sophisticated.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

SPECIAL

CENTENNIA L ISSUE

3. PAPER SIZE We changed the paper size so that it’s easier to handle and stow away for travel.

1. COVER PHOTO Both unique and bold, the cover of the magazine seems to marry the modern with the traditional look of an old school photograph.

4. PAPER TYPE/COST We have increased the quality of the paper, while drastically reducing the cost of the magazine.

5. TABLE OF CONTENTS Headers have been thought out and placed throughout the magazine to help you easily navigate its contents.

MARCH ON WASHINGTON MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY 1

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

The New Civil RIghts | The Sphinx and The Struggle | The Fight for Black Men | Redeeming the Dream

6. DEPARTMENT HEADERS Headers have been thought out and placed throughout the magazine to help you easily navigate its contents.

MASTHEAD

CONTENTS

SPHINX

in this issue

features

®

8

16

The New Civil Rights Defending the Dream

BY JOSHUA HARRIS

Official Publication of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Winter 2013-Spring 2014 | Volume 100, No. 1 www.apa1906.net

The New Sphinx

10

EDITOR IN CHIEF Rick Blalock

Service | Advocacy

20

26

Remembering the March

BY JOSHUA HARRIS

32

The Fight for Black Men

BY JOSHUA DUBOIS

38

Redeeming the Dream Summit Drum Majors for Justice

40 SPECIAL SECTION: THE SPHINX 100

CREATIVE DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bryan J.A. Kelly

Speeches from the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

MANAGING EDITOR Joshua S.D. Harris

56

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Paul Brown, Robert L. Harris, Donald L. Ross

Leadership | Politics | Social Justice Alpha Remembers Mandela

20

COPY EDITOR Amy Kopperude

Arts | Sports | Entertainment It’s Alive, It’s Alive: I, Frankenstein

CONTRIBUTORS Phillip Agnew, Cory Anderson, DeShaun Artis, Thua Barlay, Fred A. Bonner II, Ismael Brown, Tony Lamair Burks, Christopher Chance, Bryan Cotton, Alex Dejarnett, Delores Diggs, Chaka Fattah, Keon Hardemon, Joseph Robinson, Jr., Kenneth Furlough, Jaquon C. Heath, Roy L. Irons, Rawn James Jr., William Douglass Lyle, Colin Marts, Gerard Merritt, Terrence Moore, Marc H. Morial, David Myers, K. Thomas Oglesby, French Pope, Marc A. Porch, Kevin Powell, Kenneth Robinson, Leo H. Ross, Cassius Rudolph, Victor K. Smith, Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., Calvin Stafford, Thomas Tatum, Billy Taylor, Stanley J. Taylor, Jr., Brandon Roderick Tucker, Marshall Washington, Eric Christopher Webb

70

Lifestyle, Education, and Wellness New Weapon in Fight Against AIDS

16

ARTS | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

SENIOR WRITERS Sean M. Allen, Richard Butler, Terry Collins, Joshua Dubois, John M. Lee, Jamaal Myles

64

82

45

Business and Finance Tips for Your Resume

PHOTOGRAPHERS Bryan J.A. Kelly

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2014-2015 SUBMISSION DEADLINES (11:59 P.M. Eastern Time) Summer 2014: June 15, 2014 | Fall 2014: August 15, 2014 Winter 2015: October 15, 2014 | Spring 2015: January 15, 2014

Chapter News

97

O N T HE COVER

Omega

Brothers re-enact the 1963 March on Washington by holding signs and singing freedom songs as they walk to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

63

50

THE SPHINX

ADVERTISING AND SALES ads@apa1906.net

PHOTO BY BRYAN J. A. KELLY

2

EDITORIAL OFFICES Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 2313 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 212I8-5211 (410) 554-0040 www.apa1906.net

© 2014 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

3

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

OMEGA CHAPTER

OMEGA CHAPTER

Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy

Below is a listing of members who have entered Omega Chapter. For each member: we list his name; the category of membership (college, alumni or life; with life member number if available); chapter of initiation; date of initiation; last chapter active with; and date of death. All of the information is based on what is submitted by chapters and family members and reconciled with the fraternity’s records.

[Gamma Eta, ‘58]

B

rother Walt Bellamy, a 1958 initiate of Gamma Eta Chapter, and Hall of Fame center who averaged 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in 14 seasons in the NBA, died Saturday November 9, 2013. He was 74 years old.

Brother Bellamy was a former Indiana University star, won an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and was the first overall pick by the Chicago Packers in 1961. He was the rookie of the year with Chicago, averaging 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds, and also played for the Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta and New Orleans Jazz. He played in four All-Star games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Honorable William H. Gray

William Wayman Ward

[Rho, ‘62]

[Xi ‘48]

Brothers, it is with great sympathy that we inform you of the passing of a political giant within Alpha. The Honorable Brother William H. Gray, a 1962 Rho Chapter initiate passed away suddenly on Monday July 1, 2013.

Brother William Wayman Ward entered the Omega Chapter on June 28, 2013. He could be considered a scion of “Alpha royalty” as his late father, Brother A. Wayman Ward, was the author of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity prayer and a national chaplain of the fraternity. Wayman, a lifelong servant, gave 65 years to Alpha, with a majority of those years as a cornerstone of Xi Lambda Chapter.

Born in Baton Rouge, La., Gray graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and Drew Theological Seminary in Jersey City, N.J., before being elected as a Democrat to Congress in 1978. He served as chairman of the powerful budget committee and became the first African-American in the 20th century to become majority whip of the U.S. House. During his tenure, he authored legislation implementing economic sanctions against South Africa.

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CENTENNIAL ISSUE

THESPHINX SPHINX

Zenoch G. Adams LM 6140 Tau Lambda: 6/4/62 Omega: 4/26/13

Harry L. Cross LM 2151 Delta Sigma Lambda: 3/1/50 Omega: 7/17/13

Anthony Carl Arnett Phi Lambda: 11/17/12 Omega: 5/22/13

Anthony Culpepper Jr. Gamma Xi: 11/8/03 N/A Omega: 6/26/13

Clifford Bridges Jr. Delta Delta Lambda: 12/1/67 Omega: 11/21/13 Webster B. Brooks LM 7417 Gamma Lambda: 11/4/83 General Organization Omega: 12/18/13

Tommie Cutts Jr. Delta Gamma: 4/1/69 Delta Theta Lambda Omega: 11/14/13 Eugene C. Davis Epsilon Nu Lambda: 1/19/90 Omega: 4/1/13

Joseph Brown Rho Beta: 11/4/49 Rho Beta Lambda Omega: 7/2/13

Ernest Davis Beta: 5/17/52 Zeta Delta Lambda Omega: 6/2/13

Jermaine E Byrd Gamma Lambda: 11/8/08 Omega: 5/30/13

Gwenard F. Davis Delta Beta: 12/17/61 Xi Psi Lambda Omega: 11/29/13

Lance Chaney Gamma Delta: 3/17/78 Omicron Upsilon Lambda Omega: 7/21/13 John L. Cohen LM 7826 Alpha Xi Lambda: 3/31/62 Omega: 5/1/13

Melvin L. Etienne Kappa Iota Lambda: 3/23/02 Omega: 12/17/13 William H. Franklin LM 1438 Beta Kappa: 12/5/41 Alpha Tau Lambda Omega: 6/16/13

Ralph C. T. Franklin LM 4464 Zeta Pi: 2/28/71 Nu Mu Lambda Omega: 10/13/13 Derek A. Fulson Epsilon Chi: 4/8/00 Alpha Lambda Omega: 11/30/13 Willie S. Garrett Xi Lambda: 10/2/76 Omega: 7/31/13 William H. Gray LM 3794 Rho: 2/1/62 Omega: 7/1/13 Richard L. Green LM 10312 Beta: 12/8/53 Tau Lambda Omega: 6/25/13 Eugene Grigsby Jr. Alpha Rho: 12/5/35 Delta Tau Lambda Omega: 6/9/13 Titus C. Hall Delta Rho Lambda: 5/25/56 Iota Beta Lambda Omega: 7/28/13

John L. Harvey Delta Psi: 11/30/63 Xi Psi Lambda Omega: 4/1/13

University of Michigan’s Billy Taylor

AN ALPHA MAN FROM GOTHAM

Brother Billy Taylor [Epsilon, ‘69] was a three-time all-American tailback for the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he became an all- American and broke the school record for career rushing yardage and finished second in scoring. Taylor attended the University of Michigan (U-M), where he became one of the most accomplished football players in school history. He was an All-Big Ten selection three times and a first team All-Big Ten selection two times (1969 and 1970).

Taylor broke the Michigan career rushing record with 3,072 yards in three seasons.

His 587 carries was also a school record at the time he graduated. He finished his U-M career second in scoring with 32 career touchdowns and 194 points. He also set the school record in average rushing yards per game at 102 yards. He rushed for 1,297 yards in his senior season (1971) and was selected as the team MVP. In the last two minutes of the 1971 Michigan-Ohio State game, Michigan was trailing, 7-3, when Taylor ran around the end and into the end zone and Michigan won to cap an undefeated regular season.

How did a scrawny black kid—the son of a barber and a domestic who grew up in Harlem and Trenton—become the 106th mayor of New York City? It’s a remarkable journey. Brother David Norman Dinkins [Beta, ‘47] was born in 1927, joined the U.S. Marine Corps in the waning days of World War II, went to Howard University on the G.I. Bill, graduated cum laude with a degree in mathematics in 1950 and married Joyce Burrows, whose father, Daniel Burrows, had been a state assemblyman well-versed in the workings of New York’s political machine.

It was his father-in-law who suggested the young mathematician might make an even better politician once he also got his law degree.

A documentary on Taylor’s life was released.

Titled ‘Perseverance,’ the fi explores his life as one of Michigan’s greatest running backs.

The fi highlights Taylor’s college glories, but goes deeper to explore the setbacks that destroyed his reputation and sent him on a 25-year roller coaster ride to recover it.

“We’re all going to stumble in life. It’s who gets back up and keeps moving forward,” said Taylor. He has also written a book about his life, titled “Get Back Up.” 66

NBA MVP AND AN ALPHA MAN Brother Nate “Tiny” Archibald [Theta Delta Lambda, ‘87] spent 14 years playing in the NBA, and is a world champion and six-time NBA all-star. He is known most notably for his stints with the Kansas City Kings and Boston Celtics.

Growing up in South Bronx, New York City, Archibald was a playground legend. After being cut from his high school team as a sophomore, he returned as a junior and by his senior year was a star being named team captain and all-city team in 1966.

Archibald went on to play for the University of Texas at El Paso, under the legendary coach Don Haskins. In 1970, Archibald was selected 19th pick of the second round to the Cincinnati Royals. Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assists, becoming the first and only player, to this day, to hold the record simultaneously in both categories. He averaged 34 points a game, which at the time was unheard of for a guard. His 910 assists gave him 11 assists per game, an NBA record at the time. Archibald won his first and only NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1980–81 season alongside young NBA star Larry Bird. Archibald was also named most valuable player of the 1981 NBA all-star game. He was named to the NBA’s 50th anniversary all-time team, and in 1991 was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

THE SPHINX

The political career of David Dinkins is set against the backdrop of the rising influence of a broader demographic in New York politics, including far greater segments of the city’s “gorgeous mosaic.” After a brief stint as a New York assemblyman, Dinkins was nominated as a deputy mayor by Abe Beame in 1973, but ultimately declined because he had not filed his income tax returns on time. Down but not out, he pursued his dedication to public service, first by serving as city clerk. In 1986, Dinkins was elected Manhattan borough president, and in 1989, he defeated Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani to become mayor of New York City, the largest American city to elect an African-American mayor.

As the newly-elected mayor of a city in which crime had risen precipitously in the years prior to his taking office, Dinkins vowed to attack the problems and not the victims. Despite facing a budget deficit, he hired thousands of police officers, more than any other mayoral administration in the twentieth century, and launched the “Safe Streets, Safe City” program, which fundamentally changed how police fought crime. For the first time in decades, crime rates began to fall—a trend that continues to this day. Among his other major successes, Mayor Dinkins brokered a deal that kept the US Open Tennis Championships in New York—bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to the city annually—and launched the revitalization of Times Square after decades of decay, all the while deflecting criticism and some outright racism with a seemingly unflappable demeanor. Criticized by some for his handling of the Crown Heights riots in 1991, Dinkins describes in these pages a very different version of events.

Charles R. Holiday LM 5366 Eta Theta Lambda: 3/1/82 Iota Beta Lambda Omega: 9/16/13 Charles H. Jones Sr. Beta Kappa: 11/1/39 Epsilon Xi Lambda Omega: 4/7/13 Hinton C. Jones Jr. Tau Lambda: 3/12/81 Omega: 8/29/13 Ernest J.l. Lawson LM 2814 Theta Lambda: 5/27/61 Kappa Iota Lambda Omega: 6/23/13

TO ALL OUR BROTHERS IN OMEGA CHAPTER... MAY YOU REST IN PEACE 97 97

RAWN JAMES, JR. ZETA, ’95 Attorney and author Rawn James, Jr. appeared on ‘The Tavis Smiley Show’ in June to discuss his latest book, The Double V, which tells the history of how the struggle for equality in the military helped give rise to the fight for equality in civilian society. Brother James has also appeared on MSNBC’s ‘Politics Nation with Al Sharpton’ and NPR’s ‘Fresh Air with Terry Gross.’ His first book, Root and Branch, was a critically-acclaimed dual biography of Brothers Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall.

A Mayor’s Life is a revealing look at a devoted public servant and a New Yorker in love with his city, who led that city during tumultuous times.

6

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Otis J. Henderson LM 372 Alpha Rho: 4/11/46 Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 10/22/13 Cornelius R. Hill Theta Iota Lambda: 2/19/78 Omega: 10/26/13

ARTS | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMEN

STORY OF PERSEVERANCE

Freddie C. Henderson Alpha Sigma: 12/13/63 Omega: 9/26/13

TO ALL OUR BROTHERS IN OMEGA CHAPTER, MAY YOU REST IN PEACE

WINTER 2013–2014 CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BOOK SHELF

7. OMEGA CHAPTER The section for the “Chapter of Sweet Rest” has gotten a makeover, to stand out from the other sections in the book. We want brothers to know that we respect the hard work of all those upon whose shoulders we stand on today.

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

Alpha Men Raise Nearly $300,000 for March of Dimes EFFORT HELPS U.S. PRETERM BIRTH RATE DROP TO 15-YEAR LOW

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n 2013, members of Alpha Phi Alpha provided new hope to countless unborn babies by raising more than $290,000 for the annual fundraising campaign of the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Alpha is one of the March of Dimes’ oldest community partners. The organization was founded in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat polio, and resulted in the development of the polio vaccine in 1954 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Fraternity chapters around the world work in their individual communities and on college campuses to raise money each year.

“This is a critical investment that we have made over the years and will continue,” said Mark Tillman, general president of the fraternity. “Healthy babies lead to healthy children who are then better able to become productive citizens.”

Results show that progress has been made, but there is much more work to do—especially in communities of color.

In a March of Dimes report released in November, the U.S. preterm birth rate dropped for the sixth consecutive year, in 2012, to 11.5 percent, a 15-year low.

The March of Dimes estimated that since 2006, about 176,000 fewer babies have been born too soon because of improvement in the preterm birth rate—potentially saving about $9 billion in health and societal costs.

“Although we have made great progress in reducing our nation’s preterm birth rate from historic highs, the

Celebrating Alpha’s fundraising efforts are Gary Dixon, member, March of Dimes Board of Trustees, Brothers Maurice Hawkins, Virginia Chapter March for Babies chair, Wilbert Brown, the fraternity’s national liaison to the March of Dimes, General President Mark S. Tillman, Executive Director W. Douglass Lyle, and LaVerne Council, chairwoman, March of Dimes Board of Trustees.

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

U.S. still has the highest rate of preterm birth of any industrialized country. We must continue to invest in preterm birth prevention because every baby deserves a healthy start in life,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes president.

A premature birth costs businesses about 12 times as much as an uncomplicated, healthy birth. As a result, premature birth is a major driver of healthinsurance costs.

The national preterm birth rate peaked in 2006 at 12.8 percent after rising steadily for more than two decades, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The 2012 rate is a 10-percent improvement since the 2006 peak and the best rate since 1998.

When compared to 2006, almost all states had lower preterm birth rates in 2012.

The 2012 preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic black infants remains the highest of all the racial groups at 16.8 percent­—down from 18.5 percent in 2006, and the lowest in more than 20 years. The gap between blacks and whites has been slowly narrowing, but the preterm birth rate among non-Hispanic blacks is still more than 1.5 times the rate of nonHispanic whites.

Preterm birth, before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is a serious health crisis that costs the U.S. more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of serious and sometimes lifelong health problems, such as breathing problems, jaundice, developmental delays, vision loss and cerebral palsy.

Babies born just a few weeks too soon have higher rates of death and disability than full-term babies.

Even infants born at 37–38 weeks of pregnancy have an increased risk for health problems compared to infants born at 39 weeks.

“Many of the children in our communities we serve already start out behind the curve. Our aim by helping the March of Dimes is to ensure they are not shortchanged before birth,” said Wilbert Brown, Alpha’s national liaison to the March of Dimes. S

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Brother Joseph Robinson Jr. with his Little Brother, Dontae Davis.

Joseph Robinson, Jr. IOTA BETA, ’79

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rother Joseph Robinson, Jr. [Iota Beta, ’79] was named Big Brother of the Year for the state of Pennsylvania. Maddie Young, executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region, said she nominated Robinson because of his role in the life of his “little brother,” recruitment of other mentors, fundraising and promoting the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Robinson is a past president of Zeta Theta Lambda Chapter in Harrisburg, Pa., and in 2011, he won Alumni Brother of the Year honors for the state district of Pennsylvania.

He was formally honored for his award at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region’s Annual Graduation Celebration at the governor’s residence in May 2013.

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

BY BRANDON RODERICK TUCKER

Leadership Development Institute at the General Convention

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uring its 107th Anniversary Convention in Austin, Texas, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. hosted its first-ever national Leadership Development Institute (LDI). By request of the fraternity’s 34th general president, Mark S. Tillman, local members from the Austin area, successfully planned an on-site adaptation of LDI, that is currently hosted during the summer months in four of the fraternity’s five regions.

Forty young men were actively engaged in a daylong experience that challenged them both mentally and physically. Each youngster participated in a variety of educational workshops on topics such as Personal Branding, Black Male Awareness and Police Interaction, Dressing for Success, and Health Matters to help stimulate their personal growth and value.

To promote health and fitness, exercise instruction was provided by one of the fraternity’s valued corporate partners, the United States Marines Corps.

General President Mark S. Tillman greets LDI participants.

“Without struggle, there is no progress,” U.S. Marine Corps Officer Brother Colon Taylor III told the young men as they attempted to emulate his precise moves.

The Leadership Development Citizen Education Institute dates back to the 1980s, when Alpha Phi Alpha made a commitment to ensure that its future leaders and the young men of tomorrow would be exposed to college campuses, pursue academic excellence, and become educated and successful civic leaders.

The inaugural National LDI was considered to be a success, and the fraternity looks forward to continuing to host the program at future conventions. S

SCAN HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE AT THE GENERAL CONVENTION.

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Brandon Roderick Tucker [Epsilon Alpha, ‘07] is chairman of the fraternity’s national Leadership Development Institute.

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

BY TERRY COLLINS

Brother Gary Daniels sparks rally against alleged hate crime at SJSU

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t really should come as no surprise that an Alpha has stepped right into the firestorm in the wake of an alleged hate crime at San Jose State University that has attracted national attention.

