The SPHINX | Spring/Summer 2011 | Volume 96 | Number 2 & 3

SPRING-SUMMER 2011 VOLUME 96 H NO. 2 & NO. 3

The

ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC.

®

America’s Windy City Turns “Ice Cold”

Gavel-to-Gavel Coverage of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 105th Anniversary Convention in Chicago

ON ASSIGNMENT: Alphas in South Africa

GOVERNOR MARC MORIAL? NUL’s CEO on the future

ERIC HAM: The BRICS are coming! The BRICS are coming!

JEWEL Charles Henry Chapman

Jewel Charles Henry ChapMAN, 1929

CONTENTS THE SPHINX® H SPRING-SUMMER 2011 H VOLUME 96 H NO. 2 AND NO. 3

12 Putting liquid soul into media marketing In MONEY & BUSINESS: why Hollywood is turning to two Alpha men to make their films box-office hits.

13 ASSIGNMENT: SOUTH AFRICA

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South Africa is a destination, but once there you realize it truly is a journey. In February, Alpha members made history by establishing a fraternity chapter in the capital city of Johannesburg.

23 The BRICS and why they matter Paul Revere warned the United States that “the British are coming!” More than 200 years later a new warning has sounded. “The BRICS are coming!” In WORLD AFFAIRS Eric Ham looks at the West’s next economic transformation—and it may not bode well for America.

42 Commencement, now what?

In INITIATIVES: Darryl Peal and F. Carl Walton pose the question and explain why African-American men must graduate from college. Douglas Wilson weighs the U.S. healthcare debate and who hangs in the balance.

46 General Convention convenes in Chicago From nearly every continent, men of Alpha came to the Windy City to promote a “global vision for brotherhood,” and open the “gateway to the dream.” Special recognition was given to the men who have been members for more than 75 years.

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84 7 QUESTIONS for Marc Morial In The Sphinx interview the president and CEO of the National Urban League speaks out on everything from what can be done to save cities like Detroit, how NUL has changed, to seeking office again. But, this time it won’t be city hall, but perhaps the governor’s mansion.

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FROM THE

General President

2011 is already going down in the history books

Whew!

What an exhausting six months! First, members of Alpha sojourned to South Africa in February on a historic mission to charter a chapter there and rediscover the great cities of that country, including Johannesburg and Cape Town.

We also toured the townships like Soweto, where we were given a wakeup call that Alpha is needed all over the world, not just in the U.S., and felt the spirit of Nelson Mandela everywhere we visited.

I also took a trip, on behalf of Alpha, to South Korea to visit with our dynamic and hardworking brothers in Seoul. They are the “soul” of Seoul. Their mentoring efforts are phenomenal. We also conquered Europe again! With the support of our brothers in Germany, we re-chartered a college chapter and chartered an alumni chapter in London.

Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. Email: president@apa1906.net Twitter@generalprez Facebook: Skip Mason

It has been eye-opening for me, as general president, to make these stops. Many may ask why international chapters are needed, and why we must go to these places. For the answer, all you have to do is ask the brothers who are there. Ask the ones who are so far from home about how good they feel doing the work of Alpha overseas. They will also tell you that seeing any brother from the states paying a visit, let alone the general president, rekindles their spirit to continue to be “first of all, servants of all.” These visits are also historic, and I love to be where history is being made. In 2008, I set out to make these journeys a reality, and I’m proud they are happening. These voyages continue to inspire and energize me personally and the brotherhood as a whole.

In June we took the Windy City by storm with the 105th Anniversary Convention in Chicago. We went with a renewed purpose and many challenges. Chicago has historically been known for being the site for major paradigm shifts in the fraternal sphere. We celebrated our global expansion with the addition of the Liberia and Freeport Bahamas chapters. We also stood at the gateway to completing our dream project, the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.

We also continue making strides in our communities here in North America. The latest example is Brother Michael Hancock, the new mayor of Denver, Colo. Congratulations to him and the scores of brothers who are stepping up and making a difference. He exemplifies our mission to develop leaders. I congratulate the Alpha Class of 2011, dubbed the King Scholars, as we celebrate the year of our Brother Martin Luther King Jr. Lastly, the times also let us know that nothing lasts forever. We lost several Alpha brothers to our Omega Chapter over the last few months. Particularly of note are Brothers Dr. Emmett Bashful of Louisiana and two of our fraternity’s chaplains—the Reverend John Doggett and the Reverend Dr. Sylvester Shannon. They left an indelible mark on the fraternity and on me, with their service to the fraternity. It will not be forgotten.

Above: The general president on tour at grave of 18th General President Frank L. Stanley in Louisville, Ky., during the Midwestern Regional Convention; at the final resting place of 23rd General President Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial in New Orleans, La.; and visiting the Korean Monument in Seoul, South Korea, to pay tribute to all brothers and men who fought valiantly (including my father Herman Mason Sr., who served in the Korean War).

2 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

Finally, let me thank each brother for your continued prayers, words of encouragement, constructive criticism, tweets and texts of support for what we are doing in this administration.

I am so glad that we still believe in the 7! H

CONTRIBUTORS ERIC HAM is founder and managing director of The XII Project in Washington, D.C., and managing editor of its online news blog Capitol Connections. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan (UM), where he joined Alpha Phi Alpha at Pi Upsilon Chapter at UM’s Dearborn, Mich., campus. Before heading up The XII Project, Ham worked in several influential posts on Capitol Hill, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at the American Civil Liberties Union. He has written several publications including the Joint Experts’ Statement on Iran and Advancing Peace Mitigating Crisis, a report that offers a comprehensive blueprint for incorporating peace-building into U.S. foreign policy. He also created and led the Israeli-Palestinian Congressional Initiative. An expert on world and national-security affairs, he writes the inaugural story for The Sphinx’s new WORLD AFFAIRS section, focusing on the BRICS nations.

DARRYL A. PEAL is the president & CEO of the South Central Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc., comprised of a network of more then150 corporate and government members and more than 500 certified minority business enterprises. He was dean of students Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and before that was deputy director of the state of Ohio’s Equal Opportunity Division. A longtime member of Alpha Phi Alpha, he served as Midwestern regional vice president for four years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, and a master’s degree in social science from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In INITIATIVES he pens the story on “Why African-American men must graduate from college.”

F. CARL WALTON is the associate vice president for student development at Lincoln University in Lincoln University, Pa. He is also a tenured professor of political science. He has taught at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., and also at Morris Brown College (MBC) in Atlanta, Ga. He earned a bachelor’s degree at MBC, where he joined Alpha Phi Alpha at Iota Chapter. A well-soughtafter political scientist, he has worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional fellow. He holds a master’s degree and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in political science, both from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. In INITIATIVES, he pens a column on commencement, and why it is not the end of a phase, but the beginning.

J.W. WILEY is the director of the Center for Diversity at the State University of New York Plattsburgh. He also holds the position of lecturer in philosophy and interdisciplinary studies. He is president of the Xamining Diversity consulting firm. He joined Alpha Phi Alpha in 1983 at the Mu Chi Chapter at California State University, Long Beach. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. He is currently a member of Pi Tau Lambda Chapter in Burlington. In ARTS AND CULTURE, Wiley tells what led him to write one of the iconic fraternity poems, ‘Dare To Be An Alpha Man.’ DOUGLAS WILSON earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, N.C. He worked as regional field director in South Carolina on President Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. He is the founder of Politics Is Power, a research and education institute dedicated to the promotion of moderate progressive policies. In 1999, he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha at Theta Nu Chapter at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. In the INITIATIVES section, he explores the new Affordable Healthcare Act, which many of the president’s opponents call “Obamacare.”

MILTON C. WOODARD works on the customer service strategy team of P&C Claims at Nationwide Insurance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the State University of New York Old Westbury in Old Westbury, N.Y. Initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha at Zeta Zeta Lambda Chapter in St. Albans, Queens, N.Y., in 1997, he is president of Alpha Rho Lambda Chapter in Columbus, Ohio. He writes the lead news story on the 75th anniversary of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens making history and breaking racial stereotypes at the 1936 Berlin summer Olympics.

The

If you are interested in being a contributor to The Sphinx, please contact us at sphinx@apa1906.net.

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IN EVERY ISSUE

The

2 GENERAL OFFICERS’ LETTERS 5 EDITOR’S DESK 6 NEWS 12 MONEY AND BUSINESS 23 WORLD AFFAIRS 24 REGIONAL ROUND UP AND CHAPTER NEWS 42 INITIATIVES 81 PERSPECTIVE 82 ARTS AND CULTURE 84 7 QUESTIONS: The Sphinx Interview 85 BROTHERS ON THE MOVE 88 OMEGA CHAPTER 90 LEADERSHIP DIRECTORY

Organizing Editor RAYMOND W. CANNON (1892-1992) Organizing General President HENRY LAKE DICKASON (1886-1957) Official Organ of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.® Spring-Summer 2011 – Volume 96, No. 2 and No. 3

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RICK BLALOCK rlblalock@apa1906.net EXECUTIVE EDITOR Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ezzard C. Rolle, Jr WORLD AFFAIRS EDITOR Eric Ham ASSOCIATE EDITORS Marvin H. Bailey Jr., Jabriel S. Ballentine, David C. Brown Jr., Russell J. Bunn Blaine Casanave, Chase-Julian Vernell Cheatham, Reginald Cooper, Troy Anthony Corbin Sr. Dennis A. Dean II, Dennis A. Doster, Leonard Le’Doux Jr., Audwin B. Fletcher Darrell V. Freeman, Ruben L. Freeman, Byron J. Grayson, Reynaldo P. Green Troy D. Griffin, Bernard M. Harris, Shaun Harris, James E. Hale II, Kenneth D. Hale Phillip C. Hayes, Terry L. Hazzard, Jonathan Hill, Jerret Holmes, Lee House Kemar Hunter, John W. Huggins, Drevon Jones, James E. Jones Jr. Jonathan C.W. Jones, Samuel H. Lloyd, Don Marshall, Robert A. Massey Roscoe W. McClain Jr., Calvin McNeill, M.D., Willie R. Mickell Jr., Renard Mobley Anthony Moore III, Blake Moorman, James A. Muhammad, Jeramaine O. Netherly Herbert Olivier, Garrison Owens, Carlos M. Parker, Philip E. Parker, Jimmie M. Peterson Trevor G. Piper, Freddie Player, Frisco Pullom, Michael D. Rachal, Ainsley A. Reynolds Damion Sean Samuels, Zahmu Sankofa, Kristian M. Sawyers Derrick L. Sibert, Karl J. Simon, Hamardo Sinclair, Julian Smart, De’Shawn Smith Steve Smith, Victor K Smith, Ross Stuckey, Bryan Thompson, Leemar Thorpe Charles M. Washington, Martinez White, Jeremy Wilkerson, Shelby Willis George Wimberly, Gabriel Winzer, Gerald Yerby

COPY EDITOR K. Thomas Oglesby

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Since the founding of The Sphinx in 1914, the African-American community has looked to the publication for its profound insight on issues of the day. The Sphinx is the world’s second-oldest continuously published African-American magazine in existence and is preserved in libraries and archives across the country as an historical record of community occurrences and the great issues of the day.

Those interested in writing articles for The Sphinx are encouraged to read the writer’s guidelines at www.apa1906.net or write the editorial office for a printed copy of the guidelines at The Sphinx Editorial Offices, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., 2313 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21218-5211.

You may also request guidelines and instructions via direct e-mail at sphinx@apa1906.net.

The deadline for submissions for upcoming issues is 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on the following dates: Fall, August 31; and Winter 2012, October 22.

The Sphinx® is printed in the United States of America

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Bryan J.A. Kelly, William Douglass Lyle, Don Weston SENIOR WRITERS Ellis Albright, Waldo E. Johnson Jr., Derrick Alexander Pope, Ron Peters Andrew Timothy Siwo, F. Carl Walton CONTRIBUTING WRITERS U. Grant Baldwin Jr., James E. Ball, Mark Barnes, Ferrel Bonner, Jean G. Celestin Jean McGianni, Celestin, James Crumel, Aaron Crutison, Rashid Darden Horace Dawson, Nicholas Fletcher, Ira L. Foster, Esq., Joseph Gambrell, M.D. Antoine M. Garibaldi, Justin Harlow, Ronald C. Jackson, Ricardo R. Jefferson M. Cole Jones, Khouri Marshall, Michael John Myers II, Quincy O’Neal, Darryl A. Peal Lowell W. Perry, Jr., James V. Pierce, Michael A. Smith, M.D., Roderick Smothers Zollie Stevenson, Bradley D. Thomas, Mark Tillman, Norman E.W. Towels Ronnie Versher Jr., J.W. Wiley, Marques Wilkes, Douglas Wilson Sacoby Wilson, Milton C. Woodard CONTRIBUTORS Hyacinth C. Ahuruonye, Don M. Alameda, Cory J. Anderson, Mark A. Anderson Edward D. Anthony III, Michael E. Armour, Larry Armstrong, Kenneth Avery Marco Barker, Kengie Bass, Brandon Batts, Dominique Beaumonte, Will Bell Mark Brown, Rodney Cash, Keith Chaney, Tony Cheatham, Bobby Clark Charles C. Davis Jr., Milton C. Davis, Reginald Davis, Stanford L. Deckard, II Delores Diggs, Arthur Doctor, William Doctor, Horace Dukes, Von Eaglin Michael Feeney, Audwin B. Fletcher, Nicholas Fletcher, James Ford, Everette Garmon Ray Gittens, Gregory Glass, Henry Goodgame Jr., Larry Goodwin, Anthony Graham Henry Green, Carlton L. Haithcox Sr., James Hale, K.D. Hale, James Hammond Randy Hall, Brandon Hamilton, Eric E. Heath, Lewis C. Hicks, Billy J. Hill Ronnie Horne, Curtis Horton, Reginald Howard, Ajani B. Husbands, Maurice Hurry Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Jeffrey, Michael Jenkins, Richard T. James Jr., Brandon Johnson David M. Johnson, Emile Johnson, Kevin R. Johnson, Michael T. Johnson Franklin L. Jones, Jabari Jones, James Joyce, Issam Khoury, Eric King, Fonzell King Christi A. Landry, Claude Anthony Legree III, Eufrancia G. Lash, Anthony Lewis Antwan-La’Mont Lofton, Dale Long, Donald Lowrance, Tommie Mack Whittaker Mack III, Johnnie MacTwine Sr., Jonathan D. Madison Darryl R. Matthews Sr., Theo McClammy, Terence McPherson, Jeremy Mercer Ryan Eian Middleton, Matthew Miles, Paul B. Mohr Sr., Blake Moorman Demetri Morgan, Gordon C. Murray, Esq., Gary C. Nash, Keith Nelson Kedrick Nicholas, Gary D. Oliver, Jon Pack, Chris Palmer, Philip Parker Clinton R. Parks Jr., Thomas Pawley, Dameon Proctor, Charles V. Piphus Jr. Napoleon Richardson Jr., Ernest Jacob Rieux, Oz Roberts, Victor Robinson Vernon Ross Jr., Mark Scott, Michangelo Scruggs, John C. Shelby, Geoffrey R. Shiloh Benny Smith, Hilton O. Smith, Langston D. Smith, Marcus B. Stallworth Brandon M. Stark, Robbie Stokes, Henry Stovall, Michael Street, James Stukes Michael E.M. Sudarkasa, Rickey Thigpen, Ralph Thomas, Anthony Thompson Sherelle S. Torrence, Marvin Turner, Perrye Turner, Rayburne Turner Simon Valcin Jr., Darius White, Orrin White, Michael Williams, Rodney Williams T. Nelson Williams II, Zachery R. Williams, Corey Wilson Rhonda Workman, Kim Wright-King, Christopher Wyckoff, Billy Yarbrough

ART DIRECTION THE O’NEAL GROUP Toni O’Neal Mosley Michelle Y. Glennon

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PHOTOGRAPHERS Alonzo S. Blalock, Rickey Brown, Jarvis Harris Bryan J.A. Kelly, Jeff Lewis, Jason Lewis Philip McCollum, Oz Roberts, Cory Thompson, Jamal Wiggins Christopher Williams, Evelyn Wright, James A. Wright ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC. Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., General President William Douglass Lyle, Executive Director James W. Ward, Chairman, Committee on Publications FOUNDERS Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, Vertner Woodson Tandy The Sphinx Editorial Offices Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 2313 St. Paul St. • Baltimore, MD 21218-5211 (410) 554-0040 . • (410) 554-0054 FAX . • www.alpha1906.net Advertising and Sales Contact: sphinx@apa1906.net © 2011 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolving and growing to meet new information needs in the new century

The other day

Editor’s Desk

I received a very nice letter—well, actually an e-mail... no, it was a Facebook message—from Brother Orlando DeBruce Stet. Orlando has been a member of Alpha for as long as I can remember. We met during the time when Alpha brothers like him, CNN colleague Roland Martin, former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Herb Lowe and I were running around college campuses as rookie newshounds and making our presence known as youthful forces in the National Association of Black Journalists.

The note from Orlando said: “Bro. Blalock, I really like what you’ve done with The Sphinx magazine. Our Jewels would be proud. From one journalist to another, good job!”