In true Alpha spirit, Brother Gary Daniels, president of Epsilon Mu Chapter, is spearheading the charge as outraged students demand changing the racial climate at SJSU, where, ironically, the “Black Power” statues of 1968 U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos stand on campus.

Last fall, four white freshmen at San Jose State were charged with hate crimes for allegedly harassing their freshman roommate who is black. The students’ alleged atrocities included snapping a U-shaped bicycle lock around the black freshman’s neck, hurling racial slurs at him and barricading him inside their dormitory suite, which also displayed a Confederate flag and a swastika.

In the immediate fallout, there was Brother Daniels—also head of the Black Unity Group, a coalition of black-run student organizations on campus—wearing his familiar black Alpha blazer, with his mouth covered in red tape and leading fellow outraged students in mass protest.

Daniels made his voice heard by storming the podium during a news conference held by school administrators and the local NAACP on the incident. Brother Daniels called out SJSU President Mo Qayoumi, saying Qayoumi ignored students’ previous concerns about racial tensions on campus for years. He went on to accuse Qayoumi of “mis-governance.”

“Last semester, when we were protesting and requesting to meet with you, we were trying our hardest to let you know that something was terribly wrong with the

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experience that African-American students are having at San Jose State. But you did not want to hear us,” said Brother Daniels, a political science major expected to graduate in 2015.

Qayoumi eventually took personal responsibility for the alleged incident.

Still, there was Brother Daniels, further stating administrators ignored a 2011 case study called “The Campus Climate,” as a sociology professor cited many SJSU black students considered the campus rife with racial stereotypes.

And here is Brother Daniels attempting to make sure there will be changes.

“There’s plenty that needs to be done,” Daniels said.

Brother Daniels is currently on an 18-person task force examining racial discrimination on campus. Other task-force members include fellow students, some from the local NAACP, and a retired African-American judge who is also in charge of overseeing reforms within the San Jose Police Department. S

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

BY JOSHUA HARRIS

Congressional Caucus takes up issue of Black Men and Boys

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undreds of community members flocked to the Senate Judiciary hearing room at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, July 24. This was the first hearing of the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys. Caucus chairs Brother Rep. Danny Davis and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton collaborated with other members of Congress to have an overview of issues facing black

young boys, for they are the future of our communities.

With more than 10,000 black boys on the waiting list for mentors, we have to continue to support organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.”

Featured speakers on the panel included Tracy Martin (father of Trayvon Martin), Michael Eric Dyson, David Johns, executive director of the White House initiative

Community members listen as (RIGHT) Kweisi Mfume, former Congressional Black Caucus chairman and former NAACP president, Michael Eric Dyson, author and professor of sociology Georgetown University, Tracy Martin, father of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012, and Benjamin Crump, Trayvon Martin's family attorney, as they prepare to speak.

boys, youth and men from early years to manhood. It was partially meant to address a community consensus of disdain toward the George Zimmerman verdict of not guilty in the killing of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The caucus also addressed recent comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama concerning the Trayvon Martin incident, where the president stated, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

General President Mark S. Tillman said, “With President Obama’s recent statements, now is the time for not only these conversations to occur, but more importantly for black men to step up to the plate and mentor our

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on education and excellence for African Americans and former Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Kweisi Mfume.

“We want to have the caucus function so that we end up looking at not only problems but generating results,” explained Rep. Davis.

Speakers encouraged members of Congress to do an honest evaluation of the disparities faced by African-American boys and increase programs, policy and practices that will help increase success and opportunities for them.

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SERVICE | ADVOCACY

Rep. Al Green [Beta Nu, '68] listens as the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys co-chair, Rep. Danny Davis [Mu Mu Lambda, '84], speaks to the issues surrounding black men and boys.

David Johns said, “My remarks here today will focus on early education. The initiatives mandated to close the achievement gap for all African-American children require full attention to the education continuum beginning in the earliest years through adulthood.”

backdrop to understand the unfolding and evolving perception of black people in America. Young teens inherit a culture that unconsciously and consciously engages in the skepticism and suspicion of their existence,” said Dyson.

Speakers addressed issues, including the lack of access to educational opportunities for African-American boys, health disparities, early child care education, racial profiling and discrimination, and black-on-black violence.

While the conversation may have been brought to the forefront because of the Trayvon Martin incident, it was overwhelmingly evident that this was a collaborative effort to focus on not just race in America but what can be done to change the current narrative and help influence the success of black men and boys in America.

The current issues faced by black men and boys stem from historical precedent of injustice, which questions the humanity and intelligence of black people.

Conversations like this caucus are necessary to bring these issues to mainstream light. Education about the current issues that face African-American men and boys is the first step toward solving many of the issues.

“All black people live under suspicion. The reality of our humanity being under suspicion is critical as the

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Brother Tristan Wilkerson, an aide to Rep. Norton, said, “Our caucus offered the first of several opportunities to have an open dialogue on issues of great concern to the chronic and cyclical plight of black and brown men and boys. We want to ensure that black boys are afforded the opportunity to mature into strong black men and to continue to collaborate and engage audiences on identifying policy and action that will lead to improving the livelihood of our men and boys.” S

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FEATURE

THE NEW CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENDING THE DREAM

BY JOSHUA HARRIS

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ifty years after the March on Washington, have we reached the dream? Has the dream been deferred?

In 2014, there are more African Americans serving in Congress, as executives of Fortune 500 companies and leading in positions of power in America than ever before. Yet, 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched on Washington for jobs and justice, African Americans have the highest unemployment rate in the nation and have yet to receive equal justice. Rodney King, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Melissa Alexander, and New York City’s “stop and frisk law” are just a few examples of injustice. In 2013, communities of color have gained much more than what was available in 1963 yet are still not seen or

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treated as equal to white counterparts, and injustice is still prevalent.

A new organized group of young people has emerged to strive for equality and justice.

These young people have begun to unify and form chapters in multiple cities.

“We are diverse youth, students and young adults fighting for a more equitable and just society,” said legal and policy director of the Dream Defenders, Brother Ahmad Abuznaid Esq. [Iota Delta, ’03]. “We are a new generation of influencers, artist, leaders and organizers tired of having our dreams deferred,” he said.

This group of young people with diverse backgrounds has decided to no longer strive for Dr. King’s dream but rather to defend “the THE SPHINX

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DREAM DEFENDERS

FEATURE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DREAM DEFENDERS

ABOVE: Members of the Dream Defenders take a group photo.

LEFT: Executive Director of the Dream Defenders Brother Phillip Agnew, reflects from the Lincoln Memorial at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

people’s dream.” The Dream Defenders is an organization that resulted from a 60-student, 40-mile, three-day march organized by students in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. The students took to the Sanford Police Department, locked arms, blocked the entrance and demanded the arrest of George Zimmerman, the shooter of Trayvon Martin, who claimed self-defense. As a result of this civil disobedience, the Sanford police chief resigned, and George Zimmerman was arrested.

More than 200 public schools have closed in Chicago, another 23 in Philadelphia, and yet the state of Pennsylvania is building a $400 million prison system. The majority of schools in both cities are in minority communities.

Equal opportunity for education is just one of the many issues being taken on by the Dream Defenders. The Dream Defenders now have chapters on nine college campuses in Florida and highlight racial and social economicjustice issues like prison privatization, racial profiling and “zero tolerance” policies in schools that disproportionately affect students of color.

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For executive director of the Dream Defenders Brother Phillip Agnew [Beta Nu, ’05], his first experience working with many of the dream defenders was back in 2007, during the Martin Lee Anderson case. Anderson was a 14-year-old beaten by guards at a Florida boot camp, resulting in his death.

“The organization at that time was the student coalition for justice, with students from Florida A&M University, Florida State University, and Tallahassee Community College,” said Agnew.

“We had a three-day sit-in in the governor’s office around justice for Anderson—a huge rally.”

As a result of the efforts of the student coalition for justice, the head of the police department was fired, the boot camp was shut down and the guards involved were all brought to trial.

In 2012, the Trayvon Martin case brought back together some of the same organizers from the Martin Lee Anderson case who felt that something needed to be done. Agnew, then living in North Carolina, with a career in pharmaceutical sales, decided to quit his job and return to Florida to become a full-time activist.

In the last 30 years, with the Occupy Wall Street Movement, and so many other social 17

change movements having come and gone, visionaries of the Dream Defenders wanted to create a structured organization and movement that will continue to fight for justice and equality throughout America.

The Dream Defenders was a product of conference calls with more than 150 students showing support of the planned march. Leadership in the push to begin the Dream Defenders included Brother Ahmad Abuznaid, Gabriel Pendas, Nelini Stamp, Ciara Taylor and several others.

“We know we have a duty to our generation and to the future,” said Agnew.

The Dream Defenders is currently in the process of receiving its nonprofit organization status. As with any organization in its beginning stages, the Dream Defenders has not succeeded without challenges.

“Funding is certainly the biggest issue. Most of the staff have been working unpaid for over a year, including myself,” said Abuznaid.

For more than a century, Alpha Phi Alpha has developed leaders who have been catalysts for many organizations of political and social change: the NAACP, National Urban League, the 100 Black Men, and now the Dream Defenders.

“The Dream Defenders will develop a model for action and change for the country as a whole,” said Abuznaid. “We will continue to build this movement one leader at a time. The system we are fighting is vast and powerful, and we must be the same.”

As young people propelled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, it is only fitting that now, young people energize this new era of civil rights. General President Mark S. Tillman said, “Developing leaders is a part of

#OURMARCH

IF I HAD 2 MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE NATION Brother Phillip Agnew, executive director of the Dream De-

fenders, was scheduled to speak at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington but was one of the young people cut due to time constraints. Below is a transcription of a video released, explaining what he planned to say from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

BY THE TIME WE FINISH, ANOTHER BLACK BOY WILL lay bleeding in the streets of Chicago, and as we rest our heads

Brothers Phillip Agnew and Ahmad Abuznaid stage a sit-in at the Florida State Capitol.

tonight 300,000 of our veterans lay homeless, and I want to explain how the hate we spread abroad is the reason that

I could tell you how as we celebrate Dr. King’s Dream, over

hatred washes on our shores... but I only have two minutes.

400,000 of our immigrant brothers and sisters languish away in privately owned detention camps… and how we

And, I could tell you that Philadelphia just closed 23 of its

still find our “queer” brothers and sisters imprisoned in the

schools at the same time it builds a $400 million state-

shadows of closets — but I only have two minutes.

of-the-art prison, and that North Carolina and Florida continue to silence its citizens at the ballot box—but I only

I’d tell you how our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters

have two minutes.

still earn less, have no control over their bodies and are

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PHOTO BY JOSHUA HARRIS

Brother Phillip Agnew is flanked by Yasmin Gabriel (l), a Dream Defenders volunteer, and Steven Pargett(r), communications director of Dream Defenders, on August 28, 2013 to show unity and solidarity in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

our mission. Here we have two young brothers who are advocating for our communities. We should rally behind them as a brotherhood and support the work that the Dream Defenders are doing.”

A group of young people working without pay truly shows the commitment to make the Dream Defenders a lasting movement. Donations to the organization may be made on its website: www.dreamdefenders.org. S

traded and trafficked like slaves… or that it’s easier for

And for those that doubt our energy, and we discipline:

someone to buy a gun and put it to their head than it is to

We are ready.

diagnose the illness within it—but I only have two minutes.

For those that believe that future fingers may fail the If there was time, I’d tell you that millions of young people

torch, fear not: We are ready.

and queer people and poor people and people of color are asking what we do with this anger, fear, disappointment,

For all those that believe in the power of nonviolence

and frustration. This mad that we feel? — but, alas, I only

and love as unconquerable: We are ready.

have one more minute.

Fifty years ago, a man told us of a Promised Land. And for And with it, this last minute of our conversation, I’d like to

50 years we’ve wandered and wondered. Where are the

tell you that… though it may seem that all is lost…, that there

youth?… a constant whisper in our ears.

is a generation of dreamers, fighters, defenders, lovers, builders bubbling, bubbling, bubbling beneath the rubble.

And so we have come, asking neither permission nor questions, but to say that we are here. Believing indeed

And beneath your feet you may feel a collective quaking…

that we have a beautiful history, and that the one we will

tremors of a sleeping giant awakening. Emanating from fault

build in the future will astonish the world.

lines at the Arizona-Mexico border, and Raleigh and Austin, and Cleveland, and Chicago, and Tallahassee, Florida.

And we are ready.

And we’ve come here from every crack, crease, and crevice of

May the outcome always prosper over income. Peace over

our country to our capital to say, that for all whose cares have

profit. Revolution over revenue, and all peace and power to

been our concern, we will not be co-opted. We will not be

the people. Don’t believe us, just watch.

bought. But, we are ready.

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FEATURE

ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY:

REMEMBERING THE MARCH

BY JOSHUA HARRIS PHOTOS BY BRYAN J.A. KELLY

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FEATURE

Brothers gather in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial after leaving the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

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A

sweltering humid 83-degree temperature engulfs the nation’s capital as a single bead of sweat runs down the face of Brother Freddie West [Gamma Omicron, ‘63]. Brother West was present at the original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 50 years ago. A silent hum of the old Negro spiritual “We Shall Overcome” would simply immortalize this moment even further. Fifty

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years ago, that West stood on the National Mall and watched Brother Martin Luther King, Jr., “tell ’em about the dream” as gospel icon Mahalia Jackson put it.

“As a 19-year-old student, I came down from New York on buses provided by my aunt’s church,” said West.

Washington, D.C., traffic was at a halt, and the streets are a maze because so many are being blocked off to reroute traffic

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around the protesters who have gathered in solidarity and commemoration.

Brother Randy Carroll of Delta Lambda Chapter in Baltimore was also present in 1963. “I was a student at Howard University at the time, and the first thing I remember as I came up New York Avenue is all of the buses that were lined up, people from all over the country,” said Carroll.

Sticking out from the sea of marchers gathered to commemorate the 1963 event, one sign

read, “We support our Brother Dr. King.”

Hundreds of men of Alpha took to the mall to remember the march and reflect on where we have been as a nation and where we are today.

“Over the last 50 years, we’ve experienced a lot, from colored-only water fountains and riding on the back of the bus, and it seems like in 2013, there is an effort to move the clock back and take away some of the rights we fought for during the 1960s,” West said.

Even in 2014, the question remains, is there equal justice? Trayvon Martin, Melissa Alexander, Jordan Davis and Oscar Grant are among a list of countless others who have been disenfranchised because of the color of their skin.

In spite of five decades of progress for African-American people, a nation still faces similar, and in some cases, the same racial inequalities that existed in the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

“ OUR JOURNEY IS STILL CHALLENGING, AND RACE AND CLASS STILL HAVE A GREAT DISTANCE TO GO [IN AMERICA].”

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FEATURE

ABOVE: Brothers sing the fraternal hymn at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial after the reenactment of the 50th Anniversary March on Washington

SCAN HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY MARCH ON WASHINGTON REENACTMENT GALLERY 24

“We are here to ensure that the meaning of ‘stand your ground’ does not get you buried under the ground,” said General President Mark S. Tillman. “Our journey is still challenging, and race and class still have a great distance to go [in America].”

In 1963, the “big six” as they were called—Whitney Young, Roy Wilkins, A. Phillip Randolph, James Farmer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and THE SPHINX

FEATURE

John Lewis—were key organizers of the march. Lewis, now a U.S. congressman, was then the youngest of the group to speak at the march and is today the last living speaker from the march. The 50th-anniversary March was a collaborative effort and reflected the diversity of what America looks like.

Since August 28, 1963, America has progressed far beyond what could have ever been imagined, with more AfricanAmerican executives and CEOs than ever before. Much has changed in that 50 years, but there is still much that needs CENTENNIAL ISSUE

to be done. It was Corretta Scott King who said, “Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”

“Seeing all these black people united here today shows that what they were fighting for was worth it. The dream has not been completely accomplished and is a work in progress,” said Brother Russell Carter [Beta Alpha, ‘12]. S 25

FEATURE

END QUOTE SPEECHES FROM THE

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM

HILL HARPER On this very day, 50 years ago, in this spot 50 years ago, hundreds of thousands of people came together to be part of a call to action.

What is “The Dream”? What does it mean to fulfill “The Dream”? If you could see what I see, look around. Imagine what it was like to be here 50 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of people who came from across our country to be a part of something bigger than themselves. The speech was about looking forward to where we need to go as a country, which reminds me of one of my favorite RFK quotes from about 50 years ago. He said, “The future does not belong to those who are fearful of bold projects and new ideas, but rather the future belongs to those who can blend passion, reason and courage into a personal commitment to the great ideals and enterprises of American society.” Look at this audience. Some of you were here during the march. If you were here during the march in 1963 make some 26

noise. If you wish you were here in 1963, make some noise. For those of you who were here we say thank you, it was your passion, it was your courage, it was your commitment to change the world that allowed the rest of us who were not there to benefit from the sacrifices that you made, and there were sacrifices. So today, we are gathered to humbly say, “Thank you.” To celebrate what was gained, to remember what was lost and to move forward. To double our efforts, because we know that we are always better if we stand together!

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FEATURE

ANDREW YOUNG I don’t know about you, but I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom…

Now 50 years ago, when we came here, we came from a battle in Birmingham, but that was just a few months before. Before Martin Luther King came through to speak of his dream, he had been through bombings, jailings, beatings; he had been snatched from his jailhouse cell in DeKalb County and put

50 years later we are still here coming to cash that bad check...

We are not here to claim any victory, simply to say that the struggle continues.

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in chains and taken to Reedsville penitentiary in the middle of the night. He thought it was going to be his last night on earth. He went through the battles of Albany and Birmingham and came out victorious, but we knew that the fight was just beginning, and we knew that we had a long, long way to go and this was just the start. Now, he came here representing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, saying that we were going to redeem the soul of America, from the triple evils of racism, war and poverty. He came not talking so much about racism nor war. His speech was about poverty, and he said that the constitution was a promissory note to which all of us would fall heir, but when men and women of color presented their check at the bank of justice it came back marked insufficient funds. But then he said he knew that wasn’t the end. But 50 years later we are still here coming to cash that bad check; 50 years later we are still dealing with all kinds of problems; so we are not here to claim any victory. We are here to simply say that the struggle continues. But a long time ago when Ralph Abernathy would stand with him and things would get difficult, Ralph would say, “Well, I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future,” and Martin would say that the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. Then he would say, truth forever on the scaffold rung forever on the throne, but the scaffold weighs the future—for behind the dim unknown, standeth God beneath the shadows, keeping watch above his own. So I wanna say to you this morning, I got a feeling everything’s gonna be all right. Pray on, stay on and fight on!

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MARC H. MORIAL Good afternoon, fellow Americans. I stand today on the shoulders of Martin Luther King, Whitney Young, John Lewis, A. Phillip Randolph, and the many great leaders of 1963, who sacrificed, who marched, who demonstrated courage and bravery in the face of attacks so that we can be here today. I

today to call on this a great and mighty nation to wake up. Wake up to unfair legality parading as morality. Wake up to insensitivity to the poor mass (masked as fiscal austerity) wake up to politics without a positive purpose. It is time, America, to wake up. Fifty years ago that sleeping giant was awakened, but somewhere along the way we’ve dozed, we’ve been quelled by the lullaby of false prosperity and a mirage of economic equality, we fell into a slumber.

Somewhere along the way, white sheets were traded for button-down white shirts, attack dogs and water hoses were traded for tasers and widespread implementation of stop-and-frisk policies. Nooses were traded for handcuffs.

Somewhere along the way we gained new enemies, cynicism and complacency, murders from urban America to suburban America, the pursuit of power for power’s sake. We stand here today to say it is time to wake up. So here, in 2013, we stand before the statue of the great emancipator, we look toward the statue of the great liberator. We say we have come to wake up a new civil rights movement, for economic justice, a new civil rights movement for freedom in these days, a new civil rights movement for jobs, a new civil rights movement for men, for women, for children of all backgrounds, all races, all dispositions, all orientations, all cities, all counties, all towns all across America. America, it is time for us to wake up. The 21st century agenda for jobs and freedom comes alive today.

We stand on the shoulders of the great men and women of yesterday, and we affirm this new commitment for today and tomorrow. God bless you, God thank you and God bless this great nation.

I stand as a representative of the next generation that has had the opportunity to walk into corporate board rooms, walk into city halls, and county halls, into halls of justice, into the Justice Department and yes into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. stand as a representative of the next generation that has had the opportunity to walk into corporate boardrooms, rooms, walk into city halls and county halls, into halls of justice, into the Justice Department and, yes, into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue solely because of the sacrifices and the bravery of those whose names we remember and those we don’t. I stand here

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MARTIN LUTHER KING III This is an unusual moment in our world history as we observe this 50th anniversary. I am so thankful for the opportunity to really thank America for helping to realize “The Dream.”

Although, I must say it is not yet realized. So, we must re-double and quadruple our efforts.

So much has been said today, and I was five years old in 1963 when Dad delivered his message. So I’m blessed that we were able to bring our daughter, who is five years old, so that she can appreciate this history and continue to participate. There are two things I would like to say. I am reminded that Dad challenged us, that’s what he did—challenged our nation to be a better nation for all of God’s children. I’m reminded that he taught us the power of love, agape love. The love that is totally unselfish, you love someone if they’re old or young, rich or poor, black or white, Native American or Hispanic American. It does not matter: you love them because God calls us to do that. Love and forgiveness is what we need more of, not just in our nation but really throughout the world.

So I want to rush to tell you, Dad said, “The ultimate measure of a human being is where one stands not in times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and

controversy.” He went on to say that on some questions cowardice asks, is a position safe?

Expediency asks, is a position politic? Vanity asks, is a position popular? That something deep inside, called conscious asks, is a position right?

So he often talked about the fact that sometimes we must take positions that are neither safe, nor popular, nor politic; but we must take those positions because our conscious tells us they are right. I finally say this afternoon, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but none of us should be tired.

Why? Because we’ve come much too far from where we started. You see, no one ever told any of us that our roads would be easy. But, I know our God… Our God did not bring any of us this far to leave us. Thank you. God bless you.

JOSEPH E. LOWERY Fired Up! Ready to Go! I’m thankful today for a nation, that after 50 years is committed to be a nation of liberty and justice for all, and that we hold in the deepest reverence the principles of freedom and justice for all. I’m thankful today that we have a president who understands what Marin Luther King meant when he said, “We must rise up from the basement of race and color to the higher ground of content of character.

“I’m glad we have a president who joins with Martin CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Luther King in calling upon this nation to rise up and leave the basement of race and color and come to the higher ground of content of character. We joined in prayer for a nation that, strangely enough, continues to seek to deny rights and restrict freedom and the right to vote. We come today 50 years later—it’s even stranger that there are men and forces who still seek to restrict our vote and deny our full participation. We come here to Washington to say, “We ain’t going back, we ain’t going back. We’ve come too far, marched too long, prayed too hard, [been] whipped too bitterly, bled too profusely and died too young to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey to justice.” Thank you for the privilege of sharing these moments with you. God bless you, and God keep you.

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MARK S. TILLMAN I’m honored, humbled, and, frankly, awe struck, to be standing on sacred soil where fifty years ago, people came on buses, by cars, and some even walked to be a part of this historic event—with a unity unseen before in the fight for civil rights. But on this day, we are progressing with a mandate that was so eloquently set for America.

We are wrapped in the legacy of great individuals that recognized we cannot afford generations becoming ill-prepared to rise above individual concerns, ill-prepared to live with understanding and goodwill, and that the meaning of “stand your ground” does not get you buried “under the ground!”

We are here to honor a man that anchored this movement, who dared to dream the rights of all men and women are equal. Who defied untold practices that were discriminatory and inhumane. And who mobilized a nation to believe its actions would eventually bring a better life.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. And we are proud to have led the initiative to build a memorial in his honor. On this historic occasion, we honor my fraternity brother who stands in the nation’s capitol—on hallowed ground with presidents of this country—forever remaining watchful and guarding the halls of democracy!

Commemorating the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom underscores our collective strength, influence and unity.

SCAN HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON GALLERY.

Commemorating the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom underscores our collective strength, influence and unity. America may have progressed with the election of a black president, and may soon follow with the election of a female president. But we must not be distracted by the burning realization that our journey is still challenging and that race and class still have a great distance to go.

All of us are the beneficiaries of the legacy to show our children—they can dream with confidence in realizing their most ambitious hopes and aspirations.

Let’s continue to march for their freedom!

Thank you! S

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FEATURE | PART 1 OF A 4 PART SERIES

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here is an easy way to meet Joe Jones, and a hard way. Let’s start with the easy way.

If you and I were at a cocktail party, I’d introduce you to a tall, bald, black man, standing a shoulder above most everybody else. Knowing Joe Jones, he’d probably be wearing a tan suit and muted tie.

Joe’s subdued, square-rimmed glasses fit nicely with his veiled intellect—he’s the kind of guy who readily drops six-dollar words without a hint of pretense.

I’d probably ask Joe to tell you about the nonprofit he runs, the Center for Urban Families on Baltimore’s west side. CFUF is a national

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model for helping men and women who are confronting addiction, poverty, and despair turn their lives around, and teaching absent fathers how to reconnect with their kids. Joe’s a modest guy, so I’d have to brag on his behalf, about the bigwigs who have dropped by his center, and all the awards the organization has won.

Finally, I’d say in passing: “You know, Joe has a powerful personal story himself. His own father wasn’t around, he struggled in the streets for a while, and then pulled himself up, and made it out.” Nice and neat. Joe would nod and smile.

You’d nod and smile. I’d nod and smile. We’d all be smiling—appropriately inspired.

That’s the easy way to meet Joe Jones. But there’s also the hard way. The hard way is THE SPHINX

FEATURE

to grapple with the fact that Joe’s family didn’t just emerge from some unseen ghetto thousands of miles away. No, his grandfather migrated to Baltimore from North Carolina, and started a business—a waste-management facility, one of the city’s more successful ones.

His grandparents were “models of stability,” Joe told me. A few generations before that, Joe’s family were slaves.

It’s hard to figure out what happened to Joe’s dad, and thousands of other black fathers like him. Joe’s dad was training to be a teacher, but one day in the mid-’60s he hopped into the driver side of a Ford Thunderbird, visibly angry, slung his duffel bag on the passenger side, and drove off for good. Joe saw the whole thing from his upstairs window in the CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Lafayette Court housing projects; he thought his dad was going to the laundromat, and sat waiting for him, for hours.

After falling into addiction, Joe Jones turned his life around—and helps others to do the same.

It’s tough to stomach what happened later. How Joe, an adorable kid of 13—never a smoker, never a drinker—met a guy a couple years older than him. And this person put it into Joe’s young head that maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to stick a needle in his arm, and let a bit of heroin rush in. So, as a 13-year-old, he did. Joe’s two cousins shared the needle with him—their dad wasn’t around either—and his best friend, Barry, also fatherless, did too.

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Joe puts it now (in his always-impeccable phrasing): “This man created a pathway for me to negotiate the street environment in a way that I hadn’t anticipated. It was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me.”

“The Negro in America” series won Newsweek a National Magazine Award in 1968. Newsweek recycled its 1966 cover line “Black and White” in 2007 for Obama’s fifth appearance on the cover.

So in the span of a few years, Joe went from a stable household to a single-parent family.

From a middle-school honor student to a street-corner addict. From the grandson of a businessman and great-great-great-grandson of slaves to the son of an absent father, and a future deadbeat dad himself. It was a jumble of inputs—bad parenting and bad policy, misguided culture and tragic history—resulting in one clear output: a woefully lost kid.

This is a cartoon used in the April 1927 edition of The Sphinx magazine to illustrate the issues black men have had to overcome to obtain higher education.

So now Joe’s an adolescent junkie, hanging out on Edmonson Avenue in West Baltimore and shooting up wherever he can find a shadow long enough to hide himself: sometimes in a bowling alley bathroom, sometimes in his aunt’s basement. He was 14 when he was busted for the first time for using drugs, along with his two cousins and Barry. The other boys’ parents bailed them out, thank God, but the police suggested that Joe, the ringleader, should stew for a little while to learn his lesson—you know, “tough on crime.”

Turns out, this wasn’t the best move for Joe. During his few extra days in jail, in the throes of heroin withdrawal that his young system wasn’t handling well, Joe met a local kingpin who taught him how to be a more efficient junkie, and a more effective criminal. Or as 34

There is a lot more to Joe Jones’s story—more pain than most can bear; more beauty than you’d expect. We’ll get to all of that, including his fateful encounter with the president of the United States.

But first, a few words about the world Joe comes from: the world of low-income black men.

Why talk about this world? After all, it’s simple enough to ignore. We can safely tuck these men away in our inner cities and allow them to interact largely among themselves. We can rush past them in front of the gas station, murmur silently when the nightly news tells us of a shooting across town, or smile when we meet a nice, inspiring man like Joe. We can keep them in these places. It’s safe and easy for us.

Yet if we’re honest, we’ll have to admit that when one single group of people is conspicuously left behind, it never bodes well for society as a whole. In many ways, black men in America are a walking gut check; we learn from them a lot about ourselves, how far we’ve really come as a country, and how much further we have to go.

THE SPHINX

Yet if we’re honest, we’ll have to admit that when one single group of people is conspicuously left behind, it never bodes well for society as a whole.

I spent the past few months talking to dozens of experts who are working to address the crisis among black men. It was clear from these conversations that the reasons for this crisis are complex—as are the solutions. But it was also clear that the fight for black men, which is currently being waged by activists, politicians, celebrities, and everyday people alike, can indeed be won.

As with Joe Jones, it starts by understanding their history, and their stories.

The earliest chapter in that story is a tough one. I’d rather skip it. You’d rather that I skip it. But as Ralph Ellison once remarked, channeling Faulkner, our complicated racial past is “a part of the living present”; it’s a past that

“speaks even when no one wills to listen.”

The facts are a bit overwhelming, but not in much dispute. Africans were imported to the United States as purchased goods beginning around 1620. By 1770, when Crispus Attucks, a free black man, spilled the first drop of blood in the cause of the American Revolution, nearly 18 percent of the American population—almost 700,000 people—were slaves. By the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, that number had exploded to over 4 million.

Beneath these sterile facts lay a grisly reality.

Blacks were systemically dehumanized for hundreds of years, a practice that had unique social and psychological effects on men.

They were worked and whipped in fields like cattle. Any semblance of pride, any cry for

Throughout its history, The Sphinx has kept up the fight for the black male by keeping critical issues in the forefront of the struggle for freedom and justice.

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Published in the October 1947 edition of The Sphinx: 16th General President Belford V. Lawson, stands with the Congress on Racial Equality as they stage a Sit-down strike in front of the YMCA Building in Washington, D.C. When “Y” officials refused to permit black members of CORE to eat in the cafeteria. Lawson discussed the demonstration with YMCA heads, and the police chief and encourage members of the fraternity to stand and protest, peacefully.

justice, any measure of genuine manhood was tortured, beaten, or sold out of them.

Marriage was strictly prohibited. Most were forbidden from learning to read and write. The wealth derived from their labor—the massive wealth derived from cotton, our chief export throughout much of the 19th and early 20th centuries—was channeled elsewhere.

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But, because slavery ended 150 years ago, we often assume that this dehumanization is ancient history. It is not. As Douglas Blackmon of The Wall Street Journal meticulously documents in his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, Slavery by Another Name, blacks were kept in virtual bondage through Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, and, quite often, a form of THE SPHINX

Beneath these sterile facts lay a grisly reality.

Blacks were systemically dehumanized for hundreds of years, a practice that had unique social and psychological effects on men.

quasi-slavery called peonage, which endured well into the middle of the 20th century.

Here’s how it worked: black men (it was usually men) were arrested for petty crimes or no crimes at all; “selling cotton after sunset” was a favorite charge. They were then assessed a steep fine. If they could not pay, they were imprisoned for long sentences and forced to work for free. This allowed savvy industrialists to replace thousands of slaves with thousands of convicts.

‘Black men are the most incarcerated people on the planet ... warehoused in prison for nonviolent crimes.’

While some whites were caught up in this system, the forced labor camps were 80 to 90 percent populated by black men. This practice endured until 1948, when the federal criminal code was rewritten to helpfully clarify that the law forbade involuntary servitude.

Around that time, determined activists—from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Fannie Lou Hamer—organized to demand equal treatment. We know the civil rights story well: Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine; the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed various forms of discrimination; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which carved a clear path to the unfettered right to vote.

our backs, that all the discrimination they had faced was behind them; that there would be no further barriers to opportunity, even unspoken ones; that it was time for them to wake up. Get a job. Get married, and start a family. Build wealth. Take hold of the American dream. We won’t stop you—we promise.

We focused our social investments in this period—our brief War on Poverty—on women and children, because men were supposed to figure it out. But in the 1970s and 1980s, many of these black men didn’t.

Just like their great-grandfathers never fully figured out how to teach their sons about manhood while being lashed in a field. Just like their grandfathers never completely figured out how to pass on lessons about building wealth when theirs was stolen through peonage and sharecropping.

Their fathers tried to rally around Martin Luther King as a symbol of what they could be—but he was gunned down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. In the post–civil rights era, many of these black men, men like Joe Jones’s father, weren’t quite figuring it out either. And neither are many of their sons and grandsons, those bright if often scowling men we see on our streets. S

Joshua DuBois [Eta Lambda, ‘11] was U.S. President Barack Obama’s first

And that, we told black men, was that. Immediately following the Civil Rights Movement, in the early 1970s, we assured these men, with fingers perhaps gently crossed behind CENTENNIAL ISSUE

director of the White House’s faithbased initiative, and is now an author, teacher, speaker, and CEO of Values Partnerships. Follow him on Twitter: @JoshuaDuBois 37

FEATURE

REDEEMING THE

DREAM SUMMIT DRUM MAJORS FOR JUSTICE

BY JOSHUA HARRIS // PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHARON FARMER/SFPHOTOWORKS

I

n 1963, Brother Martin Luther King, Jr. was 34 years old, Jesse Jackson was 22, John Lewis was 22 and Brother Ozell Sutton was 27. They were all very influential in the Civil Rights Movement and all in the prime of their youth. Along with these young men were countless others, also in the prime of their youth, who helped lead the fight during the Civil Rights Movement.

Elders such as Fannie Lou Hammer and Ella Baker, who saw fit that the torch be passed and that the youth continue the fight for equality, guided them.

“In these times we must consider what does our future look like. At the Memorial Foundation, we take serious our commitment to carry out the four tenets of justice, hope, democracy and love and how we relay those to the current and next generation,” explained 31st general president, Brother Harry Johnson.

A candid pause for reflection on the past 50 years shows so much change that has occurred since the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice in 1963. What will the next 50 years bring? Who are the next generation of leaders, and are they prepared to continue the fight for equality and freedom? The next generation was the focus when president of the Memorial Foundation, Brother Harry Johnson and president of the National Urban League, Brother Marc Morial decided

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to partner and host the Drum Majors for Justice Redeem the Dream Summit.

“On this occasion, we have gathered to commemorate the March on Washington and to continue the fight, particularly for jobs and freedom,” explained Brother Marc Morial.

It has been estimated that out of all the people who attended the march, only 25% are still alive today. This shows overwhelmingly that a new generation must continue the fight. As such, the Redeem the Dream Summit featured a panel of young current and emerging leaders. The panel, which included founder of BK Nation, Brother Kevin Powell; Nevada congressman, Brother Steven Horsford; founder of Impact, Angela Rye and National Urban League Young Professionals President Brandy Richard among other young leaders, THE SPHINX

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ABOVE: Nevada Congressman, Brother Steven Horsford [Eta Lambda, ‘11], (left) sat on panel with other emerging young leaders.

LEFT: Brother Kevin Powell makes a point about encouraging young people to be future leaders.

FAR LEFT: Brother Marc H. Morial talk to the crowd about the National Urban League and its fight for justice.

was designed to give voice representation to the next generation.

Brother Kevin Powell explained, “I’ve been an activist since I was a teenager. We shouldn’t just wake up because of a crisis; we have to become consistently proactive and make a commitment to being in the struggle for the rest of our lives, and that is why we are here today.”

History has proven that the people respond to charismatic leadership. The panel addressed the concept of a community waiting for a leader to show the way and how the new generation responds to that system.

“I think you are beginning to see a generational shift because young people are not looking for one leader. This younger generation doesn’t need you to show up and give a CENTENNIAL ISSUE

speech; they are already doing the work when no cameras are around and no one cares,” explained Mr. Jeff Johnson.

The panel made a conscious effort to discuss what it takes to become a leader and servant of the people.

“A lot of times, we look at the success of someone’s title and position and we don’t evaluate the life experience that it took for them to get where they are,” explained Brother Horsford.

It was a gathering of informed minds committed to serving their communities. Reflecting on the past while preparing for the future, the panel addressed multiple issues that face the black community and how this next generation is and will prepare and be proactive to fighting for justice and equality.

Brother Harry Johnson said, “We created the Drum Majors for Justice Future Leaders Program to help equip those under 35 with the tools they need to make a difference in our society. Everyone can become a drum major for justice.” S 39

SPECIAL

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BY DONALD L. ROSS

100 YEARS OF THE SPHINX A Documented Century of Excellence

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here were 15 chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated when the first issue of The Sphinx was published in March 1914. At the time, the organization’s growth encompassed nine states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Communication outside of a city was by letter, either handwritten or typed.

Now, 100 years later, in addition to the original locations, the fraternity has established chapters in 36 more states, 10 more countries, on four continents. Our communications are primarily electronic with printed documents increasingly going the way of the dinosaur. The journey to 100 has been one of both expansion and of

change and this magazine has been an integral part of that growth and evolution.

The Sphinx is the second-oldest, continuously printed magazine published by persons of African descent. The most-senior is The Crisis, which is produced by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which first went to print November 1910. Directly below the name appeared the words: “A Record of the Darker Races.”

When the fraternal journal first appeared, the General Organization was solidly in place.

Henry Lake Dickason [Kappa, ‘11] was elected general president at the sixth General Conven-

1914

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THE SPHINX

THE SPHINX CENTENNIAL

tion, hosted by Beta Chapter at Howard University. Brother Raymond Winfred Cannon, the first editor, was serving his second one-year term as general vice president. Issues of The Sphinx in 1938 and 1970 note that it was born out of discussion held during the 1912 General Convention and solidified the following year.

The purpose was to “bind together the alumni and other delinquent brothers for whom the ‘chapter connection’ had been severed.”

Bro. Cannon said the initial idea belonged to then-immediate Past General President Charles Herbert Garvin, who appointed him to publish the first edition.

Every issue included stories of the chartering and activities of the different chapters, the addition of new members, their individual and collective accomplishments, the growth in prominence and influence of the organization and the changes and evolution that time would force to take place.

Before there was an Omega Chapter (approved in 1919), The Sphinx noted in the very first issue of brothers transitioning there.

It provided stories and images of the challenges faced by the Negro in their communities, in their schools, by their government and by their ever-changing realities. It told of the Alpha men and the Alpha chapters that championed the causes of justice and equality. It chronicled the leaders produced and the causes championed. It spoke of brothers who were educators, entertainers, athletes, attorneys, pastors, politicians, businessmen and military men.