I mention this because, in the busy course of things, we sometimes don’t stop, step back and look at the magnanimity of what we do and how it helps and impacts the lives of others. Until I read that simple note, I never thought about that: the founders of the fraternity, and of course the founder of The Sphinx, Brother Raymond Cannon, being proud of me. That’s pretty awesome!

However, the team of associate editors who plow through the original content and the contributing writers, the production and art staff, who transform it all into reader-friendly copy and imaging, are to be commended as much as the person who carries the “inchief” title. Their names appear on the masthead (on page 4).

What I do know is that in keeping with the best traditions of this magazine—especially as it heads toward its centennial year—we continue to work to make The Sphinx a worldclass publication that is relevant. Doing that means making certain we cover the critical stories of the day and be prescient about what’s around the corner. In keeping with that mission, you’ll find in this issue two new sections we have added to the magazine: WORLD AFFAIRS and MONEY & BUSINESS. WORLD AFFAIRS highlights international matters of importance and how those issues affect people in the United States and around the globe. Editor Eric Ham, based in Washington, D.C., pens our inaugural story about the emerging economic powers, called the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. We begin the MONEY & BUSINESS section with a profile of two Atlanta-based entrepreneurs who left corporate America, opened up their own shop, and now help major media conglomerates earn millions because of their marketing savvy.

Rick Blalock is a two-time Emmy® winner and editor of The Sphinx. sphinx@apa1906.net

Our cover story is on the Chicago General Convention. Fraternity members from around the world came to the “Windy City” to discuss, debate and help resolve some of the major issues facing America and the world. In our INITIATIVES section we discuss the importance of graduating from college. Two university experts in the field make plain the benefits of graduating and downside of not. Our SPECIAL REPORT takes us to the African continent, with ASSIGNMENT: SOUTH AFRICA. A delegation of Alpha members report on what they experienced during a trip there earlier this year. It can best be described as an eye-opener. H

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NEWS

Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens’ three daughters, his grandchildren, and members of Alpha Rho Lambda Chapter stand in front of the eight-foot bronze statue of Owens at The Ohio State University.

Bill Cosby, who ran track at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., speaks to the crowd at the program honoring Jesse Owens.

Jesse Owens Honored by Ohio State University

By Milton C. Woodward

ON APRIL 21, 2011, Brother Jesse

“Seventy-five years ago this summer in

dedication were the distinguishing

Owens was again the star of the track

Berlin, while much of the rest of the world

characters of individuals, not their race or

and field as The Ohio State University

kowtowed to the Nazis, Jesse Owens stood

nationality.

(OSU) in Columbus, Ohio, celebrated

up to them at their own Olympics, refuting

the 75th anniversary of his history-

their venomous theories with his awesome

Owens in Alabama in 1913, the son of a

making 1936 performance at the Berlin

deeds,” said ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap, who

tenant farmer and grandson of a slave. He

Olympic Games in Germany. Owens was

emceed the program.

was called “J.C.” for short, but when his

initiated into Alpha at Kappa Chapter

Owens’ family members, and faculty

Owens was born James Cleveland

family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922,

in 1932 at OSU. The university unveiled

and staff of the OSU leadership and a

one of his teachers gave him the name

a statue of the track legend outside the

host of special guests and friends attended

that would remain with him for the rest of

Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at his

the event.

his life. Upon hearing “J.C.,” the teacher

alma mater.

At the 1936 summer games, Owens

mistook it for “Jesse” and recorded “Jesse

achieved what no Olympic athlete before

Owens” in her roll book—a name that not

an Alpha brother who, through his athletic

him had accomplished: he won four

only stuck, but would soon make history.

ability, broke down many barriers hindering

gold medals. His athletic victories were

not only the advancement of colored people

deemed triumphs over Adolph Hitler’s

and-field athlete began when he was a

socially, but the advancement of democracy.

claim that the German “Aryan” people

youngster. As a junior high school student,

Entertainer Bill Cosby, a former college track

were the dominant race. Owens proved

he set records in both the high jump and

star, delivered key remarks.

that individual excellence and personal

broad jump. Later, in high school, he

It was a star-studded event honoring

6 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

His accomplishments as a track-

NEWS

Members of Alpha Rho Lambda in Columbus, Ohio, join Midwestern Vice President Mark Tillman (second from left) and immediate past Vice President Darryl Peal (front row, third from right) with the daughters of Brother Jesse Owens. They celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Owens’ historic Olympic victory, at which he won four gold medals during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

The statue of Brother Jesse Owens, unveiled at The Ohio State University, depicts him clutching the four gold medals he won at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany.

75 Years After Summer Games in Berlin won Ohio’s state track championship three years in a row. As a college student, Owens set all sorts of records, including his feats in the Olympics.

When his days as an athlete ended, Owens turned his attention to mentoring underprivileged youth by working with groups such as the Chicago Boys Club.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor bestowed by the Executive Branch of government,

by President Jimmy Carter.

Owens died in March 1980 in Tucson, Ariz. H The Jesse Owens Memorial stadium at The Ohio State University in Colombus.

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NEWS

Garibaldi Takes Helm at University of Detroit Mercy MICHIGAN’S LARGEST private Catholic university has named Antoine M. Garibaldi as its newest president. The University of Detroit-Mercy (UDM) Board of Trustees selected Brother Garibaldi last fall. He assumed his duties July 1. He joins UDM after serving as president of Gannon University in Erie, Pa. “We are very pleased to have President Garibaldi join the University of Detroit Mercy community,” said John D. Lewis, chairman of the trustee board.

“Given his tenure as a Catholic university president, he brings strong leadership skills and extensive experience that will enable UDM to continue its mission of providing a quality academic experience within a Catholic and urban context.”

Recognized as a national scholar in higher education, Garibaldi’s career spans more than 35 years as a tenured professor, accomplished researcher and educational

administrator. Garibaldi served as Gannon University’s president since 2001. During that time, the university’s enrollment increased by 24 percent, from 3,401 to 4,238 students, the highest in 17 years, and its endowment more than doubled. In 2008, he successfully completed the largest comprehensive fund-raising campaign in Gannon’s history, raising more than $31.5 million in private gifts and $8 million in foundation and government grants.

Other major accomplishments during his nearly 10-year tenure include: U.S. News & World Report top-tier rankings for seven straight years, Best Value (or Great School, Great Price) rankings for five years, and a Top Up-and-Coming recognition; highly successful five-year Strategic Plans I and II; establishment of the Erie Technology Incubator; and acquisition of and major renovations to more than a dozen administrative, academic and

student-housing buildings.

“I am honored to be selected as the first lay president of the University of Detroit Mercy,” said Garibaldi. “As a nationally ranked Catholic university with its distinctive Mercy and Jesuit traditions, I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students and trustees to continue to advance the academic excellence and student-centered emphases that are reflected in the UDM mission.”

“For us, we see this as a further boost to reclamation and recruitment of aspiring young men on the campus to become Alpha men,” said Charles P. Ashley, president of Pi Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.

“In the past we had Chancellor Brother William Jenkins at University of MichiganDearborn, and now we have Brother Garibaldi at UDM. It’s really an honor and terrific resource having an Alpha brother leading the university.” Pi Upsilon Chapter, seated at UMD, just outside of Detroit, is also the chapter for aspirants from the University of Detroit Mercy.

A native of New Orleans,

Brother Antoine M. Garibaldi

La., Garibaldi earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., in 1976 and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in sociology from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1973. He remains an active scholar in the professional disciplines of education and psychology, producing more than 11 books and monographs and more than 80 research articles and chapters. His research interests focus on educational achievement and attainment in schools, African-American males, teacher education, and the growing gender and racial disparities in education. H

Brown Inaugurated at Alcorn State University

Brother M. Christopher Brown II delivers his presidential inaugural address at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss.

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SCORES OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA members from across the country recently came to Mississippi to celebrate the inauguration of Brother M. Christopher Brown II as the 18th president of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss. There was a neophyte show for the new initiates, a reception and a First Mother’s Luncheon, honoring Brown’s mother. Other Alpha college presidents participating in the investiture ceremony included Wayne Riley, president of Meharry Medical College, and Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College. During his inaugural address Brown acknowledged the work and spiritual presence of Alpha’s late 24th General President Walter Washington, who also served as president of Alcorn State. H

NEWS

Alpha Playwright Stages New Production on Obama

Brother Vincent K. Brooks (center) gets his third star as Gen. James D. Thurman, Forces Command commander, and Brooks’ wife, Carol Brooks, participate in the pinning ceremony.

Brooks was promoted from major general to lieutenant general and then took command of Third Army, now headquartered in South Carolina. Photo By Nicholas Salcido.

Third Army Now Answers to Alpha Man VINCENT K. BROOKS is another Alpha man at the highest ranks of the U.S. military on whom the free world depends on to continue the traditions of democracy and freedom.

Earlier this year he was nominated by President Barack Obama for promotion from major general to three-star rank of lieutenant general. He was also given a new assignment to lead the U.S. Third Army.

Brother Brooks assumed his duties just as Third Army was in the final He will command a force stages of transferring operations from Fort McPherson in Atlanta, of 36,000, in support of Ga., to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. He will command a force more than 130,000 troops of 36,000 in support of more than 130,000 troops in the U.S. Army’s in the U.S. Army’s Central Central Command, which comprises Command, which comprises operations in the Middle East and parts of Asia. He comes to the new operations in the Middle post after serving as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division at East, and parts of Asia.

Fort Riley, Kansas.

Brooks, who comes from a military family, was born in Anchorage, Alaska and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he rose to the rank of cadet first captain, the highest position (cadet brigade commander), a cadet can hold. He was the first African-American cadet to hold this prestigious position. He graduated from West Point in 1980. H

MAURICE HENDERSON opened his new play, ‘OBAMA: Straight No Chaser’ in March, on the anniversary of the famed speech on race delivered by President Barack Obama at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Previously making its official premier and sold-out preview on President’s Day in February, this staged adaptation is about the latent trials and tribulations of becoming the first African-American president.

Currently embarking on a national tour, the production will arrive in Washington, D.C., during the last weekend of August (the week of the unveiling of the monument at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial). The fall-season tour will kick off in New York.

Brother Henderson is a 1981 initiate of Alpha, who joined at Theta Epsilon Chapter at Adelphi University in Long Island, N.Y. His award-winning and bestselling writing has been proclaimed and acknowledged by the Library of Congress, the American Poetry Center and Time Life Books series AfricanAmericans: Voices of Triumph.

Henderson is a 1983 graduate of Adelphi University and has been teaching at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., since 1985. He has taught for Freedom Theater, Venture Theater, Walnut Street Theater and the University of the Arts.

He has also been a director for Bushfire Theater and Playworks, and had his play staged locally at the Theater Center Philadelphia, Shubin Theater, Walnut Street Theater and the Annenberg Center.

H FOR MORE ON ARTS AND , CULTURE, GO TO PAGE 86 to read about Alpha’s poet laureates.

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NEWS

Dateline: Across the A PHI A Nation White House holds prayer breakfast: April 19, Alpha Phi Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. represents the fraternity as prayer is led by the Right Reverend Vashti Murphy McKenzie, bishop of the 13th Episcopal district of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mason (with back to camera in foreground at left) is seated across from President Barack Obama, who hosted the breakfast. The Rev. T.D. Jakes is seated next to the president.

The “soul” in Seoul: Brothers in Seoul, South Korea, recently presented a check for an outstanding scholar. From left: Mu Phi Lambda Chapter President DeWayne Kendricks; General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.; scholarship recipient DeWayne Kendricks II; Col. William P. Huber, commander, U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan; and Chapter Vice President Rod Rose.

Jewel Callis’ legacy visits Mu Lambda: Diane Quinn, granddaughter of Jewel Henry Arthur Callis, was the featured speaker at a recent chapter meeting in Washington, D.C. Above, Chapter President Kwame Ulmer (left)applauds her as Julius Brice, chairman of the Mu Lambda Foundation looks on.

Callis was a charter member of Mu Lambda Chapter.

Remembering Bloody Sunday: March 6, Alpha brothers join U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., (center), and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., (center right) at the Bloody Sunday Jubilee Celebration in Selma, Ala. On March 7, 1965, protesters led by Lewis, the Rev. Hosea Williams and others, crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, heading to Montgomery to demand voting rights for all.

Helping 2011 tornado victims: The Brother’s Keeper Alabama Mission trip was the embodiment of Jewel Nathaniel Allison Murray’s words, “Service before self.” Days after the deadly tornadoes in late April, the brothers of Eta Lambda and Zeta Mu Chapters traveled to the cities of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala., and joined with Delta Phi Lambda Chapter to donate clothing, home items, water and toiletries to a church in Hale County, Ala.

10 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

NEWS

Rho Phi Lambda Chartered in South Africa ALPHA ESTABLISHED its first chapter in South Africa in February. With the general president and other top leaders present, members chartered Rho Phi Lambda Chapter in Johannesburg. The ceremony was held during the Kenneth Harlan Simmons Memorial Charity Dinner. Simmons, a successful AfricanAmerican architect and professor, was a longtime member of the fraternity.

He was known for his work on equal rights, urban planning and community development. He relocated to South Africa in 1994 after retiring from the University of California-Berkeley.

The new chapter has already provided contributions to two outstanding charities: the African Leadership Academy, which hosted the program, and the Teboho Trust, a nonprofit organization that provides African children with educational and life-

Charter members of Rho Phi Lambda Chapter, seated from left: Herman Warren, Reginald Shaver, Sean Walker, Gerald Sherman, Michael Sudarkasa, Linston Terry, Njagi Makanga, Eric Wright, Gerald Theus and Lou Hureston (not pictured, Robert Kelley III). Standing behind the charter members are members of the Board of Directors and visiting members from the United States.

skills support.

“This is just the first of many steps Alpha is taking, now and in the near future, to keep the organization growing across the world,” said General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. The Johannesburg chapter’s 13

London Brothers Charter Two Chapters, Expanding Alpha’s European Reach

Brothers of Beta Psi Chapter and Rho Chi Lambda Chapter with brothers from the United States. They hold the banner of Alpha and UK flags after the chapters’ chartering ceremony in London.

charter members relocated from America to South Africa. However, the fraternity aims to expand by inviting native South Africans to join the fraternity at the Rho Phi Lambda Chapter. Kenneth Simmons was made a charter member posthumously. H

A DELEGATION, led by Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. and Eastern Region Vice President Sean McCaskill and Assistant Vice President Jonathan Leon, traveled across the Atlantic to participate in the chartering of Alpha’s two newest chapters in London. Beta Psi Chapter is the new chapter at Richmond American International University (RAIU) in London, and Rho Chi Lambda is the new alumni chapter there. It was an historic occasion and an inspiration to many who witnessed the initiation of the charter members. A splendid chartering luncheon was held, recreating the original 1906 initiation luncheon at Cornell University. The luncheon was followed by a public chartering ceremony on the campus attended by many, including RAIU’s dean of students, who granted the fraternity permission to establish a chapter at the school. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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M O N E Y & INAUGURATION B U S I N E S SWEEKEND PRESIDENTIAL

PUTTING SOUL INTO MAINSTREAM MARKETING

Atlanta Entrepreneurs Add Value to Media Companies’ Bottom Lines

By Rick Blalock and Ezzard C. Rolle

T

wo Alpha Phi Alpha members are gaining ground in an industry that has traditionally lacked representation from African Americans. Chief Executive Officer Tirrell Whittley and Chief Marketing Officer Nick Nelson own Liquid Soul Media (LSM), the only minority-owned marketing agency doing business with five of the top six major film studios in Hollywood. In addition to film, LSM has made inroads in television, with Turner Broadcasting and most recently NBC Universal, which has enlisted the agency to develop and execute its multicultural-marketing strategy.

The marketing genius of Whittley and Nelson has helped to generate more than a half-billion dollars in box-office sales for films like Walt Disney Pictures’ ‘The Princess and The Frog,’ Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Sex and the City 2’ and Lionsgate’s ‘Precious,’ which was nominated for Best Picture and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique.

Whittley and Nelson met in 1993 at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s Beta Nu Chapter at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla. They launched LSM in Atlanta, Ga., in 2001. Their entry into the film industry came when fellow chapter brothers Will Packer and Rob Hardy of Rainforest Films hired LSM to promote ‘The Gospel,’ starring Boris Kodjoe. LSM went on to promote other Packer-Hardy films, including the box-office hit ‘Stomp the Yard.’ In July 2010 LSM promoted Rainforest’s seventh film, ‘Takers,’ starring Idris Elba, Michael Ealy and Matt Dillon.

LSM’s growth can be likened to a “sleeper” film, quietly building in popularity over time as satisfied studios and networks spread the word of the company’s capabilities.

“Things move at lightning speed in the film and television industries, and most traditional agencies aren’t agile enough to develop relevant strategies and execute tactics that drive audiences to theaters the way we do,” says Brother Whittley. He cut his teeth in corporate America 17 years ago, after getting bit by the business bug in high school and taking his first job with a certified public accountant who attended his church.

A PICTURE OF SUCCESS: Brother Nick Nelson (left) and Brother Tirrell Whittley (right).

12 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

Brother Nelson has logged more than 15 years in corporate business. He began as a business process consultant with Anderson Consulting, from there moving into IT program-management for UPS until LSM was born.

“Most agencies focus on radio, TV and print, but our formula wins because we successfully leverage strategic partnerships, digital and social media, and grassroots programs centered on big ideas,” says Nelson.