It recorded who could be contacted while visiting different campuses and cities and helped locate brothers who crossed paths at different times in their lives. It became a record of past pain and the story of how that pain was overcome.

Over the years the format has changed almost as often as the editors. Over time the presentation has changed. What originally was presented by hand or mailed now includes the option of electronic receipt. Technological changes have made securing a copy easier, and the magazine will continue to evolve. As the story of Alpha Phi Alpha continues to unfold, so will the need to maintain The Sphinx to record that story. S

2014 CENTENNIAL ISSUE

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SPECIAL

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BY ROBERT L. HARRIS

THE SPHINX AND THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN EQUALITY Fighting for a Century

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s we spotlight some of the challenges in seeking human equality that Alpha men and Alpha have confronted over the century, it’s critical to remind people of the role The Sphinx played. The Sphinx through examining those challenges, triumphs and setbacks influenced the consciousness of Alpha men, the nation and indeed the world. The Sphinx has been an invaluable instrument in helping Alpha to live out the aim of its constitution, “to prepare (its members) for the greatest usefulness in the causes of humanity, freedom and dignity of the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and to aid down-trodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social, economic and intellectual status.”

During World War I, The Sphinx proudly reported on the accomplishments of those Alphas who became commissioned officers but also noted the problem of exclusion from the Students Army Training Corps on some campuses that they were able to attend in the

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North. Alpha’s protest against such exclusion influenced the military to rule in their favor and to create an officers training camp for black men at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. After World I, The Sphinx in 1920, featured Go to High School, Go to College Week, which became the fraternity’s first national program.

Before the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926, The Sphinx published regular features on Black history, especially achievement in the Americas and in Africa.

At the height of the Great Depression, The Sphinx announced the establishment of Alpha’s Commission on Public Policy to examine and propose legislation related to the national and international welfare of the Negro. The May 1935 issue was devoted entirely to New Deal programs. As the fraternity turned its attention to desegregation in graduate and professional education in the 1930s, The Sphinx told the story of Alpha brothers, lawyers, and chapters who successfully challenged segregation first in higher education and then in elementary and secondary THE SPHINX

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education, culminating in the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which ruled against the policy and practice of “separate but equal in public schools.”

As the modern civil rights movement unfolded, The Sphinx highlighted the role of Alpha men who headed the major civil rights organizations during the 1960’s, e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), Whitney Young (National Urban League), Marion Barry (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), Floyd McKissick (Congress of Racial Equality) and Thurgood Marshall (NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund). With the movement from protest to politics, The Sphinx profiled those brothers who became the first Black mayors of major cities, such as Atlanta, Ga.; Birmingham, Ala.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Jackson, Miss; Kansas CENTENNIAL ISSUE

City, Mo.; New Orleans, La.; New York, N.Y.; Oakland, Calif.; and San Francisco, Calif.

Moreover, Edward W. Brooke, who served as eastern region vice president, was the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate in the 20th century.

Today, The Sphinx continues to inspire the brotherhood and to inform the public about the challenges, triumphs and setbacks confronting African Americans, people of African ancestry and downtrodden humanity globally. It has specifically explained what Alpha is doing to help close the educational, economic, incarceration and health gaps that persist in the United States S

Robert L. Harris [Theta, ‘63] is the national historian and author of the second volume of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s history book.

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SPECIAL

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BY JOSHUA HARRIS

REMEMBERING RAYMOND W. CANNON

Mu Chapter and Gamma Xi Lambda Chapters Establish Scholarship in Cannon’s Honor

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hen influential white men such as Senator “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman of South Carolina toured universities speaking on the inferiority of the Negro, it was a rough time for the recently free Negro across America. There was a goal to place blacks at the bottom of the totem pole and keep them there.

“They were vilifying, maligning and defaming the Negro, and those sentiments permeated to institutions of higher learning,” explained Brother Raymond W. Cannon in a 1985 interview. “The conditions over the United States at the time were discouraging.”

In 1911, on the campus of University of Minnesota (U-Minn), then-college sophomore Cannon received a postcard in the mail. The postcard read, “Come out and meet the fellas.

Have a good time and be persuaded.” This postcard was an invitation for the male Negro students on campus to join the social club that would become Pi Alpha Tau Social Club.

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Cannon went to that meeting and became a member of the club.

The following school year, shortly after a long winter on the campus of U-Minn, a group of 10 students from Pi Alpha Tau Social Club gathered for a private meeting. Brother C.C. Middleton, a medical student from the University of Michigan, and member of Epsilon Chapter oversaw the initiation of 20-year-old Cannon and nine other charter members of Mu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, who were initiated on April 12, 1912.

Cannon’s willingness to impact change in the country is what drove him to join the ranks of Alpha Phi Alpha. Considered the “Grandfather of Alpha History,” Cannon, at the age of 22 in 1914, went on to become the first-ever editor of The Sphinx magazine. Ambitious to get involved, when approached at the sixth General Convention by then-General President Charles H. Garvin who said, “We need a journal,” Cannon agreed. Garvin handed Cannon a copy of the Hampton THE SPHINX

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Student Journal as a guide and appointed him to the Printing Committee. Cannon saw and realized the importance of documenting the work of Alpha and allowing chapters the ability to share happenings.

“The Sphinx magazine is the first unofficial documentation of the history of the fraternity happenings,” explained Brother Abdul M. Omari, a spring 2006 initiate from Mu Chapter and current Gamma Xi Lambda member. “He was a staple in the AfricanAmerican community in the Twin Cities and very close friends with then-mayor Brother Hubert H. Humphrey.”

While working hard for Alpha, Cannon remained active in the community as well.

In 1947, Mayor Humphrey challenged Minneapolis’ discrimination with the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), one of the nation’s first statewide committees of its kind, aimed at ending employment discrimination on the basis of race or religion. Mayor Humphrey appointed attorney Cannon, director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, to the FEPC. Staying true to creating positive social change for African Americans, Cannon also went on to become founder of the Minneapolis Urban League.

Mu and Gamma Xi Lambda Chapters gather to celebrate their respective chapter anniversaries, the 36th for Mu and the second for Gamma Xi Lambda. Brother Cannon is seated in the center.

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SPECIAL

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On April 12, 1946, exactly 34 years after his initiation Cannon helped to ensure the chartering of Gamma Xi Lambda Chapter (GXL) in the Twin Cities. All of the charter members of GXL were initiated via Mu Chapter. Because of Brother Cannon’s efforts, to this day Mu Chapter and GXL have a strong college and alumnichapter relationship.

ABOVE: Brothers of Mu and Gamma Xi Lambda chapters work with high school students to prepare them for the ACT/SAT. TOP: Brother Ernest Davenport prepares the lesson plan for students in ACT/SAT preparatory program.

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The chapters have continued to honor Brother Cannon’s. One of the major projects that the chapters have focused on over the past 20 years has been providing young minority high school students with affordable college-preparatory training. GXL and Mu chapters have partnered with the University of Minnesota Office of Higher Education to provide the ACT and SAT THE SPHINX

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“W e are truly excited for

the opportunity to honor the legacy of Brother Cannon, and even more importantly to assist a student and provide financial assistance.”

RAYMOND W. CANNON 1892

Born January 28

1912

Initiated as charter member of Mu Chapter at the University of Minnesota on April 12

1913

Elected vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha

1914

Became organizing editor of The Sphinx, first issue published March 1914

1922

Elected second vice president

examination preparation course, which is in its 23rd year. Brother Dr. Ernest Davenport, a 1976 initiate of Kappa Omicron chapter and longstanding member of Gamma Xi Lambda chapter, established the program in response to low enrollment rates and the need to increase access to college by decreasing barriers.

The program has served more than 3,000 Twin Cities youths and has the largest enrollment seen this current year. This year, for the first time ever, the chapters plan to provide a scholarship to a student who completes the program and is accepted to an accredited college or university. To honor a legacy of service to the Twin Cities, the scholarship will be named the Raymond W. Cannon Scholarship.

“We are truly excited for the opportunity to honor the legacy of Brother Cannon, and even more importantly to assist a student and provide financial assistance,” said Gene Ward, Jr., a spring 2000 initiate from Mu Chapter and current president of Gamma Xi Lambda. S CENTENNIAL ISSUE

1923

Elected 12th general president

1927

Appointed Charles H. Wesley as historian to develop the Alpha Phi Alpha history book.

1946

Co-founded Gamma Xi Lambda Chapter and elected midwestern regional vice president

1947

Appointed by mayor of Minneapolis, Hubert Humphrey to the statewide Fair Employment Practices Commission

1992

Entered Omega Chapter on March 13

2014

Mu and Gamma Xi Lambda Chapters establish the Raymond W. Cannon Memorial Scholarship

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CENTENNIAL ISSUE

BY RICHARD BUTLER AND RICK BLALOCK

CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER C.T. VIVIAN RECEIVES PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM Joins lofty list of Alpha men honored

I

n 1965, when he was a young minister, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, had just completed a passionate speech about voting rights. He and other civil rights demonstrators were confronting the sheriff, Jim Clark on the steps of the Selma, Ala., courthouse.

Then the punch came.

“The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” said U.S. President Barack Obama.

Clark struck Vivian with a powerful blow, bloodying his jaw, in an incident that would make national news, portraying Clark for who he really was and what he really represented.

“This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world,” said Obama.

Back then, Vivian never imagined that he would one day be sitting in the East Room of the White House being honored by the president of the United States.

Vivian, initiated into Alpha in 2010, is a minister, author, journalist and organizer.

Born in Missouri, he was reared in Illinois and graduated from Western Illinois University, in Macomb, III. He then began working in the struggle for freedom in Peoria, Ill. Next, he headed to Nashville, becoming an editor for the Sunday School Publishing Board at the National Baptist Convention. In 1959, he enrolled at American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College).

While there, he established a local AfricanAmerican newspaper.

But in November, Brother Vivian was one of 16 honorees that received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor presented by the executive branch; similar to the Congressional Gold Medal presented by the Congress. The medal was established by President Harry Truman in 1945 to recognize notable service in war. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy 48

reintroduced it as an honor for distinguished civilian service. Since then, more than 500 Americans have been honored.

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THE SPHINX CENTENNIAL

Along with fellow seminary students Diane Nash, Brother Bernard Lafayette, James Bevel, John Lewis and others, and those at nearby Fisk University and Tennessee State University, he executed a systematic non-violent campaign for justice. He and Nash led a peaceful protest and march on city hall with 4,000 demonstrators. That persuaded the mayor to state racial discrimination was morally wrong.

Later, he became a lieutenant of the Rev. Brother Martin Luther King, Jr., and was named director of affiliates (chapters) at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Vivian is the 13th Alpha man to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, joining a distinguished list of brothers.

The most recent Alpha recipients are two other of King’s top aides: the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., the Rev. Andrew Young.

Vivian, who turns 90 in July, resides in Atlanta with his family, and remains active in the movement. His son, Al Vivian is also a member of the fraternity.

Last year, the elder Vivian agreed to serve as president of the SCLC to help it transition into a new era of leadership. Currently, he is the vice president.

While many are looking back on Vivian’s accomplishments that earned him the Medal of Freedom, he is looking forward, to the greater positive impact the award might bring about on behalf of black America.

“I was just thankful, because here’s the thing; I know how much good you can do with this honor,” Vivian said.

“Programs and ideas that I’ve wanted to do in order to push things ahead and make things better, but it’s so difficult to get attention and difficult to raise money.”

Among the good works Vivian wants to focus on are the nation’s high dropout rate, particularly for AfricanAmerican students; creating a C.T. and Octavia Vivian library to share the archives of he and his wife; and working for social justice. There is also the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute, which brings together different organizations to reduce the dropout rate and provide CENTENNIAL ISSUE

ALPHA RECIPIENTS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM Whitney Young (1968) Duke Ellington (1969) Jesse Owens (1977) Martin Luther King, Jr. (1977, posthumously) Hubert Humphrey (1980, posthumously)

opportunities for students to go to college who might not otherwise have the chance.

Vivian sees nothing more important than education in the ongoing struggle for freedom.

“This is what W.E.B. DuBois called the coalition of people trying to function within a racist culture, where a child can be murdered and they don’t even pick up the white guy that murdered him for over a month,” he said.

Andrew Young (1980)

Also honored were: baseball great Ernie Banks; former Thurgood Washington Post executive Marshall (1993, editor Ben Bradlee; former posthumously) President Bill Clinton; former John Hope Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye Franklin (1995) (posthumously); Nobel John H. Johnson (1996) Economics Prize laureate Daniel Kahneman; former Edward W. Brooke (2004) Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar; Norman Francis country singer Loretta Lynn, (2006) visionary chemist and UC, San Joseph E. Lowery Diego professor Mario Molina; (2009) former astronaut Sally Ride C.T. Vivian (posthumously); King advisor (2013) and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington Bayard Rustin (posthumously); celebrated jazz composer Arturo Sandoval; former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith; co-founder of Ms. magazine Gloria Steinem; former U.S. Appeals Court Chief Judge Patricia Wald; and television mogul Oprah Winfrey.

“Of course Oprah Winfrey’s name is going to be above ours, but that makes the point; that when you are receiving an honor with people like that it makes it easier to get things done.” said Vivian. S Staff of The Atlanta Daily World contributed to this report.

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ALPHA MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Alpha men are no strangers to political activism and public service. Alpha holds the accomplishment of having more current members of Congress than any other black Greek-letter organization. In the spirit of being “servants of all,” it is fitting to reflect and recognize those men of Alpha who have served the nation as members of Congress. Historically there have also only been nine African-American United States senators; and of those nine, two are men of Alpha. To the right is a list of those senators and representatives who are men of Alpha.

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THE SPHINX

CURRENT MEMBERS

Emanuel Cleaver II Delta Theta 12/12/1964 U.S. Representative Missouri

Chaka Fattah Zeta Omicron Lambda 4/20/1996 U.S. Representative Pennsylvania

Gregory W. Meeks Zeta Zeta Lambda 6/24/1989 U.S. Representative New York

Robert C. Scott Sigma 1/1/1966 U.S. Representative Virginia

Danny K. Davis Mu Mu Lambda 12/8/1984 U.S. Representative Illinois

Alexander “Al� Green* Beta Nu 5/10/1968 U.S. Representative Texas

David Scott Beta Nu 11/12/1964 U.S. Representative Georgia

Charles B. Rangel Alpha Gamma Lambda 11/7/1964 U.S. Representative New York

FORMER MEMBERS

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Edward William Brooke Beta 12/4/1937 U.S. Senator Massachusetts

William L. Dawson* Theta 1927 U.S. Representative Illinois

Harold Ford, Sr. Beta Omicron 3/23/1965 U.S. Representative Tennessee

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.* Eta N/A U.S. Representative New York

Ronald V. Dellums Delta Omicron 11/30/1957 U.S. Representative California

William H. Gray III* Rho 2/1/1962 U.S. Representative Pennsylvania

Julian C. Dixon* Gamma Xi 4/21/1950 U.S. Representative California

Earl Hilliard Alpha Rho 12/13/1963 U.S. Representative Alabama

Floyd Flake Zeta Gamma Lambda 4/13/2003 U.S. Representative New York

Ralph Metcalfe* Alpha Sigma N/A U.S. Representative Illinois

Steven Horsford Eta Lambda 6/21/2011 U.S. Representative Nevada

Hubert Humphrey* Honorary 1965 U.S. Senator Minnesota Roland Burris Beta Eta 11/30/1955 U.S. Senator Illinois Hansen H. Clarke Gamma Lambda 12/11/1995 U.S. Representative Minnesota

Bennett M. Stewart* Xi Lambda 9/1/1947 U.S. Representative Illinois Andrew Young Beta 5/15/1950 U.S. Representative Georgia

*Entered Omega Chapter

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

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CENTENNIAL ISSUE

ALPHA RECIPIENTS OF THE NAACP SPINGARN MEDAL

ALPHA RECIPIENTS

The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for outstanding achievement by an African American. The award, which consists of a gold medal, was created in 1914

by Joel Elias Spingarn, chairman of the board of the NAACP. It was first awarded to biologist Ernest E. Just in 1915 and has been given most years thereafter. Many fraternity brothers have received the award, including John Hope Franklin, Rayford Logan and several others.

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Dennis Archer Fmr. President American Bar Association

Ron Dellums Fmr. U.S. Representative California

Richard Arrington Fmr. Mayor Birmingham, Ala.

David Dinkins Fmr. Mayor New York

Ted Berry* Fmr. Mayor Cincinnati

John Hope Franklin* Historian

Edward W. Brooke Fmr. U.S. Senator Massachusetts

E. Franklin Frazier President American Sociological Association

Willie Brown Fmr. Mayor San FranciscoÂ

Malvin Goode* Fmr. Correspondent ABC News

Emanuel Cleaver U.S. Representative Missouri

Samuel Gravely* Fmr. Vice Admiral United States Navy

Charles Hamilton Houston* Fmr. Dean Howard University Law School Maynard Jackson* Fmr. Mayor Atlanta, Ga. John H. Johnson* Founder Johnson Publishing Rayford Logan* 15th General President Alpha Phi Alpha Ernest N. Morial* Fmr. Mayor New Orleans

Thurgood Marshall* Fmr. Associate Justice U.S. Supreme Court Samuel Pierce* Fmr. Secretary U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Fritz Pollard, Sr.* First Black Head Coach National Football League Chuck Stone* Fmr. President National Association of Black Journalists *Entered Omega Chapter

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THE SPHINX CENTENNIAL

3252 Classic Ring 14K.....$765.00 10K.....$698.00 4044 Official Ring 14K.....$1,179.00 10K.....$772.00

013R Rope Chain GF.....$27.00 SS.....$23.00 (Chain sold separately.)

Snake Chain 10K.....$504.00 GF.....$30.00 SS.....$18.00

7972 Lavaliere with diamond 14K.....$117.00 SS.....$52.00 3326 Oval Onyx Ring with encrusted letters 14K.....$705.00 10K.....$648.00

1146 Signet Ring 14K.....$798.00 10K.....$545.00

2724 Crest Lapel Button 14K.....$66.00 10K.....$50.00

2045 A.T. Cross Pen and Pencil Set GF.....$145.00

L2647 Lavaliere 10K.....$56.00 SS.....$26.00

0600 Monogram Recognition Pin 14K.....$48.00 10K.....$42.00

0027 Sweetheart Pendant with diamonds 0040 14K.....$1,989.00 Sweetheart Onyx Pendant with CZs 0028 Sweetheart Pendant 14K.....$315.00 with CZs (Chain sold separately.)

14K.....$548.00 Vermeil.....$224.00 (013R Rope Chain sold separately.)

0935 Founders Cufflinks with CZs GF.....$145.00 0933 Founders Pin with CZs GF.....$43.00

7200 Oval Cufflinks 14K.....$585.00 GF.....$88.00

MC9 Leather Money Clip/Cardholder SS....$36.00

0102 Crown Pearl Badge 14K.....$198.00 10K.....$145.00

0103 Crown Pearl Badge with onyx stones GP.....$76.00

0100 Diamond Badge 14K.....$489.00 0101 Diamond Badge 10K.....$394.00 (Shown larger than actual size to enhance detail.)

CENTENNIAL ISSUE

(Chain sold separately.)

0934 Founders Pin with diamonds 10K.....$256.00 GF.....$145.00

*Milestone jewelry must be ordered through AFA Headquarters.