LSM has incorporated black colleges and universities, barbershops and salons, fraternities and sororities, and professional and community organizations into their winning marketing campaigns.

The Internet Movie Database, (IMDb) lists over 35 film and TV projects LSM has promoted since 2005, including, CNN’s ‘Black in America’ and ‘Latino in America,’ TBS’s ‘Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,’ and TNT’s ‘HawthoRNe.’ H

REPOR L A I C E

T

: T N E M N G I S S A rica SP

f a h t u o s

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. leads Alpha delegation on journey through South Africa

Photos by Bryan J.A. Kelly

Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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14 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

REPOR L A I SPEC

T

: T N E M N G I S S A a c i r f a h so u t

S

OUTH AFRICA is a destination, but once there you realize it truly is a journey. It’s a journey no matter what your background, race, religion or creed. In February, members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the world’s oldest intercollegiate fraternity founded

by African-American men, made history by not only journeying there, but also by establishing a fraternity chapter in the capital city of Johannesburg.

The trip, and the chartering of Rho Phi Lambda Chapter, was inspired by the fortitude and sheer will of Michael Sudarkasa, a University of Michigan alumnus initiated at Epsilon Chapter on the school’s Ann Arbor campus. After earning a law degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Sudarkasa made South Africa his home.

For those Alpha brothers who made the recent transatlantic voyage, they now know why.

In this SPECIAL REPORT, ASSIGNMENT: SOUTH AFRICA, several members reflect on what they saw, what they learned and explain why they will return. They tell why every American of color should pay a visit. There are ties that bind in so many ways—the least of all, the apartheid history there and the slavery past of the United States. H —Rick Blalock Alpha brothers hold the South African flag at Nelson Mandela Square.

Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

15

SPECIAL REPORT

r Hy

Brothe

ye

uruon

C. Ah acinth

A Native African Remembers the Homeland on Trip to South Africa

What a sight! What a moment! My mind was racing with emotions and elation!

I was so lost in thought that I forgot to take a picture of this sight and location to memorialize this experience.

In Langa, Cape Town, I was equally moved and humbled by the serenity and unbelievable demeanor of the residents, despite the squalid living conditions. Their sprit is indefatigable.

Of course, visiting the prison yard at Robben Island– the jailhouse that isolated former South African President Nelson Mandela from his people and the rest of the free world for so many years—was equally touching, yet depressing. Visiting Mandela’s former residence (living room and bedroom) was very memorable.

Capping it all was the chartering ceremony of Rho Phi Lambda Chapter in Johannesburg, under the capable leadership of Michael Sudarkasa and Gerald Sherman and the rest of the brothers.

Alpha has truly gone global—and in a grand style.

Posterity will be the beneficiary of these efforts and outreach initiatives.

Everyone should put a visit to Africa on their “bucket list.” H

By Hyacinth C. Ahuruonye

My experience in South Africa was very

memorable, eventful and emotional. I remember growing up in Nigeria, West Africa, and having euphoric feelings of solidarity and comradeship with the brothers and sisters in South Africa as they struggled for equality, freedom and opportunities. There was music, poetry, dance, sitins, stand-outs and other expressions of support for their cause and outrage for their oppressors.

A very popular Nigerian musician, Sonny Okosuns, released a very provocative song, titled “Fire in Soweto,” in 1977. Though we danced to the beat of the sound in dancehalls, we were simply demonstrating our solidarity and pointing out injustices that were prevalent in racist apartheid South Africa. It was a protest song with a dancing beat. That song enhanced awareness of the plight of our people in South Africa and made Okosuns an international superstar.

Fast forward to January 2011, and I’m actually in Johannesburg and specifically Soweto, South Africa. As our bus stopped at the entry point welcoming the Alpha Phi Alpha delegation, I was awestruck to be on the ground.

16 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

From Berkeley to Cape Town: A Black Californian Matriculates in South Africa

By Mario Jay Carroll

Since January 2011, I have been studying abroad, from the University of California, Berkeley, to learn and grow at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In reflecting on my experience, I have heavily considered where I stand as a black male American existing in an African nation.

In the United States, the fact that I am an American citizen is often secondary- as judgments of me are often made based upon the color of my skin. Yet in South Africa, what intrigues me is, though I have skin color in common with many Africans, my blackness is secondary. Here, I am judged as an American first.

As Alpha Phi Alpha Brother W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in The Souls of Black Folk (1903), “One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

NT: ASSIGhNaMfE rica so u t

This twoness may never become more present than when an African American seeks a bond with another person of African descent, and finds that the gap of understanding which separates them may be no different than the gap which exists between him and an American citizen of another race.

With regard to Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, I believe we are best served by looking inwardly at our United States, to help curb the plight of African Americans.

Yet, if our task should ever be directed outward I believe the utility of our intellectualism, the pool of our manpower, and the strength of our leaders would be best served in helping to reconcile the striving between the black people of the Earth.

This could further the purpose of Alpha Phi Alpha as an entity in the global community. H

Mario J ay Carr oll, with fri ends at t he Cape of Good Ho pe in South A frica

Brother Mario Jay Carroll in South Africa

We decided that after we retired we wanted to travel to Africa first.

Well, at the first of the year—this year— our wishes were granted! The trip to South Africa was an opportunity of a lifetime for me and my wife June.

Being able to see the beautiful wonders in our homeland was wonderful. The fantastic views of Table Mountain and Penguin Island were breathtaking.

We were also awed at Robben Island, the townships, and the housing of the poor citizens of the country. The final evening of being part of chartering a chapter in South Africa with the brotherhood will always stand out in my memory. Being a part of this wonderful group of world travelers of brothers and family and friends was a pleasure, and we look forward to the next time.

—Willie Blue Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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SPECIAL REPORT

A 30-Year Wait Comes to an End Being the Senior Alpha brother on the trip to South Africa—in age and number of years in the fraternity—my vantage point of the trip is from a uniquely different perspective.

For more than 30 years I have wanted to travel to the motherland. So for me to step outside the Cape Town airport and to breathe the fresh South African air, I was emotionally moved.

I have experienced segregation, racism, and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Clearly, this trip brought back memories and understanding of what the people of Africa have gone through from apartheid through 2011.

This trip afforded the opportunity to fellowship with our younger fraternity brothers. To watch how they handled the business of Alpha assured me that some things have not changed, and Alpha is in good hands and will continue to be the organization that does ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

—Richard A. Dent

18 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

A Journey Like No Other: My Experience in South Africa

By Aaron Crutison Sr.

Words cannot express my recent trip to South Africa. As we set off as a delegation of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, consisting of board members, brothers, and guests of the fraternity to the motherland, I was unsure what to expect— given it was my first visit to the continent.

My flight carried me from the American West across the Great Plains to the city American’s call the Big Apple—New York. From there it was a 15-hour flight to Johannesburg and an additional two hours to Cape Town, South Africa. But that was just getting there; it was then that the journey actually began.

From that point on, I can accurately sum up my experience as one of lifelong reflections, great humility, tenacity, sadness, hopefulness, a joyous spirit, a vibrant culture and true fraternal bonding. It was also an opportunity to witness the visual hand of God on a picturesque scene of his creation on Earth.

Even with such beauty that surrounds the cities, it was evident that the people here still struggle today for justice. Just as in years past, they struggle for equality in housing, employment and education. However, the pride and joy one could witness, exuding from

Crutison sitting atop Ta ble Mountain in South Afric a. a proud people, a proud country, and proud culture, was quite moving.

The journey through the southern part of the continent took us through the era of apartheid, the imprisonment of political prisoners, the treatment and deplorable conditions on Robben Island, a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment.

The place that Nelson Mandela was forced to make his home for over 18 years. The place where the separation of the middle class was the regular order of the day.

Yet through it all, justice prevailed because people demanded it. Like in America’s Civil Rights Movement, the South African blacks fought through uprisings and struggles for freedom. Many died for the right to move about the country, to work and to be educated, and although that great day arrived, there is so much more to be done.

My most moving moment was standing at the foot and on top of Table Mountain. As I watched the clouds roll over the mountain as God appears to be laying out the table cloth, and as I stood on top of the Mountain as a man of God’s creation, and as a descendent of a people where civilization all began, I stood tall, pondered and gave thanks to the creator. H

reviews n Crutison Sr. Brother Aaro an er South Afric rm fo of g n ti a pain . son Mandela President Nel

NT: ASSIGhNaMfE rica so u t

An Eye-Opening Experience for a Westerner in Africa

By Calvin McNeil

South Africa was not what I expected, from a development standpoint. This comment will appear ethnocentric and Western: I was thinking I was going to see an undeveloped third-world country. South Africa is anything but.

I was amazed at how modern it is and how, in many ways, the standard of living seemed equal to or surpassed that of some parts of the United States. The buildings, cars, restaurants and entertainment that we saw on our trip were all top shelf.

But then, in Cape Town, and to a lesser extent in Soweto, I experienced the most heartwrenching and pathetic living conditions I have ever seen. The Langa Township experience will be with me for some time to come. One can only imagine the long-lasting psychological effect on children who must live in quarters that house up to four families in one room. And these are not big, spacious rooms; we are talking about approximately 12 feet by 12 feet, with upwards of 16 people or more.

How can leaders allow such to happen?

After speaking with South African black people, it is clear their plight is not dissimilar to that of black citizens in the United States.

As the black community in America is not monochromic, nor is it in South Africa. Racial overtones still exist in the United States today, as they do in South Africa. There is still a long road ahead in eliminating racial disparities and inequality in both countries.

While I am tempted to say we are further along in the US, I would only be deceiving myself.

time, and got to know other brothers better. The bond of brotherhood was strengthened in a way that transcended rank, position and status.

The affiliation with Rho Phi Lambda Chapter brothers was inspiring. It occurred to me that the challenges within black communities back home are not unique to the United States. Nor are they limited to just the States and South Africa. It is important for us as a diaspora of professional men to combine forces, share experiences and explore solutions for addressing these many challenges.

By establishing more chapters in Africa, and having a presence in Europe and Asia, we can discuss community issues and approach Small, one-room homes, solutions together from vastly different holding four families, viewpoints. That makes for better and are the no rm. sounder solutions.

It would have been nice to see more young brothers make this historic journey.

They are the future. They need to see the good in expansion and connection to the global brotherhood of Alpha men, and to people of color in general, going forward. H

Overall Brotherhood Effect This was a great trip; however, I wish more Alpha brothers could have sojourned. This is especially true for some of the past elected officials. The general president and the vice presidents who traveled were able to bond with brothers who make up our rank and file, so to speak. We were viewed as more brotherly, and less lofty. I got to meet new brothers for the first Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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SPECIAL REPORT

Lessons Learned in the Motherland for Back Home in the Classroom

By Wilson H. Sylvan

From January 28 through February 5, I and brothers of

n in Wilson Sylva rg Johannesbu

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, from all across the United States visited the country of South Africa for a trip of a lifetime. It included sightseeing, fellowship and the chartering of a new chapter there.

I was very moved by the experience of the journey itself, being able to visit historic and beautiful places, such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, with this group of brothers.

When learning of the trip from the fraternity website, I was most excited, as my interest in traveling abroad had begun years ago from experiences shared with me by my uncle— Brother Hobart Jarrett, now in Omega Chapter. He was a mentor and an avid traveler; he would always send back postcards to me during his trips abroad while I was an undergraduate student at Texas College.

There were many emotional moments during our trip to South Africa. Seeing the country firsthand, with my own eyes, helped me remove many of the myths we have been told about South Africa. It has vibrant cities and neighborhoods that are growing and developing like many U.S. big cities. It’s doing big things—for example hosting the World Cup soccer championship in summer in 2010.

Another moving moment was when a tour guide stopped to express his sincere gratitude for our visit. He told us how important it is for African Americans to make the journey to the homeland and reunite with our brother and sisters, from whom through slavery so long ago, we were separated. He spoke of the importance of being able to visit places where Nelson Mandela made history, overcoming struggles during the apartheid period, and the critically necessary ability to able to revisit the comparison between the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in America.

The Hector Peterson museum was another fascinating stop; there we received more information about civil rights and nonviolent movement strategies utilized by Gandhi, Brother Martin Luther King Jr. and Mandela. As a college professor, I am planning to share the experience with my students, as part of Black History Month—whether it is in areas of black history or foreign policy. We will aim to tie in the information gathered from the trip with classroom assignments and discussions.

The third moving moment came when our group was being entertained during lunch at Sirah’s restaurant in Cape Town. We listened to the fine music of a local band, with its ability to utilize the simplest of musical instruments—bongo drums, xylophones and their voices—to bring us the most melodic tunes from the motherland. H

20 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

NT: ASSIGhNaMfE rica

The Innocent Adolescents in the Townships

so u t

By Cameron Thierry

It was a privilege and blessing to embark on a journey to South Africa to experience its rich culture and history, as well as witness the chartering ceremony of Alpha’s newest international chapter, Rho Phi Lambda, in Johannesburg. This monumental occasion was shared with a delegation of 30 Alpha brothers and some of their wives.

The journey was filled not only with the breathtaking sights that Cape Town and Johannesburg had to offer— such as Table Mountain (to be one of the newest seven wonders of nature); the Cape of Good Hope (the most southwestern tip of Africa); and Sun City (home to a massive game reserve)—but it was also one filled with sights of inspiration. There was Robben Island, where the great Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years; the museums of Soweto, which echo the devastating effects of the apartheid era in South Africa; and the township of Langa, where families live in utter poverty.

One thing that was evident is that our brothers of Rho Phi Lambda Chapter have their work cut out for them as they spread the light of Alpha across South Africa. It was amazing to witness the African and African-American connection being built during the brief time of our visit there, helping to dispose the disconnect we see too often. This is a connection we must continue to make as we aspire to move forward as a people, and move forward in Alpha. The last experience mentioned (visiting the township of Langa) is what I would like to reveal more of—as it touched me profoundly.

Upon arriving at the township, it was immediately clear that the people of Langa were living in less-fortunate circumstances, which may be an understatement, given the gravity of the situation. Many homes consisted of shacks.

Where there were brick and mortar buildings, multiple families were housed in a single dwelling, owning only a room in which each lived and held all their possessions.

While this context may have consumed others’ thoughts entirely, my attention inadvertently shifted toward the children of the township.

While entering what seemed like a courtyard, there were many young children cheerfully running around and playing games with each other. It reminded me of the innocence children possess—being too young to grasp the severity of the circumstances they are up against, and too young to have been tainted by life’s experiences. It is this very mental and imaginative escape hatch that allows the children to use their vivid imaginations and turn misfortune into bliss. This is a

pivotal time in shaping the minds of our youth, and being there reminded me of the importance of why we must help the youth early on—from the high chair to higher education.

One of the children ran up to me without delay, noticing my camera hanging around my wrist. She asked if she could use it to take a picture, pointing at it and motioning the capturing of a photo. Without hesitation— though now thinking back hesitation may not have been unwarranted—I slid the camera off my wrist and handed it to her. Her face instantly lit up, and she ran a short distance in front of me toward two other children who subsequently ran up to me, embracing me with huge hugs and wearing smiles. It was a very warm feeling, and the little girl who had asked to take a picture was able to capture a great shot. This is one of my favorite photos (below) from the journey because I look at it and rekindle how full of hope and pride we were, together in Langa, and that while we may have seemed like idols to them, the people of Langa were just as iconic to me.

One thing I learned from this is best reflected by the fraternity’s general counsel, Brother Keith Bishop: “We must not equate dispossession with indignity, though it may be tempting. The people of Langa are strong, patient and purposeful, despite their circumstance.” H

on Thierr y Brother Camer nesburg. brace in Johan and children em Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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SPECIAL REPORT

South Africa’s Countryside and History Stays with You

By Mark S. Tillman

It became more real to me that I was going to South Africa when I arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on the morning of January 28. This was my first trip across the Atlantic, and from the moment my passport was stamped, the anticipation was validated. My excitement was confirmed when I didn’t sleep for most of the 15-hour flight to Johannesburg. But from the moment we landed, I was truly ready to absorb what we were about to experience.

The one thing that struck me the most was how picturesque the terrain is in South Africa. The views from Table Mountain, overlooking Cape Town and the South Atlantic Ocean, were absolutely breathtaking. The drive along the shoreline for this motorcycle enthusiast was a site to behold. Standing at the Cape of Good Hope, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, caused me to reflect on exactly where I was on the globe. And from every direction, I could not keep my camera from fixating on the landscape of mountains.

The most inspirational part of the trip for me was being on Robben Island and standing next to the jail cell that once housed Nelson Mandela, while listening to the accounts of an ex-political prisoner. It is truly amazing what man can do when our social and political views are different from each other. I also appreciated our tour guides and the local residents that shaped my perspective of life in South Africa, through the lens of everyday citizens. My own perceptions were reformed with a better understanding of the successes and continuing struggles of South Africans.

Our brothers of Rho Phi Lambda rolled out the “gold” carpet from the moment we landed. Their hospitality and enthusiasm were infectious. They exhibited that “good ‘ol Alpha Spirit” at their chartering ceremony and discussed the possibilities for the future

22 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

Brother Mark Tillman at the cell that once held former South African President Nelson Mandela.

of Alpha in South Africa. I will also treasure my time with my fellow board members, brothers, and guests who journeyed to the motherland. The time I spent with the Midwestern regional assistant vice president, Cameron M. Thierry, was priceless. Often times we don’t get a chance to enjoy the company around us because of business sessions and workshops. But I appreciated the time and the fellowship of my brothers. The experience of being in South Africa will be one I will never forget. H

By Eric Ham

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) have taken historic steps to begin dramatically altering the international monetary system by calling for alternatives to the U.S. dollar as the world’s main currency.