8000 25 Year Pin

8010 50 Year Pin

0060 60 Year Pin

1425A Formal Shirt Stud Set 14K.....$429.00 10K.....$294.00 GF.....$136.00 0336 Black and Gold Lapel Button 14K.....$222.00 10K.....$152.00 GF.....$43.50

0070 70 Year Pin

0075 75 Year Pin

7000 Black and Gold Cufflinks 14K.....$648.00 GF.....$110.00 1404 Filigree Border Cufflinks 14K.....$630.00 GF.....$88.00

0900 Life Member Pin

To order, visit

www.HJGreek.com or call 1 • 800• 422 • 4348

Herff Jones is the Official Jeweler to Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hjgreek

Items may not be shown actual size. Prices subject to change without notice.

K – karat yellow gold, KW – karat white gold, SS – sterling silver, GF – gold-filled, GP – gold-plated CZ – cubic zirconia.

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LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

BY RICK BLALOCK

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela left legacy of reconciliation

W

hen word spread that Nelson Mandela had died, there was shock, even though most everyone knew it was inevitable.

The man who led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities, had been in intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in a hospital.

South African President Jacob Zuma made the announcement to the world on television, saying Mr. Mandela was at peace.

“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” Zuma said.

“Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.”

Mandela, affectionately known by his tribal name Madiba, received a state funeral that became the largest gathering of world leaders for a state funeral since Britain’s Winston Churchill died in 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to heal his nation after it had locked him away for nearly three decades. Mandela served a prison sentence because, like Brother Martin Luther King, Jr., he fought publicly and vociferously for the equal and human rights of his people.

Mandela joined the ranks of the world’s most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation, despite being wrongfully imprisoned for more than a quarter of his life. He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in at the World Cup in South Africa in 2004.

“Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom,” said U.S. President Barack Obama. “He touched our lives in deeply personal ways. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.”

ordered Mandela’s release, called him a “unifier” and said he had “a remarkable lack of bitterness.”

Born in 1918, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943 as a law student.

He and other ANC leaders campaigned against the apartheid system in South Africa.

In 1956, Mandela and dozens of other political activists were charged with high treason for activities against the government. His trial lasted five years, but he was ultimately acquitted.

However, four years later, police shot 69 unarmed black demonstrators in Sharpeville Township as they demonstrated outside a station. The Sharpeville Massacre was condemned worldwide, and it spurred Mandela to take a more militant tone in the fight against apartheid.

The South African government outlawed the ANC after the massacre, and an angry Mandela went underground to form a new military wing of the organization.

“ I think when they write the history of the 20th century, and they talk about giants, Nelson Mandela will be in the forefront with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.” — Congressman Bill Gray

Frederik Willem de Klerk, who shared the Peace Prize with Mandela, and as South Africa’s last white president 54

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LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

He was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, serving most of his sentence on Robben Island.

Mandela was released in 1990, thanks in part to world condemnation, economic sanctions and pressure from the United States. That pressure would not have been realized without the efforts of civil-rights groups and African-American members of Congress, led by Alpha Phi Alpha Brothers William “Bill” Gray and Ronald Dellums.

Congressman Gray, a Philadelphia minister, was the House majority whip and the highest-ranking black member in Congress at the time. He and Dellums were principal authors of an anti-apartheid legislation that created the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.

Gray died in August 2013, but not before telling a reporter, a couple months earlier, how he thought Mandela would be remembered.

“I think when they write the history of the 20th century, and they talk about giants, Nelson Mandela will be in the forefront with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Gray.

After Mandela’s release, South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation and held the first multiracial elections in 1994. Mandela was elected the country’s first black president. He served a single term, stepping down in 1999.

After leaving office, he became South Africa’s highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/AIDS and helping to secure his country’s right to host the World Cup. “Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity salutes President Nelson Mandela for all his accomplishments and sacrifices,” said Mark Tilan, general president of Alpha. “Alpha will continue to honor the memory of Mandela.” S CENTENNIAL ISSUE

HOW TWO ALPHA MEN FREED MANDELA SEPTEMBER 29, 1986. On this date, a strong bipartisan coalition in the House of Representatives overrode President Ronald Reagan’s veto of the Comprehensive Apartheid Act by a vote of 313 to 83. The bill—a compromise between two versions sponsored by Brother Rep. William (Bill) Gray [Rho ‘62] of Pennsylvania and Brother Rep. Ronald Dellums [Delta Omicron ‘57] of California— contained the first substantive economic sanctions to be levied against South Africa for its practice of racial apartheid. The sanctions banned the import of South African products such as steel, iron, uranium, coal, textiles and agricultural commodities.

It prohibited the South African government from holding U.S. bank accounts and withdrew landing rights for South African Airways. A key section of the bill banned all new U.S. loans and investments in that country. Reagan had vetoed the measure in order to impose his own economic restrictions by executive order, though opponents—including 81 Republicans who voted to override—believed the president’s plan did not go far enough.

Several days later, on Oct. 2, 1986, the Senate joined the House in overriding the veto and the measure was enacted into law. The Comprehensive Apartheid Act also marked the first congressional override of a presidential veto on a major foreign policy issue since the enactment of the War Powers Resolution in 1973. Representative Gray declared the override to be “a moral and diplomatic wake-up call.”

Rep. Mickey Leland of Texas, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus—which was a prime mover in the anti-apartheid cause—observed, “This is probably the greatest victory we’ve ever experienced. The American people have spoken and will be heard around the world.”

—U.S. House of Representatives

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LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

BY RICK BLALOCK

Alpha man helped save hundreds in Afghan war NAVY COMMANDER RECOGNIZED FOR SERVING COUNTRY, COMMUNITY

A

s the United States looks to leave Afghanistan and end its longest war, the country has a number of heroes to thank for their service and sacrifice. Many of them are members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and one of those is Lt. Cmdr.

Miguel Ferguson [Iota Nu, ‘02].

Anyone who knows Brother Ferguson will tell you he is an exceptional leader and team player. As a critical care nurse in the Navy’s nurse corp, he provided significant contributions during his 14 months deployed to Afghanistan. Ferguson’s contributions played a critical role in the success of the command’s mission.

Ferguson’s superb clinical skills, as part of a multina-

tional team, resulted in the treatment of more than 1,200 critically wounded patients—with a 97 percent survival rate.

Notably before Ferguson’s mobilization, he received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his significant contributions to the state of Alabama as a volunteer with numerous organizations throughout Birmingham.

He enlisted as a seaman right out of high school in 1992. In 2001, he was commissioned an ensign. A father of two, he was deployed to Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama’s surge strategy in January 2010. He returned home in March 2011.

He was appointed the executive officer for the Operational Health Support Unit Pensacola Detachment G, the first AfricanAmerican man to ever hold the position in the history of the detachment. Ferguson was also awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and received an Army’s Meritorious Unit Citation.

When not saving lives, Brother Ferguson contributes his time and talent to the Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Currently a member of Omicron Lambda Chapter in Birmingham, Ala., Ferguson was initiated in 2002 at Iota Nu Chapter at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. S

TOP: Brother Ferguson attends to a critically ill patient, a victim of an improvised explosive device, in the NATO Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

BOTTOM: Brother Ferguson feeding an hoursold baby whose mother had died after being shot by Taliban forces. Doctors delivered the child; the mother did not survive.

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THE SPHINX

LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

BY TERRY COLLINS

Forever immortalized SPAN OF ICONIC SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE NAMED IN HONOR OF BROTHER WILLIE BROWN

A

nother historic moment in the history of Alpha Phi Alpha was recently cemented when the California State Legislature overwheingly approved naming a stretch of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after one of the state’s most influential and powerful policymakers, Brother Willie L. Brown, Jr [Delta Omicron, ‘53].

Alpha Life Member #8142, Brown’s name will be etched along the span of the iconic bridge that connects San Francisco to Treasure Island.

convene on the state capital in Sacramento to make their presence felt similar to the project that led to the national memorial for Brother Martin Luther King, Jr., in Washington, D.C. “(This) offers an opportunity for our great fraternity to support a measure that will ensure America is flanked on each coast with monuments that commemorate Alpha men who have made an indelible impression on society,” Flye said. S

Brother Terry Collins is a reporter for the Associated Press and an award-winning journalist residing in the San Francisco Bay area. Follow him on Twitter: @ APtcollins.

The honor is another milestone for Brown, who was the first black and longest serving speaker of the California State Assembly and is a former two-term mayor of San Francisco. Despite not personally seeking to have the span named after him, Brown, 79, said he is truly touched.

“To have an African American adorn any instrument in California for the first time in the history of this state is unusually significant,” he said.

ACR65, the resolution naming the western span the “Willie L. Brown Jr. Bridge,’’ passed the state Senate with a 26-7 vote on Sept. 13, after previously passing in the state assembly by a 68-0 vote.

The resolution took effect immediately as it did not require the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The men of Alpha Phi Alpha rejoiced as it joined the California State NAACP and the California Legislative Black Caucus, among others, in the cause to rename the bridge after one of its own.

TOP LEFT: A picture of Brother Willie L. Brown, Jr.

In August, Alpha Western Region Vice President Russell Flye urged brothers in Northern California to CENTENNIAL ISSUE

TOP: The stretch of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge named in honor of Brother Willie L. Brown, Jr.

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LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

CASSIUS RUDOLPH GAMMA UPSILON ’11 In Mississippi, Brother Cassius Rudolph is one of those student leaders who stands out. On campus, at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., he was elected president of the Student Government Association.

In Alpha, he was elected assistant district director for Mississippi.

In August, he participated in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Mississippi state capitol and was one of the featured speakers.

Brothers Artis (left) and Brown stand with MoreThanAStudent co-founder, Melissa Houlemarde, a student at the University of San Diego and member of the Eta Gamma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

BROTHERS ARTIS AND BROWN ARE MORE THAN JUST STUDENTS Who are the positive role models for today’s youth? Celebrities, athletes, politicians, family members? Brother DeShaun Artis (Kappa Kappa, ‘11) and Brother Ismael Brown (Xi Iota, ‘10) ask: “Why not us?”

Artis and Brown are college students deeply involved in other activities, including but not limited to Greek life, residential life, peer mentoring and owning their own businesses. Through their involvement, they have noticed the amount of potential in the youth and their peers while also noticing the current lack of positive role models. They created More Than A Student to help address this issue.

MoreThanAStudent.com is a website that features videos and blog posts from the two about their daily lives as leaders, personal stories and current struggles/ triumphs. More Than A Student aims to be a relatable source of inspiration for fellow student leaders while also giving other students a push to do more.

Artis thinks this project is beneficial because it shows how two different students’ commitment to involvement can inspire others to get involved. “A major part of the college experience is finding a connection to the people and environment in which you are in - that’s why to me it’s so important that we use our experiences to show and encourage students to get involved, so that they can have a connection and impact that goes well beyond the classroom,” said Artis. Brown thinks the site can serve as a blueprint for youth to study. “It gives them positive figures to look up to and understand that they, too, can be leaders amongst their undesirable situations.”

More Than A Student celebrates student leaders knowing that as more students are developed into leaders, the surrounding youth will start to look up at them and call them role models, too. To learn more about More Than A Student, visit MoreThanAStudent.com and connect with the movement on Twitter: @Morethanastdnt.

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LEADERSHIP | POLITICS | SOCIAL JUSTICE

ALEX DEJARNETT KAPPA GAMMA, ’93 Alex DeJarnett served as the keynote speaker for the 2013 Emerging Young Leaders (EYL) Community Summit, hosted by the Birmingham Metro Area Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The event, which took place in September, seeks to impact the lives of middle-school girls and boys, grades six through eight.

Brother DeJarnett, a member of Gamma Mu Lambda Chapter in Tallahassee, Fla., is the chairman of the fraternity’s Standing Committee on Life Membership. DeJarnett earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Ala., and a master’s degree in applied social science at Florida A&M University, in Tallahassee, Fla.

KENNETH FURLOUGH KAPPA PSI, ’88 Brother Kenneth Furlough, a member of Mu Lambda Chapter in Washington, D.C., is serving on the Maryland Consumer Council.

Gov. Martin O’Malley previously appointed Furlough, in March 2012, to an unexpired term. He was then reappointed to a full six-year term. Furlough, a 1988 initiate, matriculated at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

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Brother Calvin Stafford with U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana on Capitol Hill.

CALVIN STAFFORD ETA CHI, ’12 Calvin Stafford worked as a press intern in the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana during the summer of 2013. He obtained the highly competitive internship after meeting with the senator last year, when he served as the student body president at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. After graduating in May, he was invited to Washington, D.C., and worked on Capitol Hill for Landrieu.

Brother Stafford, who joined the fraternity in 2012, earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and language pathology. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical psychology.

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THUA BARLAY SIGMA PHI ’94 Brother Thua G. Barlay, the managing attorney with Barlay Law Group LLC, has been named to the Leadership Georgia Class of 2014.

Leadership Georgia is a prestigious 40-yearold organization of community and state leaders that trains and builds a network of emerging young leaders from across the state. Class members visit five Georgia communities in a year-long exchange of ideas and experiences about important issues affecting the state.

Brother French Pope (center) accepts leadership award from members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Xi Sigma Omega Chapter in Montgomery, Md.

FRENCH POPE EPSILON PI ’79 Brother French Pope, currently a member of Iota Upsilon Lambda, recently received the Leadership Training Excellence Award from Xi Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Pope chairs the chapter’s March of Dimes Committee, and he’s been recognized as a top fundraiser at the annual March of Dimes walk in Montgomery County, Md. He leads a team for FedEx and his teams have raised more than $50,000 for the March of Dimes. Pope also works with the United Christian Fellowship Youth Organization, which mentors, teaches and prepares young people for future success.

KEON HARDEMON BETA NU ’04 Brother Keon Hardemon, 30, was sworn in as commissioner for Miami’s 5th District in late November. He is the youngest elected commissioner in the history of the city. Hardemon, a public defender, represents the residents of Liberty City, Little Haiti and Overtown.

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MARC ANTHONY PORCH ZETA NU ‘85 Brother Marc Anthony Porch is the central campaign director for Illinois Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tio Hardiman. Porch attended Eastern Illinois University and was initiated at Zeta Nu Chapter in spring 1985.

Porch is working hard to get Hardiman elected. He led the petition drive in central and southern Illinois that help put Hardiman first on the Democratic ballot. He is founding member of IMG RECORDINGS a recording and distribution company and ARTIST TOUR ONE a campaign/touring company. He’s using his skills to energize 17-year-olds, so they become active voters when they turn 18.

THOMAS TATUM ALPHA PHI ’81 A graduate of Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University, Thomas Tatum is making big moves in the Midwest. Tatum is the 2014 chairman of the Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization (NEFCO).

The Akron, Ohio-based agency covers Summit, Stark, Portage and Wayne counties and is responsible for environmental and economic development planning for the region.

KEVIN POWELL ZETA ETA ‘08 Brother Kevin Powell, a political activist, poet, writer and entrepreneur, has launched his latest initiative: Building Knowledge (BK) Nation. With the slogan “The leadership is us,” BK Nation is a grassroots movement combining activism, pop culture, technology and social media to spark projects and campaigns led by the people, for the people. BK Nation plans to establish chapters across the country, each featuring five core project initiatives: The Education Project, The Leadership and Civic Engagement Project, The Health and Wellness Project, The Job and Small Business Project and The Art and Culture Project.

For more information, visit BKnation.org

Brother Tatum, the housing rehabilitation administrator for the city of Akron, earned a master’s degree in Urban Planning in 1991, from the University of Akron (UA). He serves on several boards, including UA’s national alumni board of directors, Alpha Phi Alpha Homes, Inc. and the Akron Urban Minority Alcohol and Drug Outreach Program.

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ARTS | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

It’s Alive, It’s Alive: BROTHER GREVIOUX’S “I, FRANKENSTEIN”

W

ith a lack of prominent African Americans in comic books and the science fiction genre in general, Brother Kevin Grevioux [Beta, ‘83] is continuing to stand out and make his presence known. Grevioux graduated from Howard University with a degree in microbiology and went on to pursue a master’s in genetic engineering. He also began taking screenwriting and cinematography courses after earning his bachelor’s, which led to his move to Los Angeles before completing his master’s program to pursue his film career. Grevioux has had roles on the big and small screen including television shows and movies like ‘Charmed,’ ‘Men In Black II,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and 2001’s ‘Planet of the Apes.’ He is probably best known for his role as the werewolf Raze in the ‘Underworld’ movie series.

In addition to co-starring, Grevioux wrote the first ‘Underworld’ and co-produced the next two instalents of the fi franchise. His latest project that he executive-produced, wrote and has a role in, “I, Frankenstein,” is in theaters now.

Aside from his film career, Grevioux is also an avid comic book fan and writer. He has created two separate comic book-publishing companies, has written for both Marvel and DC, and created the Marvel character Blue Marvel.

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Brother Grier Hitting Hollywood

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rother Myles Grier has wanted to be an actor since he was 12 years old. Recently he was given the opportunity of a lifetime, being cast in the New ABC Family Series ‘The Fosters.’

Grier [Mu Omicron, ‘08], a graduate of Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga., has spent years working his way through the entertainment industry with countless auditions.

“Booking the co-star role on ‘The Fosters’ is one of the roles where I went in, did what I had to do,” explained Grier. The show began its first season in June 2013, and returned in January 2014, to complete the 20-episode first season.

Brother Grier was born and raised in Atlanta, where he attended the DeKalb School of the Arts; he majored in theater and minored in visual arts. After graduating from the magnet school in 2007, he pursued admission to Valdosta State University, a school with one of the best theater programs the state of Georgia has to offer.

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ARTS | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

STORY OF PERSEVERANCE

University of Michigan’s Billy Taylor Brother Billy Taylor [Epsilon, ‘69] was a three-time all-American tailback for the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he became an all- American and broke the school record for career rushing yardage and finished second in scoring. Taylor attended the University of Michigan (U-M), where he became one of the most accomplished football players in school history. He was an All-Big Ten selection three times and a first team All-Big Ten selection two times (1969 and 1970).

Taylor broke the Michigan career rushing record with 3,072 yards in three seasons.

His 587 carries was also a school record at the time he graduated. He finished his U-M career second in scoring with 32 career touchdowns and 194 points. He also set the school record in average rushing yards per game at 102 yards. He rushed for 1,297 yards in his senior season (1971) and was selected as the team MVP. In the last two minutes of the 1971 Michigan-Ohio State game, Michigan was trailing, 7-3, when Taylor ran around the end and into the end zone and Michigan won to cap an undefeated regular season.

A documentary on Taylor’s life was released.

Titled ‘Perseverance,’ the film explores his life as one of Michigan’s greatest running backs.

The fi highlights Taylor’s college glories, but goes deeper to explore the setbacks that destroyed his reputation and sent him on a 25-year roller coaster ride to recover it.

“We’re all going to stumble in life. It’s who gets back up and keeps moving forward,” said Taylor. He has also written a book about his life, titled “Get Back Up.” 64

NBA MVP AND AN ALPHA MAN Brother Nate “Tiny” Archibald [Theta Delta Lambda, ‘87] spent 14 years playing in the NBA, and is a world champion and six-time NBA all-star. He is known most notably for his stints with the Kansas City Kings and Boston Celtics.

Growing up in South Bronx, New York City, Archibald was a playground legend. After being cut from his high school team as a sophomore, he returned as a junior and by his senior year was a star being named team captain and all-city team in 1966.