WO R L D

A F FA IR S

Out With the Old…

House Budget Committee Chairman

the IMF was created in 1945, the French

Paul Ryan, R-Wis., continue to fire

finance minister, Christine Lagarde,

volleys back and forth on how to

found it critical in her quest to replace

tackle the nation’s growing debt crisis.

her compatriot that she have audiences

Moreover, during Chinese President

with BRICS leaders. She also faced a

Hu Jintao’s trip to the U.S. earlier

fierce challenge from the governor of the

this year, one of the major sticking

Mexican central bank Augustin Carstens.

points was the ongoing battle over

In the end, Madame Lagarde won, but

the undervalued Chinese currency,

the “old” pecking order was by no means a

which U.S. policymakers see as a

shoe in, which is in part why she crisscrossed

major cause for the United States’

the globe seeking support of the emerging

burgeoning trade deficit.

economic powers.

In August, the Obama

However, it remains to be seen if this

Administration dispatched Vice Presient

emerging group of developing nations can

Joe Biden to China to quell Beijing’s fears

withstand internal differences and immediate

The BRICS in a recent statement stated:

about the U.S. economy, after Standard

regional threats to act in unison over the

the international financial crisis has

& Poor’s downgraded the U.S. debt credit

long-term. Brazil and India are concerned

exposed the inadequacies and deficiencies

rating from AAA to AA+.

with large trade deficits with China as a

of the existing international monetary

U.S.-China relations aside, this largely

result of a deliberately undervalued yuan

and financial system. After years of

ad-hoc group will undoubtedly hold

and China’s emerging presence in Africa

domination by the dollar, yen, euro and

enormous influence over the trajectory of

(it’s establishing schools and has imported

British pound, these growing nations are

future meetings among the traditional G20

Chinese workers to do jobs at major

becoming uneasy with growing instability

groups. The BRICS have the potential to

construction sites that Africans decry should

and financial volatility within the current

emerge as a new force in world affairs, on

be going to them in their homeland) could

system, and are pushing for a bigger voice

the back of their massive share of global

have adverse reactions on an already fragile

in global financial affairs.

population and economic growth.

geopolitical environment.

Additionally, their statement calls for

With the inclusion of South Africa

Yet, as these regional and internal

“a quick achievement of the targets for

this year, the group accounts for 40 percent

challenges play out, the BRICS appear ready to

the reform of the International Monetary

of the world’s people, 18 percent of global

develop concrete proposals as an alternative to

Fund (IMF) agreed to at a previous G20

trade and about 45 percent of current

the dollar in the international monetary system

Summit and reiterates that the governing

growth, giving them formidable heft when

and with a sizable percentage of the world’s

structure of the international financial

dealing with the developed economies.

population, natural resources, and economic

institutions should reflect the changes

Another example of their growing

in the world economy, increasing the

influence was played out during the race

voice and representation of emerging

to replace disgraced former IMF chief

economies and developing countries.”

Dominique Strauss Kahn, (charged

Of course, this will undoubtedly raise

with sexual assault of a New York hotel

the stakes in the ongoing U.S. budget

housekeeper). Even though the IMF top

battles as President Barack Obama and

spot has been held by Europeans since

growth, the BRICS appear to be making a very bold statement: In With The New. H Eric Ham is founder and managing director of The XII Project in Washington, D.C., and editor of Capitol Connections. For more information go to www.xiiproject.com.

Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

79 YEARS AND COUNTING IN THE MIGHTY MIDWEST

By Mark S. Tillman

THE 79THTH MIDWESTERN REGIONAL Convention was held in Louisville, Ky., the weekend of April 7-10, at the Louisville Downtown Marriott Hotel. The fraternity also celebrated the convention host chapter Alpha Lambda’s 100th anniversary.

The delegates to the convention elected Elgie R. Sims, the immediate past Illinois district director, as the new regional vice president who succeeded Mark S. Tillman at the Chicago national convention in June.

The brothers of Alpha Lambda and the entire Kentucky District did an outstanding job! Alpha men from throughout the region also celebrated the 100th birthday of Kappa chapter, the 10th house, seated at The Ohio State University.

This year’s convention theme was “Extending our

Brother John T. Clark, Jr. holding the commemorative regional convention souvenir journal, which displayed a photo of his father, John T. Clark Sr., the charter member and first chapter president of Alpha Lambda, on the cover

Collegiate Experience to a Lifetime of Brotherhood and Service.” The region also focused on the “From the High Chair to Higher Education” initiative by having a special guest speaker, author Dr. Michael J. Cuyjet, who led a discussion on African-American men in college. There was also a special moment when several of the past regional vice presidents joined with the current leadership for an historic photo.

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. honored Brother John T. Clark, Jr. with his 60-year-member pin— all while his sons, Brothers John T. Clark III and Eric R. Clark, stood proudly beside him. Clark, 90, is also the son of Alpha Lambda’s first chapter president and charter member, John T. Clark Sr. H

Midwestern Region vice presidents (RVP) pose for historic photo: From left, Darryl A. Peal, 24th RVP; Gus T. Ridgel, 15th RVP; James B. “Tiny” Blanton, 22nd RVP; General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.; 25th General President James R. Williams, the 16th RVP; and Ivan L. Cotman, 19th RVP.

EASTERN REGION HONORS 75-YEAR BROTHER Brother Allen C. Gooden, Jr., initiated at Beta Upsilon in 1936, receives his 75-year membership pin at the Eastern Region Convention in Hamilton, Bermuda from General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. In this photo he is surrounded by his sons and other members of the fraternity who shared in the occasion.

24 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

REGIONAL ROUND UP

SOUTHERN REGION CELEBRATES 80 YEARS OF SERVICE

By James L. Crumel

A mini national convention: Brothers pose for annual group photo at Southern Regional Convention in Raleigh, N.C.

IN MARCH, BROTHERS OF THE SOUTHERN REGION convened in Raleigh, N.C. for the region’s 80th Anniversary Convention. The South, always like a mini national convention, needed two hotels and the Raleigh Convention Center to conduct the business and house all the delegates and other brothers in attendance. Under the convention theme, “Alpha South: Celebrating 80 Years of Developing and Educating Leaders,” delegates discussed and developed innovative strategies on leadership development, political engagement and scholastic achievement. Fall 2010 and spring 2011 neophytes engaged in new-member training and team building exercises to assist them in learning about the fraternity beyond their chapters and state districts.

A highlight of this year’s convention was the Public Program, at which the fraternity recognized the continued importance of educational achievement. The Southern Region hosted a solutions-based discussion on strategies to address the low retention and graduation rates of African-American males. The weekend culminated with the awards breakfast including the installation of Georgia’s new District Director Ellis Albright of Augusta, Ga., and seven assistant district directors.

The new ADDs are Wesley Swanzy of Alabama; Brandon J. Smith of Florida; Ryan T. Brown of Georgia; Willie N. Brewster, III of Mississippi; Evan Glover of North Carolina; Abdul J. Roberts of South Carolina and Brandon Batts of Tennessee. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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REGIONAL ROUND UP

AT REGIONAL CONVENTION, SOUTHWEST ENSURES ALPHA MEN WEAR THEIR BEST

By Roderick L. Smothers, Sr.

THE SOUTHWEST is known for launching national programs. This year at the regional convention in Houston, Texas brothers again sparked a new national trend with their “Alpha Wearhouse Initiative.” The Alpha Wearhouse Initiative is a multi-phase program designed to teach and promote high standards of personal appearance; encourage the participation of college brothers in the business and professional development activities of the fraternity; and facilitate the development of future fraternal and societal leaders.

The Alpha Wearhouse Initiative has three components: collection of suits and other clothing items or monetary

gifts to buy clothes; second, seminars by Men’s Wearhouse, at which participants receive training on attaining and maintaining high standards of appearance; and third, providing services, through sponsorships and outside contributions.

“The Alpha Wearhouse Initiative at this convention was a great addition,” said Roger Sancho, newly-elected regional assistant vice president. “The fact that we actually took another step towards college brother development was great.”

The program was tapped by the general organization to be featured at the Chicago national convention. H

Members of the Southwestern Region leadership team and visiting brothers who participated in the General Electric Co. internship program at the regional convention. The GE program is designed to offer young men an opportunity to learn about corporate America and be ready to successfully transition in to the world of professional work upon graduation. The students received certificates of completion at the weekend program and also were eligible for internships with sponsoring company, GE.

WESTERN REGION PUTS FOCUS ON SAVING BLACK BOYS

By Aaron Crutison Sr.

CAN YOU IMAGINE just for a moment a world without black boys? What would that mean? What would it look like? Every day in the United States of America, in every major city across the nation, black boys are facing an “eroding species.” This is happening in the land where our forefathers and mothers fought and gave their lives for the opportunity for their children and their children’s children to have access to the American dream. The Western Region made this issue the central focus of the regional convention in San Jose, Calif., in April. Discussions were held 26 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

throughout the convention, with the culminating event the “Saving Our Black Boys Forum.”

The event was moderated by Brother Michael Blake, a member of the Obama White House staff.

Panelists included Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson; KG Charles-Harris, founder of the M3 Foundation; and Karl Porter, a child-welfare-service professional; Brother Bro. Jaymes J. Barnett, currently pursuing a career with Boeing Company and James Hill III, a sophomore at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. H

Brother Jeremy M. Vasquez, of Pi Epsilon Chapter at California State University, San Bernardino in San Bernardino, Calif., (front center) celebrates with several boys and teens who participated in the Western Region’s “Saving Our Black Boys Forum.”

CHAPTER NEWS

Members of Zeta Nu Chapter at Eastern Illinois University pose for their official chapter photo. The chapter won the 2011 Midwestern Region Chapter of the Year Award this spring.

Zeta Nu Remakes History in Illinois, 40 Years Later BROTHERS AT EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY (EIU) in Charleston, Ill., did something this spring that has not been done there in four decades: they won the regional College Chapter of the Year Award. Honored at the annual Midwestern Regional Convention in Louisville, Ky., Zeta Nu Chapter last saw such glory during the 1971-72 academic year, two years after its founding at EIU. The chapter now numbers around 26 members and is considered the largest college chapter in the Illinois District.

The group of scholarly men continues to hold up the aims and ideals of the fraternity through their work on and off the campus. Earlier this year, the chapter hosted a College Life to Corporate Life (C2C) fashion show and forum. The forum focused on making the transition from college life to corporate life; it consisted of a panel of faculty, staff and students, graduate and undergraduate.

The panel provided tips for success and discussed dos and don’ts of college life that affect future career goals.

The fashion show presented was designed to teach students how to dress for success. Models walked the runway donning casual wear, professional wear, and collegiate attire, providing examples of how to dress for interviews on the job and in the classroom.

Zeta Nu brothers participate in a Big Brother Big Sisters bowling event with their “littles.” From left: Director of Educational Activities Jamie Enge and Vice President Khelan.

Another major program implemented by Zeta Nu brothers is the chapter’s Guiding Light Educational Mentoring Program. Created in 2010, it’s the chapter’s way to give back life lessons and skills to young people.

The program matches brothers with middle and high school students. Also, the chapter employs the winner of its annual Miss Black & Gold Pageant each year to serve as a female mentor, ensuring that young women in the community who need mentoring are not left out. H

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CHAPTER NEWS

Xi Alpha Lambda Making a Big Difference in Prince William County, Va. Community

By Jonathan Crowder

FOR NEARLY FIVE YEARS brothers of Xi Alpha Lambda in suburban Washington, D.C., have diligently worked to make their Alpha Academy program a huge success. It is part of the chapter’s commitment to execute the strategic directives of Alpha’s national programs, specifically the Project Alpha and Go to High School, Go to College programs.

Chapter President Clifford Wilborn shakes hands with Pastor C.A. Lundy of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Woodbridge, Va., as Xi Alpha Lambda members look on. The brothers had just presented a plethora of food and supplies for the needy in the community for the church to distribute.

Potomac Middle School in Dumfries, Va. This unique partnership has allowed for a consistent and positive presence of adult role models for the youth, whom the chapter calls “tomorrow’s leaders.” Under the leadership of Brother Richmond Hill, the program currently supports 20 students with six brothers serving as regular mentors.

Members of Xi Alpha Lambda also participate in other community enrichment initiatives. In February the chapter brothers, along with family, friends, and coworkers, generously donated numerous bags of clothes, non-perishable items, and cash to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Woodbridge, Va. This community service project supports the congregation’s missionary ministry. Chapter chaplain, Brother Oliver Allen, says it is an opportunity for the fraternity to give to the less fortunate and to uplift our fellow man. H

Members of Xi Alpha Lambda Chapter’s Alpha Academy and the students they mentor pose for a group photo during one of their regular Saturday sessions at Potomac Middle School in Dumfries, Va.

Brother Kareem Mitcham, left, instructs 12-year-olds Richard Ortiz and Khalid Adeyemi on how to tie a tie, during Dress for Success Day at Xi Alpha Lambda Chapter’s Alpha Academy. Photo by Jeff Mankie/News & Messenger.

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The Academy program serves as a vehicle for chapter members to interact and build relationships with male students. The brothers serve as mentors and teachers on everything from fiscal responsibility to healthy relationships and friendships, to preparation for high school and college to self-esteem.

The chapter partners with

CHAPTER NEWS

ALPHA EPSILON LAMBDA Jackson, Miss.

BETA BETA LAMBDA Miami, Fla.

NINE YOUNG MEN recently received an experience of a lifetime with Alpha Epsilon Lambda Chapter’s five-month rites of passage program. The young men came from various high schools around the Jackson, Miss. metropolitan area. During the program they were exposed to all of the fraternity’s national programs and various sessions involving life lessons, financial literacy, and stepping.

Chaired by Brother Audwin B. Fletcher, each participant of the program was paired with a mentor from the chapter who worked in the field of study in which the participant expressed an interest in pursuing.

Alongside the brothers, the youngsters performed several community service projects and raised money for the scholarships. The program culminated with Alpha Epsilon Lambda’s Alpha Beautillion which showcased the young men and their families before the metropolitan community. The event also chronicled their achievements and several scholarships were awarded. Each participant was also invited to attend the Southern Region’s Leadership Development Citizenship Education Institute. H

THE BROTHERS OF the Beta Beta Lambda Chapter in Miami, Fla., serve as mentors and have positively impacted a group of young men at William J. Bryan Elementary School. The chapter adopted the school as a part of its leadership program and in support of the 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Program. Brothers provide book bags for the students every school year and also actively participate in many activities including Career Day. The chapter believes that “Manly Deeds, Scholarship and Love for All Mankind” serve as the true essence of the fraternity as brothers seek to provide service to others. H

Brothers of Beta Beta Lambda in Miami, Fla. with students they mentor at Bryan Elementary School.

BETA MU LAMBDA Salisbury, N.C.

ALPHA PHI LAMBDA Norfolk, Va.

IN FEBRUARY, the brothers of Beta Mu Lambda Chapter in Salisbury, N.C., launched the first class of the Beta Mu Lambda Alpha Leadership Institute. Twelve young men High school students who participate in the Beta Mu from Concord High School Lambda Alpha Leadership Institute pose for a group photo. were required to go through an application process and selected by the chapter based on academic standing, personal statements and letters of recommendation. As participants in the Alpha Leadership Institute, the students will attend seminars on topics such as college admissions, presentation skills, basic leadership, conflict resolution, financial literacy and more, as part of institute’s goal of improving academic excellence, social development and cultural awareness.

Community experts and brothers from Gamma Mu Chapter at Livingstone College in Salisbury, have teamed up with Beta Mu Lambda to help lead seminars. The young men in the institute will also participate in the local Habitat for Humanity’s Youth United group to develop skills in community advocacy, community service and fundraising. H

ALPHA PHI LAMBDA continues to inspire high school youth to achieve higher goals with its annual High School Inspirational Dinner which was recently held at Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Va. The dinner is designed to inspire AfricanAmerican high school juniors and seniors to finish school and continue their education in college. The attendees were also encouraged to converse with chapter brothers about their future academic aspirations and post-collegiate careers. In addition, students were awarded $500 and $1,000 scholarships. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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CHAPTER NEWS

BETA UPSILON LAMBDA Jackson, Tenn.

TAU PSI University of Tenn. at Martin BETA PI Lane College IN A JOINT collaboration to empower the youth, brothers of Beta Upsilon Lambda Chapter, Tau Psi at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Beta Pi at Lane College, convened at New Spring Hill Baptist Church in Trenton, Tenn., recently to implement two important national programs— Go To High School, Go To College and Project Alpha.

Go To High School, Go To College aims at reaching youth facing challenges in graduating high school and encourages them to not only graduate, but to proceed on to college and graduate. Project Alpha was founded to combat the burgeoning statistics involving teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, while providing frank, open discussions and factual information from a male perspective to young boys.

Brothers of the three chapters met with 23 young males to educate them on these important life issues.