Archibald went on to play for the University of Texas at El Paso, under the legendary coach Don Haskins. In the 1970 NBA draft, Archibald was selected 19th pick of the second round to the Cincinnati Royals. Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assists, becoming the first and only player, to this day, to hold the record simultaneously in both categories. He averaged 34 points a game, which at the time was unheard of for a guard. His 910 assists gave him 11 assists per game, an NBA record at the time. Archibald won his first and only NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1980–81 season alongside young NBA star Larry Bird. Archibald was also named most valuable player of the 1981 NBA all-star game. He was named to the NBA’s 50th anniversary all-time team, and in 1991 was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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AN ALPHA MAN FROM GOTHAM How did a scrawny black kid—the son of a barber and a domestic who grew up in Harlem and Trenton—become the 106th mayor of New York City? It’s a remarkable journey. Brother David Norman Dinkins [Beta, ‘47] was born in 1927, joined the U.S. Marine Corps in the waning days of World War II, went to Howard University on the G.I. Bill, graduated cum laude with a degree in mathematics in 1950 and married Joyce Burrows, whose father, Daniel Burrows, had been a state assemblyman well-versed in the workings of New York’s political machine.

It was his father-in-law who suggested the young mathematician might make an even better politician once he also got his law degree.

The political career of David Dinkins is set against the backdrop of the rising influence of a broader demographic in New York politics, including far greater segments of the city’s “gorgeous mosaic.” After a brief stint as a New York assemblyman, Dinkins was nominated as a deputy mayor by Abe Beame in 1973, but ultimately declined because he had not filed his income tax returns on time. Down but not out, he pursued his dedication to public service, first by serving as city clerk. In 1986, Dinkins was elected Manhattan borough president, and in 1989, he defeated Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani to become mayor of New York City, the largest American city to elect an African-American mayor.

As the newly-elected mayor of a city in which crime had risen precipitously in the years prior to his taking office, Dinkins vowed to attack the problems and not the victims. Despite facing a budget deficit, he hired thousands of police officers, more than any other mayoral administration in the twentieth century, and launched the “Safe Streets, Safe City” program, which fundamentally changed how police fought crime. For the first time in decades, crime rates began to fall—a trend that continues to this day. Among his other major successes, Mayor Dinkins brokered a deal that kept the US Open Tennis Championships in New York—bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to the city annually—and launched the revitalization of Times Square after decades of decay, all the while deflecting criticism and some outright racism with a seemingly unflappable demeanor. Criticized by some for his handling of the Crown Heights riots in 1991, Dinkins describes in these pages a very different version of events.

RAWN JAMES, JR. ZETA, ’95 Attorney and author Rawn James, Jr. appeared on ‘The Tavis Smiley Show’ in June to discuss his latest book, The Double V, which tells the history of how the struggle for equality in the military helped give rise to the fight for equality in civilian society. Brother James has also appeared on MSNBC’s ‘Politics Nation with Al Sharpton’ and NPR’s ‘Fresh Air with Terry Gross.’ His first book, Root and Branch, was a critically-acclaimed dual biography of Brothers Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall.

A Mayor’s Life is a revealing look at a devoted public servant and a New Yorker in love with his city, who led that city during tumultuous times.

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BOOK SHELF

LETTERS TO AN INCARCERATED BROTHER: ENCOURAGEMENT, HOPE, AND HEALING FOR INMATES AND THEIR LOVED ONES A compelling, important addition to Brother Hill Harper’s [Kappa Phi Lambda, ‘08] best-selling series, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother is inspired by the numerous young inmates who write to him seeking guidance.

After the publication of the best-selling Letters to a Young Brother, Harper began to receive an increasing number of moving letters from inmates who yearned for a connection with a successful role model. With disturbing statistics on AfricanAmerican incarceration on his mind (one in six black men were incarcerated as of 2001, and one in three can now expect to go to prison some time in their life), Harper set out to address the specific needs of inmates.

A powerful message from the heart, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother provides advice and inspiration in the face of despair along with encouraging words for restoring a sense of self-worth. As the founder of Manifest Your Destiny, a nonprofit outreach program for at-risk teens, Brother Harper has seen firsthand the transformative effect of mentorship and the power of a positive role model.

This latest addition to his Letters series delivers visionary, compassionate responses to the real-life circumstances of inmates. As with the other Letters books, Harper includes moving contributions from top educators, activists, thought leaders, and entertainers. Uplifting and insightful, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother provides the hope and inspiration inmates and their families need.

DRIVEN: FROM HOMELESS TO HERO, MY JOURNEYS ON AND OFF LAMBEAU FIELD Brother Donald Driver [Theta Sigma Lambda, ‘01], a native of Houston, after a 14-year career with the Green Bay Packers, is a four-time Pro Bowl player, Super Bowl champion and the Packers’ all-time receiving yards record holder.

Driver’s new book is a reflection of his life and career. The preface of the book sets the tone for the rest of the book as it reads: “Adversity can wreck your life. Adversity can lay you so low that you never recover. But if you stand up to adversity, it can also make you stronger, wiser, and more compassionate.”

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THE PRESIDENT’S DEVOTIONAL Brother Joshua Dubois, former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has released his new book The President’s Devotional.

Dubois, affectionately labeled President Obama’s “pastor-in- chief,” served as the president’s spiritual advisor. The book is a compilation of daily devotionals that Dubois would send to Obama each morning to help encourage and inspire him, which the president stated, “meant the world” to him.

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THE TALE OF IMANI THE BUNNY When Brother Tony Lamair Burks II set off to earn his master’s degree in educational leadership, he did not know that it would also make him a children’s-book author.

While taking a graduate course at Trevecca Nazarene University (TNU) in Nashville, a professor assigned students to convey the notion of continuous improvement.

“Some of the students wrote papers, some created artwork, and I penned a children’s book,” says Burks.

“That was 16 years ago, and now it’s published.”

The Tale of Imani the Bunny is the story of one rabbit’s journey to herself and how she uses the power of imagination to experience life and nurture her unique gifts and talents. Richly illustrated

by Luis Peres, the story is told in English with a Spanish translation provided by Jade Dickerson. The book invites children—and adults—to use their imagination to explore, learn, grow and become what they have imagined.

The main character of the story is named for Burks’ goddaughter. He says she was four at the time he wrote the tale, and gave the original copy to her as a gift—after earning an ‘A’ for the project.

Burks, initiated at Tau Lambda Chapter in Nashville, is a native of Dothan, Ala. Currently the superintendent in residence at the National Center for Urban School Transformation, he matriculated at Morehouse College in Atlanta before attending TNU. He earned his doctorate in education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A master whistler and self-proclaimed “story weaver,” The Tale of Imani the Bunny is Burks’ first published commercial work. The book is available at Amazon.com.

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THE GARVEY PROTOCOL Brother Eric Christopher Webb’s [Nu ‘89], The Garvey Protocol was recognized among the year’s best new novels by a new AfricanAmerican novelist during ceremonies for the 2013 QBR / Phyllis Wheatley Book Awards at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.

In The Garvey Protocol, Webb, a member of Rho Tau Lambda in Baltimore, MD, tackles a chilling premise with his urban conspiracy thriller.

African-American streetlevel drug dealers first, and then subsequently, random, law-abiding black men, are kidnapped into a form of slavery and exiled as America’s misguided ‘final solution’ to its War on Drugs in the 1990s— actually predicted by the late hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. Webb’s protagonist, Cinque Solomon, who is an investigative reporter and fictional Alpha brother, unravels the conspiracy.

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LIFESTYLE | EDUCATION | WELLNESS

BY FRED A. BONNER II

College days swiftly pass NAVIGATING FRATERNITY LIFE AND THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE

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s a professor of higher education and student affairs administration, one of the courses that I have taught on a fairly routine basis, College Student Development, has provided me with the opportunity to critically examine the lives of our contemporary postsecondary populations. My explorations have involved focusing on these students as collectives, for example, first-year students; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors; non-traditional matriculates; as well as individuals, such as African-American male case studies; graduate student narratives and black women in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs).

What has perhaps become one of the most interesting outcomes of teaching this course has been my recent focus on highlighting the experiences of students based on their generational cohort affiliation.

In my book, Diverse Millennial Students in College: Implications for Faculty and Student Affairs, I, along with my coeditors, bring together a cadre of scholars who each contextualize the unique experiences of college-age millennials who are not represented by the predominantly white and affluent population upon which the term millennial was normed. But, beyond my classroom and research experiences, the more

The aim of my reflections was not so much about managing the process, but about seriously focusing on the dynamics of the discussion.

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profound lesson about student development in general and millennial culture in particular happened during a fraternity alumni-chapter meeting.

Beyond all of the academic jargon, it was this authentic experience sitting there at the conference table with my “bruhs” that brought home the true story about generational variations.

Typical in the meetings, the congregational seating arrangements tended to parcel out based on affiliation bonds. Whether it was the newly minted members fresh out of the undergraduate college experience, brothers who served as administrators and faculty at the university, or brothers who shared a common “church home,” the seating tended to be somewhat consistent.

Up for discussion was a matter of significance to the chapter, a matter that would involve a significant financial and physical undertaking. As discussion on the issue ensued and became quite involved, I took notice of the room’s dynamics. Again, the teacher in me trying to practice what I consistently preach to my students; reflection in practice is just as important as reflection on practice—in the heat of the moment you need to stop and reflect on how a situation could be better managed in future engagements.

The aim of my reflections was not so much about managing the process, but about seriously focusing on the dynamics of the discussion. What became immediately obvious to me was that the back-and-forth discussion was being meted out across generational lines.

The brothers were divided with millennials on one side of the table, baby boomers and silents on the other side, with Gen Xers in the middle. To provide a bit of context, silents are those born between 1925 and 1942; baby boomers from the post World War II era from 1943 to 1964; Generation Xers from 1965 to 1980; and millennials are defined as those individuals generally born from 1982 to 2002.

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The philosophical and generational alignment is too often incongruent.

So, what does this mean for my beloved Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity? For the fraternity, it means that to remain viable in contemporary society, we must create a forum for critical dialogue and understanding that takes into account multiple and competing generational worldviews. For example, how do brothers from different generations galvanize around issues of race—are the views of the silent-generation brother (who experienced the vitriol of Plessy v. Ferguson) going to speak to the sensibilities of the millennial-generation brother who is dealing with the fallout of the Fisher v.

University of Texas case? Or, does a Generation Xer’s rigid view on masculinity matter to a millennial, who potentially has a more fluid definition of the term and feels it is not important in determining one’s outlook on life and how one lives?

So, here we were with a virtual volleying match millennials versus boomers and silents. I sat figuratively and literally in the middle of these factions—a line coach.

What was most profound, my ah-hah moment was that these brothers were in heated debate and it appeared on the surface that they were completely at odds in their perspectives; however, upon closer inspection they were not at odds at all. The respective lenses that they brought to the table were set for their specific generational myopia and any other prescription was destined to leave them with clouded vision.

This was not the first time I had been in such a space—in other meetings of alumni chapters, church and organizational meetings I have witnessed the same occurrence.

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In October 2012, I solidified my relationship with Alpha Phi Alpha even more—I became a life member of the fraternity. My reason for joining Alpha is just as clear today as it was when I started the process back in the spring of 1993, with my band of four aspirants in Brother Robert King’s living room in Waco, Texas. It is the rich diversity and legacy of accomplished men that have made Alpha Phi Alpha what it is today. And to continue our movement onward and upward we must truly commit to hearing the voices of all of our brothers to truly operationalize our motto: First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All. S

Fred A. Bonner II is a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, N.J., and is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Chair in Education. He earned a doctorate in education at the University of Arkansas and was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha in 1993 at Epsilon Epsilon Lambda Chapter in Waco, Texas.

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BY JOHN MICHAEL LEE, JR.

The Role of Alpha Phi Alpha in Improving Educational Outcomes for Men of Color As of 2012, only 43 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the United States had attained an associate degree or higher. Only 30 percent of African Americans and 21 percent of Latinos ages 25 to 34 had attained an associate degree or higher in the United States, compared to 43 percent for white Americans and 69 percent for Asian Americans. White Americans as a percentage of the total U.S. population has declined over the last 29 years from 68% in 1989 to 64% in 2010. In 2011, for the first time in U.S. history, more minorities than white

Americans were born in the United States. With this in mind, the goal of increasing the global competitiveness of the United States cannot be met without the participation of minority citizens.

Just as significant as the college completion gaps that exist for minorities in the United States is the gender gap that persists in college completion. In fact, women are driving the college completion rate of the entire nation, and the declining performance of men

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Child Protective Services, 2008; U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center, 2008; U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2008

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is reducing the ability of the U. S. to be a global leader in education. Historically, the “gender gap” term has been used to refer to the intrinsic advantages that men have in society, identifying how women have generally lagged in educational achievement. Recent data indicate, however, that the word is developing a new connotation that generally describes how women are outperforming men in terms of educational achievement and attainment in society. Although men still far outpace women in compensation and in some fields such as physics and computer science, there is some evidence that in many areas the traditional gaps are shrinking, and in educational attainment at least, women are outpacing men.

When viewing the outcomes for minority males depicted below, we see an unmistakable conclusion: there is an educational crisis for young men of color in the United States. The figure shows that men, especially minority males, lag behind their female counterparts in college access, educational attainment and employment. Minority men outpace their female counterparts only in negative post-secondary outcomes: unemployment, incarceration, and death. Incarcerations were also very significant for African-American, Asian-American, Latino and Native-American males. The post-secondary pathways data show that 10 percent of AfricanAmerican males, three percent of Asian-American males, five percent of Latino males and three percent of Native-American males are incarcerated. Prisons and jails have become a significant destination for AfricanAmerican and Latino-American males. Unfortunately, unemployment is the most likely destination for those African-American and Latino males who do not end up either dead or incarcerated. Collectively, the pathway data shows that more than 51 percent of Latino males, 45 percent of African-American males and 42% of Native-American males and 33% of Asian-American males ages 15 to24 will end up unemployed, incarcerated or dead. It has become an epidemic, and one that we must solve by resolving the educational crisis facing young men of color.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has referred to the educational achievement gap as the “Civil Rights Issue of our time,” yet the seven Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity recognized this fact back in 1906. In the 1904-05 school year at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., a half-dozen African-American students enrolled CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Why should the fraternity for the “better making of men” engage in the efforts to close the achievement gap nationally?

at the university did not return the following year. The founding of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity on December 4, 1906, was an attempt to ensure academic success at Cornell by forming a brotherhood that would provide support in a racially hostile environment. The leadership displayed then, is the same leadership that is so desperately needed from the men of Alpha today.

The question now is when are we going to step up to the plate to solve this problem that disproportionately affects African-American, Latino-American and NativeAmerican males. Alphas have careers in education (i.e., K-12 teachers and administrators, higher-education faculty, administrators and staff, etc.), politics and at non-profit organizations, yet Alpha has not meaningfully engaged in providing leadership in this national issue. While Alpha does have the Go to High School, Go to College national program and some individual chapters have programs that touch students there is no fraternity-wide strategy and goal to address the achievement gaps that exist for minority males.

Why should the fraternity, for the “better making of men,” engage in the efforts to close the achievement gap nationally? The answer is the same as the reason why the seven Jewels established the fraternity.

It is the same reason that Alpha men have been participants in every major movement in American history. The men of Alpha must step up, because we have committed ourselves to be “servants of all.” The service that Alpha provides must meet the challenges of today. Alpha must reassess its role in ensuring that minority males are successful in both high school and in college and must revamp our initiatives to prepare and mentor the students of today for the success of tomorrow. When Alpha does this it will begin to close the achievement gap and improve outcomes for African-American males. S 71

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BY CHAKA FATTAH

STEM Education THE LINCHPIN TO AMERICA’S FUTURE COMPETITIVENESS

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he United States faces a daunting challenge as it strives to compete globally in industries related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Foreign countries are seeking to leapfrog the U.S. economically by making smart investments in education, space exploration, computing, scientific discovery, and infrastructure. It is time that America refocus and do the same.

The nation’s global competitiveness hinges on it producing a technologically skilled workforce. Without investing in young people, we cannot maintain our leadership in science, technology, and innovation. As computers are used by more industries to produce newer products, they are requiring workers to have greater technical skills. If the nation is to remain competitive America must invest in workers when they are students, so that they have the chance to develop the STEM-related skills they will need in the global economy of the future. The United States is changing—both economically and demographically—and with this change we must insure that all populations are

ready to succeed. This is especially so for the underserved and disadvantaged populations.

The success of STEM education is dependent on a diverse student pipeline. Even more so, it is imperative that young African-American students and other children of minority communities remain competitive and develop a lifelong passion for these subjects.

Through my efforts and those of my colleagues in Congress, we have pushed to make sure these students have the opportunity to go to college. An example of this effort is programs such as GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).

GEAR UP is a discretionary grant program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. GEAR UP provides six-year grants to states and partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools.

To date, GEAR UP has helped 12 million students become fully prepared to attend college and over $4 billion in federal funds has been dedicated to the early awareness college program.

I believe that all education levels must be targeted through training and mentoring to encourage our future workers, researchers and scientists.

Investing in America’s students will require innovative partnerships between non-profits, the private sector, and the federal government.

U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (fifth from left) stands next to Brother Fattah as they meet with West Phildelphia high school students.

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One example of this type of partnership is a collaboration that was forged between the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and FIRST Robotics. Through this joint venture, engineers, scientists and educators affiliated with FIRST act as mentors on robotics and engineering to THE SPHINX

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the young people who are members of their local Boys & Girls Club across the country. By 2015, this partnership called the American Innovation and Mentorship (AIM) Agreement will reach a significant portion of the BCGA’s four million members. Hopefully, this collaboration will spark an interest in applied science among these children.

Another innovative collaboration is the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH). This is a strategic partnership between the New York City Department of Education, which operates the public schools in the nation’s largest city, the City University of New York and IBM. P-TECH prepares students for careers in information technology. Encompassing high school and two years of college, P-TECH focuses on moving students from high school, through college and then into a career by integrating college and career readiness into every aspect of the curricula. Because of IBM’s participation in the program, students have the opportunity to use their skills in a real-world setting through internships with IBM and other New York businesses. This program has already been adopted in Chicago, and I hope to see similar partnerships across the country.

The wide range of youth engaged in these programs demonstrates the necessity and effectiveness of these partnerships. Students are the cornerstone of the nation’s future. It is critical that we invest in their skills and development, so they can in turn contribute to the nation’s growth.

Now is the time to make those investments.

I present to you that as men of Alpha maybe it is time that we rebrand our Go to High School Go to College program to include a heavier emphasis on STEM. Not only would this be effective in Alpha Phi Alpha continuing to be trailblazers in mentoring and preparing our future leaders for tomorrow but also providing a viable opportunity for collaborations with like-minded organizations. “Providing service and advocacy to our communities” focusing on areas of need and collaboration would give us leverage in empowering our community in the most impactful way needed for future generations. S

Brother Larry Saulsberry Jr. is congratulated by his principal Rick Harris of Smiths Station Junior High School.

ALABAMA BROTHER NAMED “TEACHER OF THE YEAR” Larry Saulsberry Jr., a native of Boykin, Ala., and member of Pi Epsilon Lambda Chapter in Auburn, Ala., was selected the 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year at Smiths Station Junior High School.

Brother Saulsberry, initiated in 2009, at Delta Theta Lambda Chapter in Huntsville, Ala., currently makes his home in Opelika, with his wife Melissa.

He started his academic pursuits after accepting a full-tuition academic scholarship to Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, at which he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education.

In the classroom the “teacher of the year” has taught English and language arts in the Huntsville City Schools system and the Lee County Schools system. Believing you can always learn more and do more; Brother Saulsberry earned a master’s degree in elementary and secondary school administration from Auburn University in August 2013.

Chaka Fattah [Zeta Omicron Lambda, ‘96] is a representative in the U.S. House from Pennsylvania.

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BY RICHARD BUTLER

Alpha Man is first black male president of National PTA OTHA THORNTON TO LEAD GROUP THROUGH 2015

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hen you think of the Parent Teacher Association, you normally don’t think of dads. You think of moms; but not anymore.

Otha Thornton, a U.S. Army veteran, was recently named president of the National Parent Teacher Association.

Thornton is breaking barriers and making history all at the same time. He is the first African-American man to lead the association. “I am proud to have been elected to lead the charge for parents and teachers across the nation, and to ensure that our children have the tools and support they need to succeed,” says Thornton.

Thornton is a senior operations analyst with General Dynamics in Fort Stewart, Ga. He retired a lieutenant colonel, and his last two assignments were with the White House Communications Agency and United States Forces-Iraq in Baghdad. He earned the Bronze Star Medal for exceptional performance in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2009-2010.

Thornton’s commitment to education is rooted in his own childhood.

“My mom really stressed the importance of education,” he says. “Education was a thing that really helped me move through life: faith, family and education. So I want to make sure that we provide those opportunities to all kids.”

Thornton’s foray into education continued when he showed up at a PTA meeting for his children’s school. He recalls there were seven people present, and the school had 2,000 students, Thornton took charge and turned seven parents into 400. He has used similar tactics to leave his mark on other state PTAs, including Georgia and Maryland.

During his time with the Georgia PTA, he served on the board of directors as legislative chair. At the Maryland

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Brother Otha Thornton receiving the gavel from past National PTA President Betsy Landers, during his installation ceremony in June 2013, at Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.

PTA he was board development committee chairman, and was a member of Anne Arundel County’s Superintendent High Performing High School Task Force.

Maryland’s governor appointed him to the Maryland Education Task Force.

Thornton joined Alpha Phi Alpha in 2007, initiated at Eta Eta Lambda Chapter in Annapolis, Md. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College in Atlanta and a master’s degree at Michigan Technological University, in the state’s Upper Peninsula.

In addition to his PTA work, he has served as a youth program volunteer at his church and is a mentor for the fraternity’s Go To High School Go To College program. He is also a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association.

As the PTA president he’s placing a premium on empowering parents.

“You are who you are because your parents raised you a certain way,” Thornton says. “If parents are informed, and you’re providing information that they need, nine times out of 10, they’re going to come through for you.” S THE SPHINX

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LUTHER MARSHALL WASHINGTON OMICRON RHO, ’88 Brother Luther Marshall Washington was selected to serve as the third president of New River Community and Technical College in Beckley, W.Va. Washington earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. He also earned a master’s degree from Winona State University in Winona, Minn., and a doctorate in educational studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Prior to his new position, Washington, a member of Zeta Theta Lambda Chapter in Harrisburg, Pa., was the vice president of the Lancaster Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College. He also previously served as vice president of Student Services at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Mich.

KENYATTA SHAMBURGER ETA LAMBDA, ‘97 Brother Kenyatta Shamburger has taken the position of assistant dean of students and director of multicultural student affairs at Iowa State University.

Shamburger was the director of student activities at Clemson University in Clemson in South Carolina, for nearly seven years.

Shamburger works in conjunction with the dean of students.

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KENNETH ROBINSON GAMMA GAMMA LAMBDA, ’82 Kenneth Robinson was recently granted tenure at his aa mater, Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. As an undergraduate, Robinson was a charter member of Pi Alpha Chapter. Now a tenured faculty member in the university’s College of Business and Behavioral Science, he teaches courses in sociology, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development.

A fraternity-designated “Distinguished Collegian,” Brother Robinson has served as president of Pi Alpha’s alumni organization.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1984, Robinson earned graduate degrees at the University of Texas at Austin and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. , Robinson is currently a member of Rho Delta Lambda Chapter in Anderson, S.C., where he serves as chairman of the chapter’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. memorial celebration and is associate editor to The Sphinx.

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LIFESTYLE | EDUCATION | WELLNESS

(CDC), they account for an estimated 44 percent of new HIV infections and nearly half (44 percent) of people A NEW WEAPON IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS living with HIV infection. Since the epidemic began, more than 260,800 black people “ Blacks account for more new HIV infections, have died of AIDS. Unless people estimated to be living with HIV the course of the epidemic changes, at some point in their disease, and HIV-related deaths than any lifetime, an estimated 1 in 16 other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.” black men and 1 in 32 black — KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION women will be diagnosed with HIV. But more help than ever before is available, including new benefits in the Affordable Care Act that remove barriers to insurance coverage, ecember 1, marked the 25th observance of and provide better coverage options for many people World AIDS Day. It was a reminder of how living with HIV and AIDS. far we have come since 1981, when several previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles Effective Jan. 1, 2014, no one can be denied health insurwere found to be infected with a mysterious and fatal ance or charged more because of a pre-existing health immune deficiency. In the three decades since, the condition, such as HIV. Insurers are no longer allowed to disease has claimed more than 35 million lives and limit how much they will spend on a person’s medical has become a global pandemic. The World Health care—over a year or a lifetime, including people living Organization reports that 35.3 million people worldwide with HIV. And plans sold through the health insurance are living with HIV today. marketplaces must provide a minimum set of benefits that should prove helpful for HIV care, including prescripBut according to the United Nations, “New HIV infections tion drugs, doctor visits, hospital care, mental health care among adults and children were estimated at 2.3 million and certain preventive services, including HIV tests. in 2012, a 33 percent reduction since 2001… AIDS-related deaths have also dropped by 30 percent since the peak The National Urban League also remains a major source of in 2005 as access to antiretroviral treatment expands.” help. The NUL is a partner organization in the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI), a network of nationalHere in the United States, a little more than a million level organizations that focus on African Americans, Americans are living with HIV today. Partly because black men who have sex with men (MSM), and the Latino of longer life expectancies for people infected, over community. Launched in 2009 by CDC and the White the past decade, the number of people living with House, AAALI is a five-year national campaign to combat the disease in the U.S. has increased, while the annual complacency about HIV and AIDS in the United States. number of new HIV infections has remained stable. But Urban League affiliates around the country also offer HIV we should not mistake better manageability of the awareness services and campaigns in their local comdisease as an indication that it has become a minor munities. While much progress has been made, the fight problem. The pace of new infections continues at far against against HIV and AIDS is far from over. S too high a level—particularly among gay men, African Americans and Latinos. And African Americans continue to experience the most severe burden of HIV, compared with other races and ethnicities.

Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National

BY MARC H. MORIAL

Affordable Care Act

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Black people represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, but according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CENTENNIAL ISSUE

Urban League and the former mayor of New Orleans.

A member of Kappa Xi Lambda Chapter in New York, he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha at Psi Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania.

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LIFESTYLE | EDUCATION | WELLNESS

STUDENT NATIONAL DENTAL ASSN. LEADERS MEET

LEO H. ROSS XI ‘66 Brother Leo H. Ross is a community pharmacist in Richmond, Virginia, and recently received the 2013 Bowl of Hygeia Award for community service presented by the Virginia Pharmacists Association. The Bowl of Hygeia Award is presented annually to one pharmacist in each state. He is a nine-year pharmacist volunteer at the Crossover Ministry Free Clinic. It provides medical, dental, optometric, mental health care, and prescriptions free of charge to patients without medical insurance including undocumented immigrants and the homeless. Ross is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy. Ross is also the past chairman and vice chairman of the Virginia board of pharmacy and a member of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. He is a charter member of the Xi Delta Lambda Chapter in Henrico County, Virginia.

Brothers Christopher Chance [Epsilon Chi, ‘08], SNDA chapter president at the University of Kentucky, Harrison Black [Iota Xi, ‘08], SNDA Corporate Round Table Representative, and David Carter [Delta Kappa, ‘08], SNDA president, discuss establishing opportunities to develop stronger alliances amongst SNDA chapters, thus aiding in the advancements of students of color within the field of dentistry.

BROTHERS LEAD THE DENTISTRY PROFESSION Brother Roy L. Irons [Gamma Upsilon, ‘69] a retired U.S. Navy captain and past president of the National Dental Association (NDA) received the NDA President’s Award at the NDA 2013 convention. The SNDA has had a long-standing goal for over 40 years to promote, aid and support the academic and social environment of minority students.

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THE SPHINX

LIFESTYLE | EDUCATION | WELLNESS

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BUSINESS | FINANCE

BY RODERICK L. SMOTHERS, SR.

Let’s go get that money!

FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES THAT YIELD PROMISING RETURNS

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ver the past decade, in my role as a chief fundraiser at two universities, I have often been asked about ways nonprofit groups can raise money—including requests from many Alpha Phi Alpha brothers and their respective college and alumni chapters. So, I created a workshop series titled “Let’s Go Get That Money!” The “Let’s Go Get That Money” series features a number of traditional and contemporary fail-proof fundraising strategies.

For purposes of chapters in the fraternity, first and foremost, they should establish a “Chapter Annual Fund Appeal” (CAFA). This strategy, commonly known in the non-profit world as an “annual fund,” is one of the most

common ways to secure unrestricted revenue. When implemented correctly, a CAFA can substantially augment a chapter’s annual budget.

The main approach of CAFA is simple. It involves the active engagement of a college chapter’s alumni (and regular membership for alumni chapters) with a unique message highlighting the chapter’s annual accomplishments and seeking support to enhance the level of service rendered. The aim is to secure a target number of brothers who will commit to making monthly, quarterly or annual contributions in modest increments. Here’s an example:

CHAPTER A Chartered: April 15, 1972 Current membership: 9 Number of living alumni: 328 Appeal mode: newsletter (electronic and hard copy) Number of alumni who signed up in year one: 43 Average monthly gift: $20 Amount raised in year one: $13,500 Financial processing system used: PayPal Dominate mode of giving: bank draft/credit card draft The success enjoyed by Chapter A described above is not inimitable. It can be easily duplicated by taking the following steps:

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1. Have a worthy cause As a chapter, engage in meaningful service related activities on a regular and consistent basis. At minimum, chapters should be fully executing the fraternity’s national programs. I highly encourage chapters to have an annual “signature” program that delivers a sizeable impact to the community in which it resides.

2. Establish a realistic fundraising goal Establishing a realistic fundraising goal should be tied directly to the chapter’s annual operations plan. For some chapters, it may serve to fill budgetary gaps; for others, it may serve as a way to establish a chapter reserve or to support a specific activity. Either way, the entire chapter should be a part of the process as it will take the entire chapter to make this initiative work. In the example of Chapter A, cited above, it established an annual fundraising goal of $10,000. Its members endeavored to accomplish this goal by securing contributions from 10% of the chapter’s alumni base. As you can see, it far exceeded its goal. A CAFA can do the same for your chapter.

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3. Know your target audience Knowing and understanding the chapters target audience is perhaps the most important aspect of executing a successful CAFA program—this is where Alpha chapters have an advantage. In the world of nonprofit fundraising, over 75 percent of the effort is spent cultivating prospects and/or donors and educating them on the importance and relevance of the work on the organization.

There are three major reasons why prospects don’t give: 1) they are never asked; 2) they don’t resonate with the cause; or 3) there is no existing relationship with the appealing entity.

4. Create an effective appeal Now that you have a worthy cause, an enumerative fundraising goal and an accurate assessment of your target audience—it’s time to put together your appeal.

Traditionally, the appeal letter should come from the chapter president with an accompanying newsletter highlighting the chapter’s impact. While this model is still very effective today, the appeal has evolved somewhat in the new era of electronic communication.

Regardless of the methods, the most important element is to find a way to get the appeal to every alumnus. A few pointers for the appeal include: • M ake sure message is relevant, impactful and well written. Messages tied to the chapter’s current vision and simultaneously recognizing the contributions of alumni are very effective.

• T he last two paragraphs should always contain the “ask” and a “thanks in advance” statement. Approach the message with a blended tone of obligation, benevolence and pride.

• M ake sure that the giving mechanism is clearly explained and simple to execute. Donors don’t like complicated processes.

• I f your process involves the donor’s mailing in a payment, make sure you enclose a pre-addressed envelope, with postage.

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5. Follow up on a regular and consistent basis Thirty days after the initial dissemination of the appeal, execute the following: • S end a reminder postcard (electronic or U.S. postal service).

• I mmediately acknowledge all gifts with a personal call from the chapter president, or the current chapter member who holds the same “line number” as the donor. This adds a special touch.

• E ngage the chapter’s alumni by establishing line challenges.

• M ake sure each chapter member is responsible for outreach to a segment of the chapter’s alumni (or regular membership in alumni chapters).

6. Send an end-of-year report showing accountability and stewardship of funds After you receive an overwheing response to your CAFA, which you will, and you have successfully used the funds as promised, always send a one-page endof-year update to all donors. The report should contain evidence that you have used the funds for the purpose for which you solicited them. In most cases, this report should be developed by the chapter treasurer or financial secretary, and signed by the chapter president.

In summary, brothers should remember the basic principles of philanthropy: “The Six Rights of Fundraising.”

They are: the right person, asking the right prospect for the right amount for the right reason at the right time in the right way.

The Chapter Annual Fund Appeal is a tried-and-true method of raising funds. It encapsulates all of the aforementioned “rights;” it is designed for all chapters; and it can be very effective if properly executed. S

Roderick L. Smothers, Sr. is vice president for institutional advancement at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree at Louisiana State University, and is the immediate past Southwestern regional vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

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BUSINESS | FINANCE

BY SEAN M. ALLEN

Résumés 101 WHY YOU SHOULD USE AN OBJECTIVE STATEMENT

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n today’s fast-paced job market, sometimes brevity is best. This is especially so when it comes to résumés. Many employers frown on résumés that extend beyond two pages—some still prefer onepage résumés. Fitting all your experience on one or two pages can be difficult, especially if you have vast amount of experience.

But one thing you should not cut out is the objective statement (normally at the top of your résumé) or a profile statement. Those statements take up prime real estate on your résumé, but if you have diverse career experience and you have no objective or profile statement on your résumé, how can employers identify your career goals?

An objective is usually two sentences describing what career opportunity you are seeking. A profile statement is usually around four sentences briefly highlighting your experience and what career opportunity you are seeking.

Objective and profile statements really come in handy if you: • Have varied experience; you don’t want the employer getting lost with all the information, making it difficult to understand what you are looking for.

• H ave a functional résumé that describes skills rather than your experience in chronological order.

ll that said, there are occasions when you may not A need to use an objective or profile statement. But, you must make certain your résumé still tells who you are and why you are the best person for the job you are seeking. For example, you do not necessarily need objective or profile statements if you: • H ave a complete résumé and it is clear that the career opportunity you are looking for coincides with your past experience.

• A re submitting your résumé for a single position online or attached in an email message.

Keep in mind that a résumé is a factual biography of your experience and skills. Choose wisely when deciding your résumé’s content and use objective and profile statements when necessary to increase your professional first impression. irst impressions are lasting and your résumé is the F first snapshot of you that a prospective employer sees. Make it standout, and it will end up on the top of the stack. S

Sean M. Allen [Beta Psi Lambda, ‘12] is CEO of Sean’s Résumé Shop, a Los Angeles-based career-planning services company.

• W ant to highlight your career focus, past experience, or identify what makes you stand out from other applicants.

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THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION From left: Brothers Anthony Williams and Gerard Merritt make a presentation about their new games

BROTHERS SCORE BIG IN GAMING INDUSTRY Brothers Gerard Merritt and Anthony Williams were recently honored at the first Indienomicon Expo in Orlando. Indienomicon is local trade group bringing awareness of the pool of talent of indie developers of Central Florida.

Merritt is founder and CEO of CelleC Games and Williams is president of CG Solutions Group. In December, they showcased and demonstrated four of their latest educational-based games: Robo Math Bubble; Factory Rush; Ant Path and Math Slash.

They also displayed their first simulation game: Virtual Airport Security Training Simulator.

Both brothers were initiated at Xi Iota Chapter at the University of Central Florida, and they are currently active members in Delta Xi Lambda Chapter in Orlando. S

While focusing on the political aspect of the civil rights struggle, we left our wallets at home.

Although the buying power of black America is expected to reach a whopping $1.1 trillion by 2015, African Americans net worth is far beneath that, earning an average of only $5,000 per household. It has been estimated that 53% of wealth has disappeared in the black community since the 2009 recession, raising the danger that black people have not yet rebounded collectively.

The answer lies in changing financial behavior. Owning only about 2% of all businesses in America, blacks have yet to spread their entrepreneurial wings. Educationally, blacks continue to earn college degrees, but are still most affected by alarming student loan debt. In order to make a full rebound black people must become more than just consumers.

Jamaal Myles [Tau Alpha, ‘08], after overcoming $95,000 in tuition debt, founded The Urban Money Manager in an effort to help other college men with student loan debt. Follow him on twitter @theurbanmoney.

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CHAPTER NEWS

Host chapter brothers take a photo with General President Mark S. Tillman during the 2013 Austin General Convention.

BY JOSHUA HARRIS

HOSTING A GENERAL CONVENTION GAMMA ETA LAMBDA Hotels, convention centers, public programs, city tours and women and children’s activities are just a few of the moving parts that we see at a general convention.

Considering that upwards of 10,000 Alpha men have flooded the streets at past general conventions, it takes a collaborative effort to make a general convention happen. One of the integral parts of that effort is the host chapter.

“It takes having the proper influence, power and brothers to engage the city and the community to support hosting the convention,” said Brother Albert Thomas [Tau Lambda, ‘98], past president of Gamma Eta Lambda Chapter.

Thomas was one of the 2013 convention planning team members and a liaison from the general convention planning team to the host chapter in Austin.

Director of Conventions Van Strickland [Kappa Alpha, ‘82] had several site visits and weekly conference calls to receive updates on the work that the host chapter was doing to prepare for the convention. news releases, city welcomes and presentations, local vendor outreach and social events are all tasks that need to be done, and the foot soldiers on the ground are the members of host chapters.

“When planning a convention, success depends on developing an early and strong relationship with the host chapter,” said Strickland. “Their support and knowledge of their city can be invaluable as you plan.”

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With so many cities placing bids to host general conventions, many often wonder what inspires a host chapter to take responsibility to ensure the successful hosting of a general convention.

“Gamma Eta Lambda was determined to show that a chapter of our size could showcase our city, which many doubted,” said Brother Noel Sherman [Delta, ‘93], a chapter member. “We also wanted to be the first black Greek-letter organization to hold a national convention in Austin, Texas.”

With large welcome signs displayed behind the counter of the hotel concierge, there was no question that Alpha was in Austin. The public program turnout showed evidence of the host chapter’s influence in the local community. Although there were many successes, there are often challenges to overcome while planning a convention. With each host chapter and each year, these obstacles can change.

“The biggest obstacle for the chapter to overcome was dealing with the transition of chapter leadership during the time frame of planning for the convention,” said Thomas.

While the chapter worked to overcome obstacles, Sherman and Thomas have both taken time to reflect, so that they may help other chapters understand how to more efficiently and effectively execute a successful convention.

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“WALL STREET ALPHAS” HONOR BROTHER DAVID DINKINS Members of Kappa Xi Lambda Chapter, also known as the Wall Street Alphas, and Beta Chapter alumni hosted a special tribute to former New York City Mayor David Dinkins in November.

The event, An Alpha Man from Gotham, brought together brothers from several generations.

Brother David Dinkins is an Alpha initiate from the organization’s Beta Chapter at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The event was held at the famous Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem, which is owned by world famous chefs, Marcus Samuelsson and Derek Fleming, who is also a member of the fraternity.

Several esteemed members of the organization attended including: Congressmen Charles B. Rangel, Greg Meeks, Chaka Fattah, National Urban League President Marc H. Morial and R. Anthony Mills, Eastern region vice president.

Area Alpha chapter presidents were also on hand to greet Dinkins with presentations and gifts on behalf of their chapters.