Implementation of another key national program, A Voteless People is A Hopeless People, is being planned to coincide with the upcoming fall elections in hopes of increasing voter registration and education. H

DELTA CHI LAMBDA Milwaukee, Wis. THE BROTHERS OF Delta Chi Lambda Chapter in Milwaukee, Wis., in conjunction with the Delta Chi Lambda Education Foundation are looking forward to another year of success with their Annual Young Gentleman’s Scholarship Beautillion. The 22nd annual event was last June at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

Created in 1986, the Beautillion has enabled the foundation to provide college scholarships and financial assistance to more than 100 young men.

The program has been a vehicle for many to help support the educational dreams of youth. The gents participate in various activities such as: a rites of passage program, advertising sales, community service projects, an oratorical showcase, and a career showcase. Each beau has a personal advisor from the chapter, a community-based sponsor and a professional mentor. More than $16,000 in scholarships is awarded at the cumulating Beautillion Ball, where each beau receives a $500 book scholarship.

At the 2010 Beautillion, gent Fred Gladney was crowned Mr. Beautillion and was awarded a $5,000 scholarship. H

DELTA BETA LAMBDA Hampton, Va. THE 2010-2011 YEAR proved to be exciting, challenging and rewarding for Delta Beta Lambda. A major highlight was in February when the chapter earned the state Chapter of the Year honors at the Virginia State Convention for the third straight year. In November 2010, Delta Beta Lambda brothers provided complete thanksgiving dinner baskets to 20 needy families in the Hampton community.

In January, Delta Beta Lambda, through the Virginia Peninsula Education Foundation, hosted its 26th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast. Nearly 1,400 people attended, making it the largest turn out since the breakfast was founded. The guest speaker was Brother

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Brothers of Delta Beta Lambda in Hampton, Va., receiving the Chapter of the Year Award.

Andrew Young, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a former mayor and congressman from Atlanta. One of King’s lieutenants, he was in Memphis, Tenn., with King when the civil rights leader was assassinated in 1968. H

CHAPTER NEWS

Alpha brothers join General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Delegate Brother Keith E. Haynes, Delta Lambda Chapter President Timothy McFadden and the 2011 Beautillion Class for a photo in the Maryland state capital.

DELTA LAMBDA CHAPTER Baltimore, Md. ON JANUARY 4, Brother Keith E. Haynes, a member of the Maryland State House of Delegates and the brothers of Delta Lambda Chapter hosted the Annual Legislative Night for Alpha Phi Alpha at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.

The group was joined by Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., and other Maryland-based chapters including Pi Upsilon Lambda, Iota Alpha Lambda, Eta Eta Lambda, and Xi Xi Lambda. The members of Delta Lambda’s 9th Beautillion Class of African-American male high school seniors, as well as representatives of the Maryland General Assembly were

ETA LAMBDA Atlanta, Ga. WITH THE ECONOMY down in a downturn, the rising unemployment rate and the increasing need for health care in the Atlanta Area, the brothers of Eta Lambda Chapter, the largest chapter in Alpha Phi

also in attendance.

The evening featured a reception at which dignitaries such as Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, Maryland State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones addressed the group.

Following the reception, the brothers traveled to the House of Delegates where they were recognized and received a proclamation honoring the fraternity.

In his remarks, General President Mason thanked the General Assembly for their recognition and also thanked them for their financial support of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. Maryland was the first state to make a contribution toward its construction. H

Alpha Fraternity, recognized that it was time to make a change.

The Operation H.E.A.R.T. (Health, Education, Awareness, Response, and Treatment) Health Fair is designed to inform and educate the community about the dangers of heart disease, hypertension, and the silent killer amongst African Americans: high blood

pressure. Patrons were treated to complementary tests from over 50 healthcare providers ranging from blood pressure to cholesterol screenings. The fair provided assistance to more than 400 people leaving a lasting impression in the south Atlanta Community. Eta Lambda brothers say they plan to make this effort an annual event. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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CHAPTER NEWS

Members of Eta Pi Lambda pose for their annual chapter portrait.

ETA PI LAMBDA Pasadena, Calif.

THE ETA PI LAMBDA Chapter recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. In its half century, the chapter has won multiple Chapter of the Year and Charles Wesley Award honors. Several chapter brothers have also won Centennial

and Western Region Brother of the Year awards. Eta Pi Lambda is the only Alpha chapter to have won step shows regionally and nationally and performed at the Image Awards.

Creatively, Eta Pi Lambda has forged notable partnerships including Brother Bill Releford’s Black Barbershop for Health Outreach and commissioned Artist Charles Bibbs

to create centennial fine artwork for the fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Keen to service, Eta Pi Lambda was recognized nationally for its trailblazing efforts of bringing the Project Alpha program to at-risk youth in confinement. In collaboration with their foundations, brothers in Pasadena, have funded multiple scholarships. H

Delta Xi Lambda brothers with young men they mentor, participate in the annual HIV/ AIDS Walk in Orlando, Fla.

Delta Xi Lambda brothers at the chapter’s Phirst Phriday Happy Hour and March of Dimes fundraiser.

hosted the chapter’s bi-monthly “Phirst Phriday” happy hour. The event brought together 130 Central Florida business professionals and community leaders and raised awareness (not to mention $1,200) for the March of Dimes. In the same

week the chapter participated with the Metro-Orlando chapter of the National Pan Hellenic Council in the 2011 HIV/AIDS Walk to raise funds and awareness to aid those affected by the disease in the Central Florida community. H

DELTA XI LAMBDA Orlando, Fla. AS PART OF THEIR YEARLY Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, brothers in Orlando, Fla., at Delta Xi Lambda hosted their 25th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Luncheon and Leadership Forum. The event was well attended by brothers, friends, students and city officials as they recognized outstanding citizens of the greater Orlando area.

With the support of guests, the chapter raised more than $7,000 for scholarships. Delta Xi Lambda also knows how to have a good time! On Friday, April 1st, brothers

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CHAPTER NEWS

GAMMA GAMMA LAMBDA Greenville, S.C.

Brothers Sean Welsh (left) and Jude Legiste (far right) with High School Male Oratorical scholarship winners, from left: Jason Gothelf, Alexander Rodriguez and Rodin Celidor.

ETA DELTA University of Miami Miami, Fla. JANUARY 28 marked Eta Delta Chapter’s third annual High School Male Oratorical Scholarship Competition. The contest was held in collaboration with the University of Miami’s School of Communication, United Black Students, and the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration—a week long celebration in honor of King’s legacy and its impact on everyday living.

Five finalists were selected from a pool of applications submitted from students across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. After the finalists presented their speeches, Alexander Rodriguez, a student at Stranahan Senior High School, was named the winner of the competition. After graduating from high school, Alexander has ambitions to attend Harvard University for his undergraduate and medical education. Alex aspires to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. H

GAMMA GAMMA LAMBDA Chapter in Greenville, S.C., continues to encourage the best and brightest to stay in school and consider college in their future. That was the aim of the chapter’s 32nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Program & College Fair held at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., in February. The program is part of the chapter’s effort to support the Go to High School, Go to College national program. Previous events included a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Gala, an outreach program and step show as well as an oratorical contest. More than 250 people attended the youth program and fair.

The college fair featured more than a dozen college representatives from the region.

The youth program featured Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Award winners from the 14 high schools in Greenville County. Local high school students were presented 203 awards in five categories: academics, art, athletics, leadership and music. In addition to the awards, seminars were held on “Financial Aid 101” and “The Road Map to Getting in, Staying in and Graduating College” during the program for students and parents. H

KAPPA EPSILON LAMBDA Landover, Md. MEMBERS WHO LIVE and work in Prince George’s County, Md., at Kappa Epsilon Lambda Chapter, held their annual Project Alpha Conference in March. The conference was held at the Stephen Decatur Community Center in Clinton, Md. Approximately 100 young men with their fathers and male role models attended the all-day program. Yvette Cade, a domestic violence survivor featured on “The Oprah Winfrey

Students who attended Kappa Epsilon Lambda Chapter’s Project Alpha Conference pose for a group photo.

Show” and Asjoure Brown from the House of Ruth, a program for homeless and abused women and children, delivered a presentation on the impact of domestic violence.

Legacy, Inc., a male mentor group, provided interactive presentations on sexual health and awareness.

The event ended with the young men participating in small group discussions on values, peer pressure and decision-making. Several county officials attended the event, including County Executive Rushern Baker and County Councilman Brother Mel Franklin. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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CHAPTER NEWS

Brothers of the Great Northwest District gather for the biennial Alpha Day at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

GREAT NORTHWEST DISTRICT Pullman, Wash.

THE BROTHERS OF the Great Northwest District, in the Western Region held their biennial Alpha Day at Washington State University (WSU) in November, on the Pullman campus. Brother Elson S. Floyd, university president and his wife

Carmen, hosted the activities for 72 brothers, spouses, children and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Also on hand for the event was Aaron Crutison, Western Region vice president and Alvin D. Nurse, district director of the Great Northwest District.

The brothers also took time to recognize the 35th Anniversary of the chartering of Iota Tau Chapter at

Eastern Washington University (EWU) on May 15, 1975. The Iota Tau charter has since been seated at WSU’s Pullman campus. Other activities included a recognition luncheon on the EWU campus, a caravan to the WSU campus, a tribute to the Iota Tau Chapter charter brothers, the business meeting of the Great Northwest District, a California vs. WSU football game and a reception.H

KAPPA ZETA LAMBDA Clarksville, Tenn.

THE BROTHERS OF Kappa Zeta Lambda in Clarksville, Tenn., recently implemented Project Alpha in their community and educated 20 high school students ages 13 to 17. The students were educated on topics ranging from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), sexuality and the roles of men in relationships. The program catered to the males of the High School Upward Bond (HSUB), a program which aims to increase the rate at which low-income, first-generation college students complete secondary education, matriculate and graduate from post-secondary institutions.

The brothers were also assisted by the First Response Center of Nashville which provided information on AIDS and

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Brothers of Kappa Zeta Lambda, with the First Response Center and students after a successful Project Alpha program in Clarksville, Tenn.

STD prevention. Project Alpha was such a success that the upward bound program has reached out to the Clarksville Alumni chapter for other collaborations. Kappa Zeta Lambda plans on hosting a career day with the entire HSUB group as it moves forward to carry out the work of Alpha in the local community. H

CHAPTER NEWS

KAPPA XI LAMBDA New York, N.Y.

Celebrating success and achievement: Proud members of the board of directors of the Alpha Foundation of Howard County Inc., in Columbia, Md.

KAPPA PHI LAMBDA Columbia, Md. WHEN IT COMES to making sure the future leaders of tomorrow are mentored today, brothers at Kappa Phi Lambda are second to none in Howard County, Md. Targeting African-American males in grades nine through 12, the chapter’s Alpha Achievers educational program is the centerpiece of its mission in Columbia and throughout Howard County. The program fosters a positive learning environment in order to facilitate students’ pursuit of excellence by attaining, maintaining and exceeding a 3.0 grade point average—which is the minimum requirement for membership. The program also seeks to encourage and motivate those students who have less than required grade point average to strive toward it.

In existence since 1997, the program also seeks to promote character growth, develop leadership and critical thinking skills, and encourage its members to become full citizens of the school and the community. The current membership spans 10 high schools and consists of 240 to 400 members during the course of an academic year. Funding of this and other programs is provided primarily by the Alpha Foundation of Howard County, Inc. An endowment fund has been established to support the Alpha Achievers and other education programs.

H

THE “WALL STREET ALPHAS” of the Kappa Xi Lambda Chapter continue to make a difference in their community with their G.E.N.T.S. program. The Alpha G.E.N.T.S. (Gaining Essential Networking Tools for Success) is a mentoring program designed to encourage academic achievement among young men in high school. The goal of the program is to prepare each student for college life and/or transition into the working world upon graduation.

The program’s workshops are geared to increase student’s academic, interpersonal, and cognitive skills. Group and individual projects are designed to develop presentation and leadership skills, cultivate teamwork, and broaden life skills. In preparation for college, students are taken on college tours outside the New York City area to broaden their experiences and choices. Part of the curriculum includes structured SAT-preparation workshops that are partnered with Kaplan, the testing-services-preparation company.

Approximately 25 students are mentored as a group at least once a month, and each student is paired with a mentor who interacts with them between sessions.

Using their life experiences and commitment to service, Alpha brothers serve as role models to and help promote positive images of African-American and Latino males among the students; among many of the students come from difficult backgrounds and have had limited exposure to successful males who look like them. H

“Wall Street Alphas” took students on tour of the University of Connecticut, as part of their G.E.N.T.S. program. Here, they pause to take a group photo.

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CHAPTER NEWS

OMICRON ETA LAMBDA Washington, D.C.

Helping those in need: From left, Brother Bryan Hill, Strive DC Executive Director Chris Hart-Wright and Brother James Huntley at the inaugural Strive DC presentation in Washington, D.C.

PI EPSILON University of California, San Bernardino University of California, Riverside

At right: Brother Cornel West delivers a fiery speech at the University of California, BROTHER CORNEL WEST is widely known for his writing.

Riverside.

But Nov. 10, 2010 on the campus of University of California, At Bottom: Members of Riverside (UCR), the best-selling author, professor, Pi Epsilon philosopher and civil rights advocate was showed his fiery Chapter join oratorical skills at an event sponsored in part by Pi Epsilon Brother Cornel West for a Chapter at UCR. photo after his Nov. 5, 2010 West, initiated at Zeta Beta Lambda Chapter in speech at the Sacramento, Calif., in 1996, captivated an audience at the UC Riverside.

university’s Highlander Union Building Ballroom. Brothers of Pi Epsilon Chapter assisted in the production of the event and also served as ushers.

Following a warm welcome by Chancellor Timothy P. White and Kenneth Simons, director of African Student Programs, West caressed the minds of the scholarly crowd with a thought-provoking message, “Building a Better Community.”

West also took questions from the audience and received a tribute and a thank-you from brothers of the local college and alumni chapters. The brothers gave West an autographed copy of the fraternity’s history book, The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in College Life. They also honored him with an engraved “2010 Highlander Community Builder Award” obelisk. H

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ON DECEMBER 3, 2010, as a part of their Founders’ Week activities, the brothers of Omicron Eta Lambda launched Alpha Attire. The initiative consists of brothers delivering “Alpha Attire” to Strive DC, a nonprofit organization which assists unemployed individuals in the Washington, D.C., area with obtaining the skills, education and clothing needed to secure and maintain employment. In its inaugural year, Alpha Attire was able to donate over 75 new and used business suits to benefit Strive DC. H

CHAPTER NEWS

RHO ZETA LAMBDA Maywood, Ill.

Psi Lambda brothers celebrating achievement in Chattanooga, Tenn. From left: Jim Scales, Jeffrey Wilson, Charles Jackson, Paul Smith and Chris Palmer present a ceremonial check to State of the Union Oratorical Contest winner Ana Castan.

PSI LAMBDA Chattanooga, Tenn.

THIS PAST SPRING, Psi Lambda Chapter sponsored the State of the Union Oratorical Contest within Chattanooga’s Howard School of Technology’s Talented Tenth Leadership Program. In the contest, middle school students are challenged to step into the role of the president of the United States and share their plan for American domestic and foreign policy.

The program was founded by

PI NU Appalachian State University Boone, N.C. ON FEBRUARY 21, the Pi Nu Chapter conducted a historical event on the campus of Appalachian State University (ASU).

The inaugural event, A Walk To Remember: Marching For Our History, brought together a diverse group of individuals from various walks of life to pay tribute to all those who have marched, fought, and died for civil rights and equality.

Brother Mason West III, and this year awarded a $500 scholarship from the Psi Lambda Education Foundation, presented by chapter president Chris Palmer.

Chapter members say they are hoping the program grows, and that more Hamilton County students will be involved in next year’s competition. The event goes hand-in-hand with Psi Lambda’s other fundraisers, including its foundation’s annual Psi Lambda Scholarship Gala, all which benefit students within Hamilton County. H During the program, brothers lit candles and led the march, followed by a body of students and faculty holding candles and positive signs of encouragement reminiscent of signs from the marches of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement era. To conclude the march, the participants gathered in ASU’s Greer Auditorium, where there were additional celebrations of African-American heritage. The program exhibited both unity and remembrance, and the chapter plans on it becoming an annual ASU event. H

MANY ANSWERED the call to join Rho Zeta Lambda Chapter in Maywood, Ill., at a fund-raiser kick-off party and precelebration of its 2011 New Year’s Eve Ball. With the theme “je na sais quoi,” created to encourage guests to express their own individuality, the kick-off party was held at the M Lounge. The ball was held at the Best Western Hotel in Hillside, Ill. The brothers partnered with the Torchbearers Foundation, another nonprofit organization. Proceeds benefit the foundation’s scholarship and educational programs. H

SIGMA ALPHA LAMBDA Charles County, Md. SIGMA ALPHA LAMBDA Chapter continues to uplift youths with its Alpha Lights mentoring program. The recently commissioned mentoring-and-education program for young African-American men is conducted in partnership with Mattawoman Middle School of Charles County, Md. It continues the fraternity’s decades-long commitment to supporting the habits of mind and intellectual capacities of young people by encouraging a successful secondary-school and college experience.

The Alpha Lights program includes brothers having courageous conversations with youths about issues that affect young people. The program also informs them on how to pursue academic excellence. The students also participate in workshops, debates, role-playing and seminars while also developing mentor-mentee relationships with college-educated men through games, field trips, and other social interactions.

Brothers of Sigma Alpha Lambda meet monthly with Alpha Lights mentees in preparation for the culminating event of the school year, an oratorical contest and awards ceremony. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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CHAPTER NEWS

PI UPSILON LAMBDA Largo, Md. THE BROTHERS OF Pi Upsilon Lambda, in Largo, Md., recently created an afternoon filled with laughter, music and delicious food for over 100 residents at the Shepherd’s Cove Shelter for Battered and Abused Women and Children. Many of the women at the shelter are victims of domestic violence and said they were delighted to have the opportunity to be served and treated as royalty by the men of Alpha Phi Alpha. A huge meal prepared by the “chefs” of Pi Upsilon Lambda. Each woman was also presented with a gift bag full of soaps, perfume, Brothers of Pi Upsilon Lambda with youths at the Shepherd’s Cove lotion and other donated items. The chapter also Shelter for Battered and Abused Women and Children in Prince held a toy drive to benefit the children. H George’s County, Md.

RHO Philadelphia, Pa.

Members of Rho Chapter celebrating the art of oratory. In addition to brothers standing, seated from left is: Rho Chapter Past Presidents James Slaughter, H. Walter Early and Chapter President Darrell L. Tiller. Standing, wearing their medals, are the oratorical contestants: First-prize winner Shamir Wallace, a graduating senior of Germantown High School in Germantown, Pa. and an entering freshman at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.; Second-place winner Derrick Watson, a junior at Freire Charter High School in Philadelphia, Pa. and second-place winner Kyle Hanna, a junior at Girard College.

ORATORY HAS LONG BEEN a attribute within Alpha Phi Alpha and members of Rho (Alumni) Chapter in Philadelphia are continuing the great tradition. The brothers recently held the chapter’s inaugural Brother Dr. Thomas H. Watkins, Sr. Oratorical Contest. The event took place at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, where Alpha brother the Rev. Martini Shaw is rector. H

RHO PI LAMBDA Carrollton, GA NINE ON THE LINE and just in time! Brothers of Rho Pi Lambda have been working to improve their community since the chapter’s founding in 2008. They got some new workers recently, with the initiation of nine new members. As a young chapter, the journey has been long for both Rho Pi Lambda and its new members; but now the real journey begins. Rho Pi Lambda brothers have said they are honored to have had a successful intake season and look forward to many great endeavors in the future. H

38 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

Brothers join Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. in welcoming new members of Alpha at Rho Pi Lambda, in Carrollton, Ga. Standing from left: Robert Kelly, Damond Wilson, Matt Brantley, Maurice Goss, Robert Townes, Price Michael, Michael Meeks, Mason, 25th General President James R. Williams, Derrick Sibert, Thomas MacAlpine, Antonio Burkes, Arnold Taylor, Jerrod McAllister and Josh Almond. Seated from left: Chris Atkinson, Douglas Rozier, Davy Nix, Lionnell Singleton, Greg-Karlton Sherman, Antoine Cater, Braddon Calloway, Desmond Dodson and Braxton Calloway.

CHAPTER NEWS

RHO KAPPA LAMBDA Duluth, Ga.

XI ALPHA LAMBDA Prince William County, Va.

Since 2000, Rho Kappa Lambda Chapter has offered summer-based activities that provide a balance of social- and service-oriented options for its servicing area. Each June, members of the chapter support the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta at Bowl-For-Kids Sake.

Through fundraising and volunteering, the chapter does its part to help heighten awareness and support for one of the fraternity’s national partners.

July is another constructive month, with the chapter’s family picnic, along with its voter registration drive. The picnic is a fun-filled day, including the collection of school supplies to support one of the area’s elementary schools. Likewise, the voter registration drive, held at a local mall, provides a great opportunity to make public to be more aware of the importance and relevance of voting. H

IN SUBURBAN Washington, D.C., brothers are making a huge difference.

Xi Alpha Lambda Chapter in Prince William County, Va., raised $7,000 in scholarship money by running in the Marine Corps Marathon. Since 2009, during that run, they have continued to make an impact.

Six brothers from Xi Alpha Lambda participated in the 34th Annual Marine Corps Marathon – The People’s Marathon, held in Arlington, Va. The chapter made this a priority because it wanted to focus on increasing health awareness and raising money for the chapter’s Ira Dorsey Scholarship Endowment Foundation (IDSEF).

The brothers who participated in the marathon set out on an 18week training program that would adequately prepare them for the arduous 26.2-mile run around the scenic Arlington/Washington, D.C. area. During this time, the brothers of Xi Alpha Lambda rallied behind the runners to assist them in raising sponsorship funds to contribute to the scholarship foundation. Each runner was charged to raise $1,000 within the community to support the effort. The effort garnered at least 65 donors, both individual and corporate givers.

IDSEF is Xi Alpha Lambda’s nonprofit foundation that provides scholarships to deserving college-bound students in the local Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. areas. The name of the foundation honors retired Army Lt. Col. Brother Ira Dorsey, a charter member of Xi Alpha Lambda who possessed a passion to educate and uplift the younger generation. To date, IDSEF has given more than $100,000 in scholarship awards to students. H

Taking the kids from the Bronx to college: Brothers Mike Givan, Charles Richardson and Keith Howard with students on the first Rho Psi Lambda college tour at Hampton University in Hampton, Va.

RHO PSI LAMBDA Bronx, N.Y. The brothers of the Rho Psi Lambda Chapter kicked off their first fraternal school year in the brotherhood with a collegiate tour for students in middle and high school from the Bronx community. The Rho Psi Lambda Collegiate Tour is the brainchild of life member Barry Ward, who organized the trip to Hampton University in Hampton, Va. More than 40 students participated. Chapter members were chaperones alongside parents and other volunteers. For a large majority of the students, the tour was their first time leaving the Bronx community. Brothers said the tour was eye-opening and appeared to have had a major impact on the students. Many parents said they were extremely grateful their that children got the opportunity to go on the tour and the exposure to higher education it provided the young people.

Rho Psi Lambda is already making plans to do it again next fraternal year. H

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CHAPTER NEWS C

Members of Sigma Lambda Chapter at their annual Black & Gold Scholarship Ball in New Orleans, La.

SIGMA LAMBDA New Orleans, La. SIGMA LAMBDA takes pride in giving back to the community during its annual Founders’ Week activities.

The December 2010 week began with a Sunday Service at Sixth Baptist Church in Uptown New Orleans. On Monday, the chapter hosted a Monday Night Football party at the Sigma Lambda chapter house. On Tuesday

was the chapter’s Adopt-A-Family, bringing Christmas to a needy family— providing a tree, trimmings and presents. Thursday a public program was held, honoring community members in the areas of education, entrepreneurship and community service. On Friday, the chapter hosted its Fraternal Luncheon, honoring the chapter’s living past presidents.

The week concluded on Founders’ Day with Sigma Lambda’s Black

& Gold Scholarship Ball, raising $1,500 in scholarship funds. The chapter recognized past general presidents from Sigma Lambda— Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial and Charles C. Teamer Sr. Many brothers summed up the week as not only enjoyable, but a chance for brothers to celebrate fraternal heritages and honor the community by investing in tomorrow’s leaders. H

XI KAPPA LAMBDA Missouri City, Texas XI KAPPA LAMBDA Chapter, working under the slogan “Action Oriented, Service Driven,” continues its commitment to the fraternity’s national programs, with contributions to the community. As a steward of true servant leadership, the chapter offers programming for the betterment of those they serve.

This level of service has recently been recognized with Xi Kappa Lambda’s being awarded Outstanding Alumni Chapter of the Year, as well as Outstanding Alumni Brother of the Year honors at the Texas District and Southwestern Region levels.

The chapter won the national

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Xi Kappa Lambda Chapter brothers assemble for their annual group photo. Photo by DMJ Productions.

Chapter of the Year title at the Chicago 2011 General Convention.

At the 2011 Texas Council of Alpha Chapters Convention in Dallas, Texas, the chapter also claimed several special recognitions for service and leadership, including

the Humanitarian Award, Espirite De Fraternite Award, and A. Maceo Smith Award. Brother Charles Washington received recognition from the American Cancer Society for his work on the Cancer Prevention Study 3. H

CHAPTER NEWS

ZETA THETA LAMBDA Harrisburg, Pa.

ZETA BETA LAMBDA Sacramento, Calif.

ZETA THETA LAMBDA Chapter recently expanded its current mentoring-and-recruiting program by establishing a joint partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.

As part of the mentoring of young men, brothers trained the youth on formal dining and dress Members of Zeta Theta Lambda with students instruction, using etiquetteat the Chapter’s annual Black and Gold Ball. training material presented at the Pennsylvania Association of Alpha Chapters District Conference.

The mentees were rewarded with an invitation to the chapter’s Fourth Annual Black and Gold Ball. Mentors are comprised of brothers and members of the community who support the program.

College brothers from Gamma Nu Chapter at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa., also support the mentoring effort by sharing their college experiences with the young men. Formal-dress and dining training was followed by leadership training, using principles defined in the book 7 Leadership Imperatives from a Wildman by Joseph Robinson Jr., Zeta Theta Lambda’s chapter president. H

BROTHERS OF Zeta Beta Lambda Chapter in Sacramento, Calif., teamed up with the local Hope Productions Foundation, raising more than $700 during the annual Walk ‘N Rock for Kids. This partnership allows the foundation to increase efforts to provide support and training for charities serving youths. Each participating organization chooses a children’s organization to support. Zeta Beta Lambda supports the Sacramento Big Brother Big Sisters program in which many chapter brothers serve as Big Brothers. H

XI GAMMA LAMBDA Beaufort, S.C. IN THE LOW COUNTRY of South Carolina, Xi Gamma Lambda Chapter brothers in Beaufort, S.C., held a “March Madness” all their own when they hosted their Second Annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at Battery Creek High School. Funds raised from the contest benefit the chapter’s annual donations to the March of Dimes March for Babies. The chapter raised $700 for the cause. H

March Madness for a cause. Brothers of Xi Gamma Lambda Chapter, at their second annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament.

ZETA KAPPA LAMBDA Des Moines, Iowa THE BROTHERS OF Zeta Kappa Lambda Chapter have been busy in their community, trying to help others move onward and upward. In February, the chapter, seated in Des Moines, Iowa, held its annual Black and Gold Ball, which is a fundraiser for scholarships. This year Thomas Phillips was honored for his dedication to the Des Moines community, and the chapter gave four scholarships, totaling more than $10,000.

The chapter also spent much of the last academic year conducting its Project Real Talk sessions, which are held at Des Moines East High School.

Project Real Talk has seen another year of growth and development in the students that regularly attend. The hard work of the brothers’ mentoring the students is paying dividends in a big way—five female students have received full scholarships to attend universities across the country. All of the young ladies have a minimum 3.5 grade point average and have attended the sessions since they were high school sophmores. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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INITIATIVES

Why African-American Men Must Graduate from College

By Darryl A. Peal

W

hile serving in many capacities in higher education I have had many critical and intentional conversations with countless African-American men about the importance, significance and necessity of them graduating from college. The college experience provides a forum for black men to become culturally, politically and technologically savvy while affording them an opportunity to experience many perspectives, cultures and topics of discussion that encourage critical thinking and a global perspective.

This transformational process also helps them acquire the industry-specific and related skills needed for their desired profession. For previous generations the concept of “on-the-job training” was a common approach to human capital development.

However, it is often seen as impractical in today’s competitive workplace. Employers expect employees in the professional ranks to show up and be able to not just work, but perform.

The workplace environment in the United States—and around the world, as we now live in a global economy—continues to evolve. For many African-American men, especially in the industrial north and Midwest, it has become painfully obvious that the U.S. jobs landscape has been transformed. Gone are the days when you made a middle-class living in West Virginia in the coal mine; raised a family in a nice house with two cars in Pittsburgh by working at the steel mill; or put your children through college in Detroit by working for (what used to be called) the “Big Three,” General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

America has gone from a manufacturing driven economy to an economy based on knowledge, skills and services.

Consequently, students today must attend and graduate from college and acquire the knowledge and skills to enter and be employable in the workforce—a much more competitive workforce, that now has applicants from not just within America, but from India, China, Russia and other parts around the world. Upon graduation we must also develop and use our own intellectual property and business acumen to become entrepreneurs.

The college experience impacts black men in a multicontextual fashion. It helps them grow in a holistic manner and provides much more than industry-specific skills. As collegians, they are afforded the opportunity to read books that are written by top scholars and attend lectures by the experts in their fields

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The Class of 2011, from coast to coast. Above: Alpha Phi Alpha Western Region Assistant Vice President Mario J. Carroll (center) and fellow brothers celebrate with sorority members on graduation day at University of California, Berkeley. Below: Alpha Eastern Region Assistant Vice President Jonathan Leon (far right) celebrates with graduating Brothers Kendell Bryant of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (left) and Alfolabo Saulia of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (center) at Syracuse University commencement ceremonies in Syracuse, N.Y.

of study. The intense academic environment of the college campus encourages African-American men to be critical thinkers, provides a forum for them to ask unfiltered questions, and explore new ideas.

Further, the opportunity for academic, cultural, social and professional growth during the collegiate experience provides college graduates with an edge in the job market over those who have not had the opportunity to experience a college curriculum.

The collegiate experience also offers the unique opportunity to build a network for personal and professional mentoring and career development. It opens the portal of networking early on by allowing for collegiate level membership in professional organizations such as the National Association of Black

Commencement, Now What?

Accountants (NABA), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and or the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a host of other professional trade organizations in fields of medicine, dentistry, law, politics, science and education. These organizations provide opportunities for training and development, internships and are pipelines to the workforce.

The financial impact of a college degree is staggering when compared to the earning potential of those who do not complete post-secondary education. As a result, I always aggressively share with African-American students that their ability to be successful financially may be greatly impacted by their decision to attain or not attain their college degree.

Many black students become feverishly concerned about the loan debt they incur while pursuing their degree. In contrast, I remind those students that while the cost of higher education may be daunting at this point in their life, the return on their investment when they finish will be immeasurable. Further, there is a greater cost for the many who do not earn a college degree. One only has to read the most recent studies to know that one’s earning potential within today’s economy is driven by degrees, licensures and experience.

In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that adults over the age of 18 who had not received a high school diploma earned an average yearly income of $19,915. Those with high school diplomas earned an average of $29,448.

People who had bachelor’s degrees earned $54,689; and those with master’s or terminal degrees earned an average yearly income of $79,946.

The necessity of college graduation for AfricanAmerican men is more important now than in any time in history. While the attainment of a college degree impacts earning potential and social standing, there is a much greater need for the formal training. African-American communities must continue to grow strong men who love, protect, support and lead our communities. They must be armed with strong intellect, a passion for servant leadership and spiritual sobriety.

Historic African-American leaders like Alpha Phi Alphaa Fraternity members Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and W.E.B. Dubois all understood the need for higher education and they were the models of both academic excellence and servant leadership. However, I believe that no one spoke the truth about our need for education more simplistically and correctly than Malcolm X when he stated, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” H

By F. Carl Walton

I RECENTLY WITNESSED the graduation ceremony of a class of 560 high school students. Of the top ten graduates, two of them were African-American men (one of which was the salutatorian). Commencement for them signaled a major accomplishment and the culmination of four years of hard work, and perhaps for some of their fellow students, maybe five years.

One of the young men is headed to the West Coast Ivy dominion of Stanford University, the other to East Coast Ivy Leaguer Princeton University. They fulfilled the goal of being admitted to a top tier university and look forward to attending in fall 2011.

For others, commencement signifies a “Thank God I made it” moment. The students who know not of the words summa cum laude or magna cum laude. They are the ones who graduated “thank-you-laude.” These individuals will likely take a different path than the young men who are off to Stanford and Princeton but the day is certainly no less significant for them.

They are likely just as excited about pursuing whatever goals they have set for themselves or maybe they are choosing to just appreciate the fact that they have completed the educational milestone that is graduation.

For those who are faculty and university administrators, commencement is a time of evaluation and review. While individuals in those positions take pride in the accomplishment of those who earn degrees they also find themselves in a position to review what occurred over the past cycle. What was good, and what was bad. What went right and what went wrong.

This reflection places the teacher in the position to enhance existing programs and to create new ones where necessary.

It is also a time of self evaluation for graduates. Graduates can engage in a personal assessment. They will reflect on the accomplishment of the past four years, but will also consider that changes or adjustments they may need to make as they move to their next venture.

Commencement is on the surface celebrated as the end of a phase of one’s education and as a celebration of a scholarly (sometimes intellectual) achievement. However, in reality, it is more a beginning—a commencing towards a new phase in one’s life. Whether that new phase is a transition to another academic experience or to the workforce, it is in fact a time of new beginnings.

Finally, commencement means that the graduate can go forward to fulfill a lifelong dream. Because of performance at the previous level, acceptance to that undergraduate program, to that graduate school, to that professional school or the offer for that job is indeed a realized goal. This is commencement. H

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INITIATIVES

Self-Funded vs. Fully Funded: THE MISSING PART OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

By Douglas Wilson

M

any Americans recall the bitter fight for and against health care reform during the summer of 2009 and the spring of 2010. It was a very ugly fight. Names were called and tempers flared, some even brought guns to town hall meetings. Nonetheless after the dust settled a new health care law (House Resolution 3590) better known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, descended upon the land Even in 2011, the subject is still a part of the ongoing debate in America, albeit, not as virulently as during the run-up to the bill being debated and ultimately becoming law.