In May, several members of the fraternity met with Dinkins following graduation ceremonies at Columbia University, where he is a professor in the School of International and Public Affairs. After spending some time with the venerable former mayor, the idea of having a tribute was born.

“We’re really excited as this event was promoted across fraternity social networks, around the country,” said planning committee chairman, Theodore P. Cummings. “We’re most excited about how a diverse group of men have coalesced and are working together to to honor a great man.”

The event was well attended by brothers who traveled across the country to honor Dinkins’ life and legacy. It was a spirited and honest representation of what Alpha Phi Alpha represents.

Brothers celebrate Brother David Dinkins (seated) for his achievements in public office.

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CHAPTER NEWS

UCLA BROTHERS HELP CREATE VIRAL VIDEO

SCAN THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE SPOKEN WORD VIDEO ‘THE BLACK BRUINS’ BY SY STOKES.

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As leaders at the University of California, Los Angeles Brothers of Gamma Xi took part in a video highlighting the dearth of African-American students at UCLA and other predominantly white institutions. Many of the brothers already conduct research with world-renowned professor, educator Brother Tyrone Howard [Omicron Eta, ‘88] in the Graduate Center for Education where their research is focused on statistics on black male retention at UCLA and the first-year black male experience, and the state of black males in education in metro Los Angeles. Using this research and having casual dialogue on campus, brothers were asked by a fellow researcher to participate in the compilation of the video along with fellow student and spoken-word performer Sy Stokes. It targets areas like athletics and the Anderson School of Management in which the university prides itself on building its legacy, and yet the number of black males on campus continues to decline.

Brothers’ involvement was marked by holding figures that displayed the tarnishing statistics being said in the spoken word with looks of disdain.

Most of the statistics were ones that they configured from their research.

Since then, brothers have been asked to present at forums, speak on news broadcasts and radio shows. More than 1 million people viewed the video online. Brothers continue to encourage the school’s administration to fund current outreach programs targeting black inner-city students.

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UPSILON MU ERECTS MONUMENT AT SMU In October, at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, the brothers of Upsilon Mu Chapter were recognized by SMU President R. Gerald Turner as well as other school administrators and staff. The university dedicated a stone marker in the new SMU Multicultural Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Council Garden. The university created the garden to provide a presence on campus to recognize Alpha for the contributions it has made to the SMU community.

FROM LEFT: Upsilon Mu Chapter Brothers Dotun Okulate, Christopher Dorsey, Andrew Udofa, Dexter Green, Derek Flowers, Michael Pittman, Beionny Mickles and Ryan Stoker with the new Alpha Phi Alpha stone marker.

Brothers at Alpha Eta Lambda Chapter and others opened the “House of Alpha� in Houston to General President Mark S. Tilan during his visit to the area. Tillman was the guest of honor during a fellowship event at the Alpha Merit House.

Nearly 100 brothers from Houston-area chapters gathered for barbeque and brotherly fellowship. The general president noted during his remarks that mentorship efforts should be among the major focus of what brothers do in the fraternity.

Later, as the group of brothers thinned, there were frank conversations about mentoring not just in the community but also within Alpha, from brother to brother, and assisting college brothers with their transition to alumni chapters.

Gamma Iota Chapter, chartered in 1947, made a triumphant return to the campus of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. The chapter celebrated by performing a series of communityservice projects including volunteering at the Eva C Mitchell Child Development Center.

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M L K D AY O F S E R V I C E Brother David Myers [Mu Pi Lambda, 08], at an unveiling of a civil rights marker on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Day for Mr. CC Bryant.

King and Bryant shared the same birthday. Myers is a state representative in the Mississippi House.

The men of Mu Omicron Chapter at Valdosta State University took part in the MLK day of service.

Brothers and other volunteers helped clean the roadsides on one of the busiest streets in Valdosta, Ga. The community service project lasted two hours. It was a great experience for many of the brothers, and it gave other individuals an opportunity to get involved in the community. Brothers plan to make this project an annual part of their community service initiative.

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Sigma Chapter worked with the City Mission Society of Boston, where they cleaned a local church for the MLK Day of Service. Famously, the Twelfth Baptist Church, Roxbury, Mass., was the same church that Brother Martin Luther King, Jr. attended during his time living in Boston.

Pictured at left, Sigma Chapter brothers, from left: Kevin Smith (‘13), Dexter McCoy (‘13), Matthew Farmer (‘13), Kyle Lawrence (‘13), Javaughn Griffin (‘11).

Brothers from Nu Pi Lambda and Zeta Chi at the University of Texas-Arlington participated in the Arlington, Texas MLK Day of Service on Jan. 20, 2014. During the event the brothers provided restoration services to a selected neighborhood home to assist in exterior cleanup, which included yard work, removal of brush and debris as well as general beautification of the home. The homeowners said they were pleased with the efforts and generosity of the brothers.

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The Tau Eta Chapter, seated at the College of Charleston, celebrated the MLK Day of Service with an Adopt-A-Highway project in West Ashley, S.C. For over three hours, brothers, along with members of Iota Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, conducted a litter-pick-up project.

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CHAPTER NEWS

Brothers at the Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College are celebrating Donnay Ragland and Charles Wilkes being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, joining Alpha Rho inductees Malco Morse and Jameson Miller who were already inducted into the prestigious society. Additionally, Brothers Aaron Francis, Amal Yamusah and Winford Rice were inducted into Golden Keys International Honor Society. Alpha Rho graduated 17 brothers, the likes of which are matriculating at, UC Berkley’s law school; Yale University’s divinity school; Columbia University’s journalism school; the University of Michigan’s Rackham School of Graduate Studies, and Georgetown University. Alpha Rho organized service work with M. Agnes Jones Middle School, Christ United Church, Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, Steps to Feed Hunger Campaign, and the Muslim Unity Event.

Brothers from Rho Nu Chapter, a city-wide chapter located in Boston, Terrence Moore, [‘12] Nabil Daoud [‘13] and Colin Marts [‘13] participated in a photo Campaign, highlighting the faces and voices of black students at Harvard.

“We felt it a necessary statement to make on campus and potentially across this country,” said Marts. “As black role models with the privilege to appeal on a larger scale, we had to do so.”

The three brothers say black voices often go unheard on the Harvard campus, experiences are devalued, and presence is questioned. This project was their way of speaking back, of claiming the campus, of standing up to say: “We are here.”

The #itooamharvard photo campaign is inspired by “I, Too, Am Harvard,” a play based on interviews with members of the black community exploring and affirming the diverse experiences of black students at Harvard.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF I TOO AM HARVARD

“The ITooAmHarvard movement has highlighted racial issues that have too long been ignored,” said Moore. “Thanks to a strong student initiative, the photo campaign’s global success has facilitated a dialogue between faculty and the community, fostering practical ideas for institutional change.”

For more info on the project, Google: itooamharvard.

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The brothers and alumni members of Mu Sigma Chapter at the Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Rochester donated $58,000 to establish the Alpha Phi Alpha Mu Sigma Endowment Fund.

The brothers were chartered and recognized for being the first African-American group to establish an endowment during the school’s annual gala. The endowment will provide scholarships for African-American and Latino students pursuing careers in science and engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Each fall, brothers at Mu Sigma Lambda Chapter in Los Angeles, complete a trio of service projects that span across metropolitan Los Angeles: a Thanksgiving meal giveaway, the Junior Gents Mentorship Project and an annual holiday toy drive.

Brothers of Mu Sigma Lambda Chapter at their 2013 holiday toy drive with children from the Pediatric Services Department at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center in Downey, Calif.

Thanksgiving 2013 saw brothers deliver more than $2,000 in groceries for 10 families. In the mentoring program, led

by Brother Kraig Golden, the chapter is mentoring 25 “junior gents” ages 13 to 18.

They are learning everything from how to tie ties, to how to avoiding sexually transmitted diseases. The young men also volunteer at the Los Angeles Mission, learning how to serve the less-fortunate through community service.

Closing out the year, the brothers of Mu Sigma Lambda donated toys to ill children at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center in Downey, Calif.

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Beta Beta Lambda brothers in Miami visited the Paul Laurence Dunbar K-8 Center, Frederick Douglass Elementary and Phyllis Wheatley Elementary schools to distribute toys to some of the area’s best and brightest students.

ALPHA “ROCKS” even on the basketball court. With only a split second left on the clock, Brother Rufus Hudson of Beta Omicron Lambda Chapter in Mobile, Ala., saved the day when he made the final three points during the WAVE Charity Basketball Game pitting the brothers against members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. The game was part of a fundraiser benefiting the March of Dimes. The game was held at the Plateau Community Center.

A few brothers take time out for a photo during the chapter’s signature event, Senior Brothers Breakfast in Carrollton, Ga.

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After five years since its chartering, Tau Chi Chapter continues to develop young men to serve as leaders. At the beginning of the 2013 fall semester, Tau Chi brothers hosted their annual Etiquette Seminar, discussing topics on personal hygiene, appropriate work attire, corporate etiquette and citizenship. The interactive seminar, attended by University of West Georgia (UWG) students and faculty members, has become a signature event for the chapter.

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PHOTO BY THE WAART FOUNDATION

In October, Walmart announced a $10,000 grant to Alpha Phi Alpha’s Georgia District Education Foundation from the Waart Foundation, presented by Brother Jermaine Jackson. The grant is to support the organization’s College Life to Corporate Life Initiative (C2C) and community outreach programming for at-risk youth.

The grant is part of the Waart Foundation’s local community giving and volunteerismalways-pays program. The C2C program plays a vital role in preparing diverse youth to move to the top of the ladder in the workforce and builds leadership skills benefiting the community at large, once they graduate from college.

Brothers from Iota Pi Lambda and Beta Beta Lambda chapters joined the Miami-Dade Chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council to serve the residents of Camillus House. Over a dozen NPHC members met to prepare and serve meals to over 150 residents at the center’s Downtown Central location. The volunteers also donated food items and began the meal preparation for the center’s annual Thanksgiving meal. Camillus House is a Christian based nonprofit organization whose mission is to care for the poor and homeless of South Florida.

In October, brothers from Theta Delta Lambda in El Paso, Texas, celebrated 51 years of service to their community. The Chapter continued its fundraising ways in 2013 with its 34th Annual Las Vegas Night Fundraiser in May, followed by a scholarship program in June. The brothers awarded six $1,500 scholarships to graduating high school students during the National Pan-Hellenic Council of El Paso Scholarship Program. Additionally, the chapter maintains an education endowment at the University of Texas at El Paso, which awards a scholarship to a university student each year.

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OMEGA CHAPTER

Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy [Gamma Eta, ‘58]

B

rother Walt Bellamy, a 1958 initiate of Gamma Eta Chapter, and Hall of Fame center who averaged 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in 14 seasons in the NBA, died Saturday November 9, 2013. He was 74 years old.

Brother Bellamy was a former Indiana University star, won an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and was the first overall pick by the Chicago Packers in 1961. He was the rookie of the year with Chicago, averaging 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds, and also played for the Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta and New Orleans Jazz. He played in four All-Star games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Honorable William H. Gray

William Wayman Ward

[Rho, ‘62]

[Xi ‘48]

Brothers, it is with great sympathy that we inform you of the passing of a political giant within Alpha. The Honorable Brother William H. Gray, a 1962 Rho Chapter initiate passed away suddenly on Monday July 1, 2013.

Brother William Wayman Ward entered the Omega Chapter on June 28, 2013. He could be considered a scion of “Alpha royalty” as his late father, Brother A. Wayman Ward, was the author of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity prayer and a national chaplain of the fraternity. Wayman, a lifelong servant, gave 65 years to Alpha, with a majority of those years as a cornerstone of Xi Lambda Chapter.

Born in Baton Rouge, La., Gray graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and Drew Theological Seminary in Jersey City, N.J., before being elected as a Democrat to Congress in 1978. He served as chairman of the powerful budget committee and became the first African-American in the 20th century to become majority whip of the U.S. House. During his tenure, he authored legislation implementing economic sanctions against South Africa.

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OMEGA CHAPTER

Below is a listing of members who have entered Omega Chapter. For each member: we list his name; the category of membership (college, alumni or life; with life member number if available); chapter of initiation; date of initiation; last chapter active with; and date of death. All of the information is based on what is submitted by chapters and family members and reconciled with the fraternity’s records.

Zenoch G. Adams LM 6140 Tau Lambda: 6/4/62 Omega: 4/26/13

Harry L. Cross LM 2151 Delta Sigma Lambda: 3/1/50 Omega: 7/17/13

Anthony Carl Arnett Phi Lambda: 11/17/12 Omega: 5/22/13

Anthony Culpepper Jr. Gamma Xi: 11/8/03 N/A Omega: 6/26/13

Clifford Bridges Jr. Delta Delta Lambda: 12/1/67 Omega: 11/21/13 Webster B. Brooks LM 7417 Gamma Lambda: 11/4/83 General Organization Omega: 12/18/13

Tommie Cutts Jr. Delta Gamma: 4/1/69 Delta Theta Lambda Omega: 11/14/13 Eugene C. Davis Epsilon Nu Lambda: 1/19/90 Omega: 4/1/13

Joseph Brown Rho Beta: 11/4/49 Rho Beta Lambda Omega: 7/2/13

Ernest Davis Beta: 5/17/52 Zeta Delta Lambda Omega: 6/2/13

Jermaine E Byrd Gamma Lambda: 11/8/08 Omega: 5/30/13

Gwenard F. Davis Delta Beta: 12/17/61 Xi Psi Lambda Omega: 11/29/13

Lance Chaney Gamma Delta: 3/17/78 Omicron Upsilon Lambda Omega: 7/21/13 John L. Cohen LM 7826 Alpha Xi Lambda: 3/31/62 Omega: 5/1/13

Melvin L. Etienne Kappa Iota Lambda: 3/23/02 Omega: 1/3/14 William H. Franklin LM 1438 Beta Kappa: 12/5/41 Alpha Tau Lambda Omega: 6/16/13

Ralph C. T. Franklin LM 4464 Zeta Pi: 2/28/71 Nu Mu Lambda Omega: 10/13/13 Derek A. Fulson Epsilon Chi: 4/8/00 Alpha Lambda Omega: 11/30/13 Willie S. Garrett Xi Lambda: 10/2/76 Omega: 7/31/13 William H. Gray LM 3794 Rho: 2/1/62 Omega: 7/1/13 Richard L. Green LM 10312 Beta: 12/8/53 Tau Lambda Omega: 6/25/13 Eugene Grigsby Jr. Alpha Rho: 12/5/35 Delta Tau Lambda Omega: 6/9/13 Titus C. Hall Delta Rho Lambda: 5/25/56 Iota Beta Lambda Omega: 7/28/13

John L. Harvey Delta Psi: 11/30/63 Xi Psi Lambda Omega: 4/1/13 Freddie C. Henderson Alpha Sigma: 12/13/63 Omega: 9/26/13 Otis J. Henderson LM 372 Alpha Rho: 4/11/46 Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 10/22/13 Cornelius R. Hill Theta Iota Lambda: 2/19/78 Omega: 10/26/13 Charles R. Holiday LM 5366 Eta Theta Lambda: 3/1/82 Iota Beta Lambda Omega: 9/16/13 Charles H. Jones Sr. Beta Kappa: 11/1/39 Epsilon Xi Lambda Omega: 4/7/13 Hinton C. Jones Jr. Tau Lambda: 3/12/81 Omega: 8/29/13 Ernest J.l. Lawson LM 2814 Theta Lambda: 5/27/61 Kappa Iota Lambda Omega: 6/23/13

TO ALL OUR BROTHERS IN OMEGA CHAPTER, MAY YOU REST IN PEACE TO ALL OUR BROTHERS IN OMEGA CHAPTER... MAY YOU REST IN PEACE CENTENNIAL WINTER 2013–2014 ISSUE

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CHAPTER OMEGA CHAPTER NEWS

Andrew J. Love Phi: 5/1/67 Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 8/19/13 James Lucas LM 1884 Alpha Psi Lambda: 11/17/73 Omega: 8/6/13 Daniel L. Mann LM 4411 General Organization: Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 8/19/13 Porter W. Myrick Sr. Beta Tau: 4/15/40 Xi Lambda Omega: 7/8/13 Amidu J. Nallo Mu Epsilon Lambda: 2/8/89 Omega: 7/27/13 William E. Nelson Jr. LM 3633 Gamma Delta: 12/1/59 Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 8/19/13 Robert D. Nesbitt Jr. LM 5979 Gamma Zeta: 1/19/56 Alpha Upsilon Lambda Omega: 8/27/13

OMEGA CHAPTER

Huel D. Perkins LM 2111 Beta Sigma: 12/20/41 Beta Iota Lambda Omega: 4/15/13

Arvarh E. Strickland LM 1563 Gamma Upsilon: 2/1/49 Beta Zeta Lambda Omega: 4/30/13

Joe Williams LM 9322 Delta Theta: 12/1/50 Alpha Eta Lambda Omega: 9/24/13

Glen Pettway Kappa: 11/30/67 Alpha Rho Lambda Omega: 8/20/13

Beresford Swan LM 9479 Beta Alpha: 9/1/60 Epsilon Theta Lambda Omega: 10/6/13

Tony Williams Delta Gamma: 2/28/82 General Organization Omega: 10/12/13

David Priest LM 8495 Delta Gamma: 4/1/50 Xi Lambda Omega: 11/11/13 Julius L. Rawls Xi Lambda: 8/22/92 Omega: 10/4/13 Dan Richardson Alpha Delta: 5/1/74 Eta Pi Lambda Omega: 9/30/13 Joseph B. Rogers Omicron Tau: 3/11/84 Delta Psi Lambda Omega: 10/7/13 George A. Smith Mu Alpha: 4/5/86 Omega: 7/20/13

Anthony J. Thurston LM 3521 Theta Eta Lambda: 6/2/73 Omega: 4/20/13 William A. Tipper LM 666 Alpha Psi: 4/1/53 Epsilon Upsilon Lambda Omega: 4/26/13 James DeJay Toliver Beta Gamma: 11/9/01 Omega: 6/12/13

Walter F. Worrill LM 3196 Xi Lambda: 7/21/56 Omega: 4/8/13 Roy Young Alpha Sigma: 5/1/59 Eta Rho Lambda Omega: 8/12/13

Bedford Bradley Vaughn Alpha Tau Lambda: 5/17/55 Alpha Pi Lambda Omega: 12/21/13 W. Wayman Ward LM 2166 Xi: 1/31/48 Xi Lambda Omega: 6/28/13

Vernon Lee O’Gilvie Jr. Gamma Chi Lambda: 2/12/05 Omega: 7/6/13

Morron C. Smith Jr. LM 4835 Beta Omicron: 10/1/58 Delta Psi Lambda Omega: 9/26/13

Isaac J. Olds LM 6798 Beta Epsilon: 11/12/43 Alpha Phi Lambda Omega: 9/5/13

William E. Smith Jr. LM 6819 Delta Xi: 4/29/56 Alpha Lambda Omega: 11/1/13

Louis Webster LM 8205 Mu Delta Lambda: 6/1/77 Omega: 8/3/13

Robert K. Patterson Delta Tau: 11/13/52 Pi Delta Lambda Omega: 11/2/13

Albert E. Smith Kappa Lambda: 5/31/71 Delta Zeta Lambda Omega: 11/17/13

Horace A. Williams LM 539 Beta Tau: 5/1/48 Omega: 8/19/13

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Robert A. Williams LM 4829 Gamma Iota: 4/1/65 Delta Psi Lambda Omega: 12/12/13

Edward O. Watts Rho Lambda: 3/17/89 Omega: 10/31/13

THE THE SPHINX SPHINX

Leading by Example

Come BaCk to the house. go to alphanet.apa1906.net

Brother,

Are You the missing piece?