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What is certain and in agreement by both sides is that the health care system must be reformed.

According to the White House, some reform has taken affect: coverage of recommended preventive services without charging out-of-pocket costs; services like mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, pre-natal and new baby care and insurance companies prohibited from charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance.

There will be opportunities to appeal coverage decisions: consumers will be guaranteed the right to appeal insurance company decisions to an independent

third party.

Patients get to keep their doctor with a guarantee of their choice of primary care provider: consumers will have their choice of provider within the plan’s network of doctors, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians, without a referral, as well as out-of-network emergency care.

The Obama administration contends these three provisions will benefit up to 88 million people by 2013.

Other provisions that have taken place include • Important consumer protections and a new Patient’s Bill of Rights that end some of the worst insurance-company abuses.

INITIATIVES

•

New resources for states to help crack down on health-insurance-premium increases, protect consumers and develop health insurance exchanges where consumers will have the same health insurance choices as members of Congress.

• The establishment of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan to provide coverage to Americans who have been uninsured because of a pre-existing condition.

• Launch of the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program to make it easier for businesses to provide coverage to retirees who are not eligible for Medicare.

• Distribution of important information that will help small businesses claim the law’s small business tax credit.

• Cost saving measures, including provisions that will make our system more efficient.

These provisions are good ones but there is one section that I believe that has not been addressed. Self-funded plans vs. fully-funded plans. I have worked in the health care field for eight years and I have witnessed how costly health care can be. I have also noticed the lack of understanding among patients between self-funded and fully-funded plans.

A self funded plan is one that the employer and the insurance company write together. For example, the employer may tell the insurance company it will cover a physician office visit for rheumatoid arthritis, but not the specialty drug needed to treat it. Even though you have health insurance, the medication needed to treat your condition may not be covered.

A fully-funded plan or an individual plan are those that are offered directly to the patient. These plans can range in price depending upon the insurance carrier. For example, most insurance companies may say they will offer you a

plan for a premium as low as $149 per month. However, what patients may not be told (or it will be in the very fine print) is your annual deductible could be $2,500 and the coinsurance could be a 70/30 percent split. Also, the insurance company will cover a patient at 100 percent, but only once the $2,500 deductible is met.

Until then, you still pay the 30 percent of your medical expenses and the insurance company will cover 70 percent.

WHETHER FULLYFUNDED OR SELFFUNDED, YOU HAVE TO READ THE FORMS AND ASK QUESTIONS WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SIGNING UP FOR. YOUR VERY LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT. Another loophole that is missing is the reimbursement of ICD-9 Codes.

Each procedure has a code tagged to it based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) which provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease.

Each insurance company gives a code a reimbursement price in which doctors will receive when it is billed. For example a regular vaginal birth delivery may have an ICD-9 code of 669.01. The

doctor will bill the insurance company with this code. The price for this code maybe $100.00. This is the amount the doctor will be reimbursed. There are also administration codes. These codes are billed by physicians when they administer a drug or procedure.

This is where it gets tricky.

Some insurance companies may not cover one administration code over another. If this happens, this may cost the patient more money. Another shocker for many Americans comes when they realize a downside of their plan, perhaps because they did not understand it or failed to read the fine print. Then there is the sheer fact that most patients do not have a sound comprehension of medical insurance and how the system works.

More the reason it’s critically important to read your health plan from your employer.

Having major medical insurance does not necessarily mean a patient or employee has complete coverage. For example, if you have major medical insurance but your plan does not cover paternity benefits, you will have to pay for pregnancy procedures.

Another area of concern is the lack of understanding of medical terminology used in the healthcare insurance industry.

Americans must do better (on their own) to further understand the terms that doctors, insurance carriers—and yes lawyers—use to determine how we will be treated, and how much it will cost the next time you walk into the doctor’s office, hospital or outpatient clinic.

So to really be “protected” and be able to “afford” healthcare as the new law says in its title, you have to do more than just sign the enrollment forms. Whether fully-funded or self-funded, you have to read the forms and ask questions when you don’t know what you’re signing up for. Your very life may depend on it. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

The Sphinx is proud to bring you a snapshot of the 2011 General Convention in Chicago. From the proceedings at the Hilton Chicago Hotel on Michigan Avenue, to the nearby Merle Reskin Theatre to the overflow hotel at the historic Palmer House, Alpha men, their family and friends left an indelible mark on the Windy City, in true “Ice Cold” Alpha Phi Alpha fashion.

Windy City Becomes 105th Anniversary/91st General Convention PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICKEY BROWN, JARVIS HARRIS, JEFF LEWIS

46 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

“Ice Cold” Grammy-nominated R&B vocal group En Vogue performs at the 2011 Convention. Inset: Grammy nominee Brother Gerald Albright brings down the house with his saxophone.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

GRAVESITE VISITS

Ralph H. Metcalfe’s gravestone.

Brothers hold hands and pray.

John H. Johnson’s tomb.

Emmett Till’s burial marker.

Brother Rickey Brown at Jesse Owens‘ tombstone.

Brothers gather at the grave of 2nd General President Roscoe C. Giles.

Harold Washington’s grave site.

Brothers after placing a wreath at the tomb of Brother John H. Johnson.

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Brother Damon “Dee” Horn reflects.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY VISIT

Top left: Brother Sean McCaskill, Eastern regional vice president, pauses at the display of the iconic Ebony magazine photo of Coretta Scott King at the funeral of her husband Brother Martin Luther King Jr. Bottom left: The 1983 Black Business Achievement Award presented to Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) by Alpha Phi Alpha on display at JPC headquarters. Right: An Ebony/Jet representative shares a light moment with 28th General President Henry Ponder during the tour of JPC headquarters as General Treasurer Hyacinth C. Ahuruonye looks on.

At Johnson Publishing Company headquarters in Chicago, brothers pose as the likeness of Brother John H. Johnson hovers above in the lobby.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Brother John Jackson of the Schott Foundation for Public Education addresses the board.

General Treasurer Hyacinth C. Ahuruonye makes a point.

Tree campus USA and other environmentalists addressed the board on environmental issues.

Southern Regional Vice President James L. Crumel listens to a presentation as Regional Assistant Vice President Kenneth J. Wright Jr. looks on.

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., presides over the board of directors meeting in Chicago.

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Fraternity Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer William Douglass Lyle takes notes.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

REGISTRATION

Scenes from the registration area.

A brother receives his wristband at the registration desk. Bands were used to control access during the convention.

SENIOR BROTHER’S LOUNGE

Brother A. Waymon Ward, Mrs. Doris Shannon and Brother John Clark join General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. in cutting the ribbon to open the 2011 Senior Brother’s Lounge honoring Brothers Ward, Clark and the late Sylvester Shannon.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

PLENARY AND BUSINESS SESSIONS

General President Herman “Skip� Mason, Jr., calls the convention to order.

Retiring Comptroller Frank Jenkins bids farewell and offers thanks.

The color guard presents the flags at the opening ceremony.

Brothers raise the flag of Liberia as fraternity recharters a chapter there. Onstage with the general president is Brother T. Nelson Williams (at left) from Monrovia.

Speaking to the convention, from left: Brothers Emanuel Cleaver, U.S. representative, D-Mo., chair, Congressional Black Caucus; Eric E. Elmore, chairman of the Jewels Project; Malcolm Jackson, assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Phillip Rodgers, former Midwestern Region assistant vice president; Rick Blalock, chairman of the Constitution Committee; and Desmond Ables, chairman of the Rules and Credentials Committee.

52 THE SPHINX H Spring-Summer 2011

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

PLENARY AND BUSINESS SESSIONS

Brother Keith Wooten of Gamma Eta Lambda Chapter makes a point as Asst. Sgt. at Arms Eugene Aiken looks on.

Brother Matthew Simmons of Delta Eta Chapter listens to an answer.

Brother Travis Washington (center) and his Nu Theta Chapter Brother Ryan Lang (right) listen to the debate.

26th General President Ozell Sutton addresses the convention.

Brother Darryl Sharp casts his vote on a motion.

Speaking at the convention, from left: the Rev. Walter Kimbrough Sr.; Maurice Jenkins, chairman of the Time and Place Committee; the Rev. Al Sharpton (guest of the fraternity); Brothers James B.“Tiny� Blanton, former fraternity executive director; A. Wendell Wheadon, delegate from Cleveland, Ohio; and Zollie Stevenson, Chairman of the Organizational Effectiveness Committee.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

PUBLIC PROGRAM

Brother Don Weston of South Carolina, marvels as the official general president flags are carried into the public program.

Tony-award-winning performer Jennifer Holliday rocks the crowd with her powerhouse voice.

Students from Chicago’s Urban Prep Academies are presented by its founder, Brother Tim King.

Veteran civil rights activist Xernona Clayton observes the proceedings.

Addressing the public program, from left: Actor Richard Roundtree; Black Enterprise publisher Earl Graves Sr.; Brother Roland Burris, former U.S. senator, D-Ill.; and Lerone Bennett Jr., former executive editor of Ebony magazine.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

PUBLIC PROGRAM THREE EARN ALPHA’S HIGHEST HONORS: 32nd General President Darryl R. Matthews Sr., (top left), Award of Merit; the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., (top right), Award of Honor; Daniel Paul Amos, chairman and CEO of Aflac, (bottom right), Award of Honor.

Brother James E. Payne, grand sire archon-elect of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, (bottom left), was one of several given a Presidential citation.

Honoring courage: The 2011 Alpha Award of Courage recipients, from left: the Rev. C.T. Vivian, Raymond Randolph and Bernard Lafayette.

Carolyn House Stewart, international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, presents a check to Harry E. Johnson, Sr., CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation while Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. looks on.

Marco McMillian, executive director of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity presents a check to Harry E. Johnson, Sr., CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation while Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. looks on.

Dwayne M. Murray, grand polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, presents $50,000 donation to Harry E. Johnson, Sr., CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation while Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. looks on.

Speaking to the Public Program, from left: Brother Tim Reid, emcee; Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Karl Price, Esq., international grand polaris of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity; and Andrew Ray, grand basileus of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

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TASTE OF CHICAGO RECEPTION

The “Evans kids” from the TV series ‘Good Times’ join General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., at the welcome reception. From Left: Jimmie Walker (J.J.); Bern Nadette Stanis (Thelma); Mason; and Ralph Carter (Michael).

Business tycoon Brother Robert Wright of Columbus, Ga., and 31st General President Harry E. Johnson, Sr.

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Brother Harry Evans, president of Kappa Phi Lambda in Maryland (second from left), celebrates with fellow friends and delegates.

Melanie Atkins Brown, the granddaughter of Jewel Robert Harold Ogle, and Ogle’s grandson Brother Julian Wilson enjoy the moment.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

ELECTION FORUM AND VOTING

From left: Brothers Keith Bishop; Roderick L. Smothers, Sr.; Mark S. Tillman and Cecil Howard.

Scenes from Election 2011. From left: A brother cast his ballot at the Hilton Chicago Hotel; Election Committee member and past Western Regional Vice President G. Bernard Brown works the polling booth; and the official electronic ballot.

After all the ballots were counted, delegates nominated Southwestern Regional Vice President Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., Ph.D. as the top candidate for the ballot for 34th general president. Also earning a spot on the ballot—finishing second—was former Midwestern Regional Vice President Mark S. Tillman. Former General Counsel Cecil Howard finished third, and General Counsel Keith Bishop was fourth in balloting.

Left: Steven Sims of Ohio was unopposed for comptroller.

Right: Election Committee Chairman Tom Phillips delivers the results.

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FITNESS MORNING WORKOUT

Each day at the Alpha convention brothers, family members and friends joined physical-fitness leaders to get in shape. For several years the fraternity has emphasized the importance of being physically fit by providing free aerobic and other fitness activities to convention attendees.

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES In Chicago, children who attended the convention got the chance to experience Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is one of the largest science museums in the Western Hemisphere, and it is home to more than 35,000 artifacts and nearly 14 acres of hands-on exhibits designed to spark scientific inquiry and creativity.

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CAREER FAIR AND EXHIBITION Hundreds of college brothers took advantage of the annual Alpha Phi Alpha Convention Career Fair at the Hilton Chicago Hotel.

From military and law enforcement agencies to academic institutions to corporate businesses, brothers had a plethora of opportunities to advance their careers.

Top: Brother Joel Hart of Gamma Phi Lambda Chapter in San Francisco, Calif. shares a thought with General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. at the fraternity’s career fair and exhibition; Bottom: Representatives of Purdue University were among the dozens of vendors at the career fair and exhibition.

A convention attendee gets information from a representative of the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Customs and Border Protection service.

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COLLEGE BROTHERS LUNCHEON

Nationwide Insurance representative Milton Woodard presents a partnership check to General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. and Executive Director William Douglass Lyle.

Longtime partner March of Dimes is awarded a Presidential Citation.

Pictured from left: General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.; Dr. Alan Fleischman, March of Dimes medical director; Brother Densel Fleming, father of the 2011 March of Dimes baby ambassador; and William Douglass Lyle, fraternity executive director.

Harry E. Johnson, Sr. (left), president and CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, receives a donation from Brothers Tony Washington and Darryl Washington.

Brother James Wright, a 1957 Delta Xi Chapter initiate at Central State University in Wilberforce, OH., captures the moment.

Speaking at the College Brothers Luncheon, from left: Phillip Hall of Zeta Kappa Lambda Chapter; Brother J.T. Wiley, author of Dare To Be An Alpha Man; 29th General President Milton C. Davis; Mr. Brit Sigh of Abercrombie & Fitch; Melanie Atkins Brown, granddaughter of Jewel Robert Harold Ogle; Brother Dale Long, chairman of The Big Brothers Big Sisters Committee; and Brother Greg Bailey, chairman of the Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest.

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COLLEGE BROTHERS LUNCHEON

Regional assistant vice presidents receive gold blazers as a gifts for their service.

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. salutes outgoing regional assistant vice presidents.

From left: Jonathan G. Leon (East); Kenneth J. Wright, Jr. (South); Cameron Thierry (Midwest); Mario J. Carroll (West); and Christopher Harvey (Southwest).

BELFORD V. LAWSON ORATORICAL CONTEST

Contestants in the 2011 Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest, from left: Brothers KeiLyn Jones of Nu Kappa Chapter, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Eastern Region; Patrick Springer of Rho Tau Chapter, Southern Indiana University, Midwestern Region; contest winner Calvin Hayes of Beta Nu Chapter, Florida A&M University, Southern Region; Demetrius Sumner of Beta Sigma Chapter, Southern University & A&M College, Southwestern Region; and Najee Ritter of Alpha Delta Chapter, University of Southern California, Western Region.

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FRATERNAL LUNCHEON

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. bestows Presidential Citations upon brothers, from left: Demetrius Shelton; James Payne; Gregory Burrell and Barton Taylor. Seated is General Treasurer Hyacinth C. Ahuruonye (left) and Western Regional Assistant Vice President Mario J. Carroll (right).

Brother Densel Fleming kisses his daughter Lauren Fleming, the 2011 national baby ambassador for the March of Dimes.

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps joined the delegates for the fraternal luncheon.

The fraternity honored outstanding Boy Scout leaders at the convention. From left: Honoree Brother Irvine Stone of Nu Epsilon Lambda Chapter; Verdree Lockhart, chairman of the fraternity’s Special Committee on Boy Scouts; and honoree Brother Bobby Ray Williams of Epsilon Tau lambda Chapter.

Addressing the brothers at the Fraternal Luncheon, from left: Brother Wilbert Brown, chairman of the March of Dimes Committee; Mr. John Jones of the Boy Scouts of America; Brothers Johnathan Rodgers, CEO and president of TV One; Elgie Sims, Midwestern Region vice president; Mark Tillman, outgoing Midwestern Region vice president; and Roland Martin, CNN political analyst and recipient of the 2011 John H. Johnson Award of Excellence.

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HOBART JARRETT DEBATE COMPETITION The inaugural Hobart Jarrett Debate Competition featured two finalists: the Southwestern Region team versus the Eastern Region team. The Southwestern team was represented by Brothers Darnell Porter and Demetrius Sumner, of Beta Sigma Chapter at Southern University & A&M College. That team was declared the winner after the Eastern squad withdrew from the competition.

Beta Sigma Chapter’s Demetrius Sumner faces off with Southwestern Regional Assistant Vice President Christopher Harvey in debate exhibition.

Beta Sigma Chapter’s Darnell Porter faces off with Western Regional Assistant Vice President Mario J. Carroll in debate exhibition.

An exhibition competition was then conducted with the winning team, debating a team comprised of two regional assistant vice presidents: Brothers Mario J. Carroll of the Western Region and Christopher Harvey of the Southwestern Region.

Brother David Grisby, chairman of the debate competition committee.

JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS BOWL

Members of the Southwestern Region team ready themselves for a question.

From left: Tarricke Mills of Zeta Zeta Chapter at Univ. of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.; Thomas Amous of Zeta Sigma Chapter at University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.; and Beta Sigma Chapter Brothers Demetrius Sumner and Darnell Porter from Southern University & A&M College in Baton Rouge, La.

Members of the Southern Region’s team, won the 2011 national scholars bowl competition. The team is from Delta Delta Chapter at Albany State University in Albany, Ga.

Members of the team representing the Western Region listen to a question; from left: Marques Watson and Tremeal Bradford of Gamma Xi Chapter at the University of California, Los Angeles; Mario J. Carroll of Alpha Epsilon Chapter at the University of California, Berkeley; and Chris Bell, also of Gamma Xi Chapter.

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MEMORIAL SERVICE

Brother Henry Goodgame leads brothers—including Convention Chaplain the Rev. William E. Flippin Sr. (at left) and General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. (at right) in song.

Candles represent the living Brother Keith Shannon at the lectern. spirit of the Seven Jewels.

The Rev. Brother Richard C. Flippin offers a few words.

The Rev. Brother Joseph Lowery delivers the sermon.

O. WILSON WINTERS LIFE MEMBERSHIP BREAKFAST

Life Membership Committee Chairman Charles Loeb addresses the crowd.

Brother Robert Franklin speaks to the audience.

Brothers enjoy the food and fellowship at the O. Wilson Winters Life Membership Breakfast.

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Brother Freeman Hrabowski III was keynote speaker at the breakfast.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

COLLEGE PRESIDENTS FORUM

College presidents who participated in the College Presidents Forum, from left: Brothers Christopher Brown, Alcorn State University in Mississippi; Anthony Munroe, Malcolm X College of Chicago, Illinois; Larry Earvin of HustonTillotson University in Texas; Henry Ponder, past president of Fisk University in Tennessee; Wayne Riley of Meharry Medical College in Tennessee; and Walter Kimbrough of Philander Smith College in Arkansas.

Brother Wayne J. Riley of Meharry Medical College in Tennessee makes a point.

Brother Walter Kimbrough of Philander Smith College in Arkansas ponders a thought.

CORPORATE SPONSORS DINNER Former juvenile-court Judge Glenda Hatchett shares a laugh with Federal Appeals Court Judge Brother Damon Keith.

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. presents a Presidential Citation to Brother Winfred Harris in recognition of Harris’ retirement from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.

Brother and Mrs. Paul King (left) join General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. and his wife Harmel (right).

Brothers Robert Wright, Charles Teamer Sr., and William Pickard share a moment.

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LADIES LUNCHEON AND FASHION SHOW

Alpha Phi Alpha First Lady Harmel Mason addresses the crowd.

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COMMUNITY-SERVICE PROJECT: BLACK BARBERSHOP HEALTH OUTREACH

News cameras capture the brothers in action in the Chicago community.

A brother gets instruction on a procedure.

Brothers prepare to administer a screening at a local barbershop

The group of Alpha brothers who visited neighborhoods to conduct health screenings.

GENERAL PRESIDENTS SMOKER

Bro. Lucien Metellus asks a question.

Bro. Michael Williams speaks from the lectern.

Living general presidents who participated in the first-ever General Presidents Smoker to discuss fraternal affairs are from left: James R. Williams, 25th; Charles C. Teamer Sr., 27th; Henry Ponder, 28th; General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., 33rd; Milton C. Davis, 29th; Harry E. Johnson, Sr., 31st; and Darryl R. Matthews, Sr., 32nd.

Bro. Andre Moss makes a point.

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SONS OF ALPHA

Brother Will Packer honors his father, Brother William Packer.

Brother Julian Wilson pays tribute to his grandfather, Jewel Robert Harold Ogle.

Actor Brother Stu James Flemister performs.

Brother Arthur McFarlane speaks about his great-grandfather, Brother W.E.B. Du Bois.

Reflecting on what it means to be a son of an Alpha man, from left: Brothers Charles Hamilton Houston III, grandson of Charles Hamilton Houston Sr.; John W. Franklin, son of John Hope Franklin; Walter Young, son of Andrew J. Young Sr.; Thomas W. Cole Jr., son of 21st General President T. Winston Cole Sr.; Mr. Hubert H. “Skip” Humphrey, son of Vice President Hubert Humphrey; and Brother Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr.

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SONS OF ALPHA

General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. is introduced by his son Jodari.

32nd General President Darryl R. Matthews Sr., and his two youngest sons, Blake (right), and Darryl Jr. (left).

31st General President Harry E. Johnson, Sr., with his two sons Harry Jr. (left) and Nicholas (right).

Three generations of Alpha: 25th General President James R. Williams (center), with son Michael (left) and grandson James II (right).

29th General President Milton C. Davis and sons Warren (left) and Christopher (right).

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

MISS BLACK & GOLD

Above: The new queen and her court, from left: Jaleesa Graham, Southern Region, (4th Runner-up); Rachetta Moss, Eastern Region, (2nd Runner-up); 2011 Miss Black & Gold Felicia Hachett, Southwestern Region; Alaina Neal, Western Region, (1st Runner-up); Maikieta Brantley, Midwestern Region, (3rd Runner-up).

Middle left: The new queen, Felicia Hachett, is congratulated by Andre Prospere, chairman of the Miss Black & Gold Pageant and General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. Middle right: 2010 Miss Black & Gold Morgan Burnett helps the new queen with her tiara.

At left: the runner-ups present themselves during the evening wear part of the pageant.

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STEP SHOW COMPETITION

Above: college regional finalists participate in the annual national step show competition. At far right, entertainer Fonzworth Bentley emcees the show.

Delta Gamma Chapter at Alabama A & M University in Normal, Ala., representing the Southern Region. won the 2011 competition.

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BLACK AND GOLD GALA DINNER

Immediate past General President Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. and former first lady Allison strike a pose.

Tennessee District Director Warren Isenhour poses for the camera.

Brother Deonta Daniels of Texas, chairman of the Alpha Wearhouse Initiative, is presented with the Key Supporter of the Year Award by General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.

Ladies admire the General President Medallion, now worn by General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., until 2013.

Brother Brian Swann of Delta Gamma Lambda Chapter in Cincinnati, Ohio (right) shares a moment with senior Brother William A. McClain, a 1934 graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and 1937 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. McClain was initiated in 1936 at Epsilon Chapter, while on the U-M Ann Arbor, Mich., campus.

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Members of the U.S. Marine Corp in their dress blues.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

OUTSTANDING COLLEGE CHAPTER OF THE YEAR

Members and alumni volunteers/advisors of Zeta Mu Chapter at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga., join General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., and Southern Regional Assistant Vice President Kenneth J. Wright Jr. (front row, second from right) and Georgia District Director Ellis Albright (standing far left), to accept their College Chapter of the Year award.

OUTSTANDING ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE YEAR

Members of Xi Kappa Lambda Chapter in Missouri City, Texas (metro Houston), join their president Charles Washington (holding plaque); General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.; Southwestern Regional Vice President Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., (seated second from right); and Regional Assistant Vice President Christopher Harvey (standing far right), in accepting their Alumni Chapter of the Year award.

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BROTHERS OF THE YEAR

OUTSTANDING COLLEGE BROTHER OF THE YEAR

OUTSTANDING ALUMNI BROTHER OF THE YEAR

Tarricke O. Mills

Dedric R. Dennist Sr.

Brother Tarricke O. Mills is a native of Jamaica, who spent his latter teen years in Houston, Texas.

A 2011 graduate of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., he earned a bachelor’s degree in human relations.

Mills was the president of the Black Student Association in his senior year, after serving as vice president in his junior year.

Academically, he is a Gates Millennium Scholar as well as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. He was on the president’s honor roll and dean’s list all four years. He also is a recipient of the University of Oklahoma’s Stellar Collegian Award, given to students who maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher their entire time enrolled. The university also honored him with the AfricanAmerican Student of the Year Award.

A member of Zeta Zeta Chapter, he was initiated in spring 2010 and served in various positions including secretary, historian and director of educational activities.

For several years he was a big brother and mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Norman. His work toward helping those in the community did not end there.

Mills also was a monthly volunteer at the local Ronald McDonald House.

On winning the award Mills said, “it shows that you don’t have to be in the fraternity a long time to take up our causes and excell. I was initiated a year ago, but I’ve done so much, and it’s great to be recognized for it my very early years in Alpha.”

In the fall, Mills will be a graduate student at his alma mater, pursuing a master’s degree in higher education administration.

For Dedric R. Dennist Sr., the second time was the charm. The Midwestern Alumni Brother of the Year two years straight took home the national title in Chicago, after coming up short in Las Vegas in 2010.

Dennist, 33, a proud father of one son, is an engineering manager with the U.S. Department of Defense in Crane, Ind., just outside Bloomington.

A centennial-year initiate in 2006 at Iota Lambda Chapter in Indianapolis, Ind., he graduated from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., with bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He earned a master’s in engineering management at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. Outside of his professional career, Dennist is heavily involved in the community. He is a unit commissioner for a Boys Scout troop in Bloomington; has been a trustee in his church; coaches middle school basketball and high school track; and is a big brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Monroe County, Ind. In Alpha, Dennist has been the advisor for Gamma Eta Chapter at Indiana University in Bloomington and was elected sergeant at arms for Iota Lambda Chapter in May. Growing up in Milwaukee, Dennist was—and remains— an avid fan of the Greenbay Packers football team and the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.

“I felt like crying, it was a great feeling,” said Dennist after winning the fraternity’s top honor awarded based on achievement. “To be recognized for doing good work is really a good feeling, and I hope my win encourages other brothers to strive to be the very best Alpha they can be.”

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REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS SWORN IN

Regional vice presidents after taking their oath of office, from left: Elgie Sims, Midwest (first term); and second-termers Aaron Crutison, West; Sean McCaskill, East; and Roderick L. Smothers, Sr., Southwest.

NEW REGIONAL ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENTS TAKE OATH

The 2011-2012 assistant vice presidents take the oath of office. From left: Cameron Henry, Western Region; Xavier Jones, Southern Region; Roger Sancho, Southwestern Region; Chris Alexander, Eastern Region; and Fredrick Cox, Midwestern Region. Their terms last through summer 2012.

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2011 CONVENTION WINNERS

Members of Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., won the Chapter with the Highest GPA Award.

The Rev. Brother Thomas W. Logan Sr., 99, of Rho Chapter in Philadelphia, Pa., was awarded the Longest Membership in Alpha Award. Joining him, from left, Eastern Regional Assistant Vice President Jonathan G. Leon and Eastern Regional Vice President Sean McCaskill.

Members of Gamma Omicron Lambda Chapter in Albany, Ga., celebrate winning the 2011Project Alpha Alumni Chapter of the Year Award.

Members of Beta Kappa Chapter at Langston University in Langston, Okla. and Zeta Gamma Lambda Chapter in Langston, celebrate winning the 2011 Charles H. Wesley Brotherhood Award. The award is given to the college and advising alumni chapter that work together and show the most cohesiveness in achieving excellence and the fraternity’s goals.

2011 award winners included from left: Camron Yarber, of Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., who won the College Brother with the Highest GPA award. Middle: William Berry, won the March of Dimes Partnership Alumni Brother of the Year honors. Right: Desmond Stephens won the March for Babies Alumni Brother of the Year honors.

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Members of Delta Theta Lambda Chapter in Huntsville, Ala., won the March for Babies Alumni Chapter of the Year Award this year.

2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

2011 REGIONAL AND NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS COLLEGE BROTHER OF THE YEAR Eric Mackie Nu Beta, American Univ.

Washington, D.C. Eastern Region Keith Chaney Theta Tau, Univ. of Mich.-Flint, Kettering Univ., Baker College, Mott College Flint, Mich.

Midwestern Region Cecil Duffie Theta Sigma, Univ. of Fla. Gainesville, Fla. Southern Region Tarricke O. Mills Zeta Zeta, Univ. of Okla.

Norman, Okla.

Southwestern Region Bayo Fagbamila Epsilon Mu, San Jose State Univ.

San Jose, Calif.

Western Region ALUMNI BROTHER OF THE YEAR Malik Goodson Zeta Zeta Lambda St. Albans, N.Y. Eastern Region Dedric Dennist Iota Lambda Indianapolis, Ind. Midwestern Region Michael Pittman Kappa Lambda Greensboro, N.C. Southern Region Charles Washington Xi Kappa Lambda Missouri City, Texas Southwestern Region Jonathon Madison Iota Psi Lambda Albuquerque, N.M. Western Region COLLEGE CHAPTER OF THE YEAR Xi Delta, James Madison Univ.

Harrisonburg, Va. Eastern Region Zeta Nu, Eastern Ill. Univ.

Charleston, Ill. Midwestern Region Zeta Mu, Georgia State University Atlanta, Ga. Southern Region

Delta Sigma, Grambling State Univ.

Grambling, La. Southwestern Region

Solomon S. Phungwayo Delta, Huston-Tillotson Univ.

Austin, Texas Southwestern Region

Pi Epsilon, Calif. State Univ., San Bernardino San Bernardino, Calif.

Western Region

Camron Yarber Alpha Rho, Morehouse College Atlanta, Ga. Southern Region

ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE YEAR

Derrick A. Barker Xi, Wilberforce Univ.

Wilberforce, Ohio Midwestern Region

Pi Upsilon Lambda Largo Md. Eastern Region Iota Lambdaå Indianapolis, Ind. Midwestern Region Eta Lambda Atlanta, Ga. Southern Region Xi Kappa Lambda Missouri City, Texas Southwestern Region Zeta Beta Lambda Sacramento, Calif.

Western Region CHARLES H. WESLEY AWARD Theta Epsilon, St. John’s Univ.

New York, N.Y. Zeta Zeta Lambda St. Albans, N.Y. Eastern Region

Christian Cambridge Alpha Epsilon Univ. of Calif.-Berkeley Berkeley, Calif.

Western Region COLLEGE CHAPTER HIGHEST GPA Xi Delta, James Madison Univ.

Harrisonburg, Va. Eastern Region Zeta Nu, Eastern Ill. Univ.

Charleston, Ill. Midwestern Region Alpha Rho, Morehouse College Atlanta, Ga. Southern Region Beta Chi Philander Smith College Little Rock, Ark. Southwestern Region

Miss Maikieta A. Brantley Zeta Alpha, Univ. of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Mo. Midwestern Region Miss Jaleesa Graham Xi Phi, Winthrop Univ.

Rock Hill, S.C. Southern Region Miss Felicia Hatchett Theta Mu, Sam Houston State Univ.

Huntsville, Texas Southwestern Region Alana Neal Alpha Epsilon, Univ. of Calif.-Berkeley Berkeley, Calif.

Western Region

ALUMNI CHAPTER TRAVELED LONGEST DISTANCE Eta Epsilon Lambda Monrovia, Liberia Eastern Region

JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS BOWL

COLLEGE CHAPTER MOST REGISTERED OUTSIDE HOST REGION Tau Psi, University of Tennessee-Martin Martin, Tenn.

Southern Region

ONECA Chapters New England Eastern Region Kappa Tau, Kansas State Univ.

Manhattan, Kan. Midwestern Region Delta Delta Albany State Univ.

Albany, Ga. Southern Region

COLLEGE CHAPTER MOST REGISTERED IN HOST REGION Nu Rho, DePauw University Chicago, Ill. Midwestern Region

Gamma Xi, Univ. of Calif.-Los Angeles Los Angeles, Calif.

Western Region

ALUMNI CHAPTER MOST REGISTERED IN HOST REGION Xi Lambda, Chicago, Ill. Midwestern, Region

HOBART JARRETT DEBATE COMPETITION Beta Sigma, Southern Univ. & A&M College Baton Rouge, La. Southwestern Region

MARCH FOR BABIES ALUMNI BROTHER OF THE YEAR Desmond Stephens Gamma Mu Lambda Tallahassee, Fla. Southern Region

Theta Sigma, Univ. of Fla. Gainesville, Fla. Nu Eta Lambda Gainesville, Fla. Southern Region

KeiLyn Jones Nu Kappa, Univ. of Md. Baltimore County Catonsville, Md. Eastern Region

Beta Kappa, Langston Univ.

Langston, Okla.

Zeta Gamma Lambda Langston, Okla.

Southwestern Region

Patrick Springer Rho Tau, Evansville Univ., Southern Ind. Univ.

Evansville, Ind. Midwestern Region

STEP SHOW COMPETITION

Epsilon Mu, San Jose State Univ.

San Jose, Calif.

Eta Sigma Lambda San Jose, Calif.

Western Region

Calvin Hayes Beta Nu, Fla. A&M Univ.

Tallahassee, Fla. Southern Region

Delta Gamma, Alabama A&M State University Normal, Ala. Southern Region

Demetrius Sumner Beta Sigma, Southern Univ. & A&M College Baton Rouge, La. Southwestern Region

Beta Sigma, Southern Univ. & A&M College Baton Rouge, La. Southwestern Region

MISS BLACK & GOLD Miss Rachetta “Shay” Moss Gamma, Virginia Union Univ.

Richmond, Va. Eastern Region

ALUMNI CHAPTER MOST REGISTERED OUTSIDE HOST REGION Mu Lambda, Washington, D.C. Eastern Region

Beta Kappa, Langston Univ.

Langston, Okla.

Southwestern Region

Alpha Epsilon Univ. of Calif.-Berkeley Berkeley, Calif.

Western Region

COLLEGE BROTHER HIGHEST GPA Ronald Magee Xi Delta, James Madison Univ.

Harrisonburg, Va. Eastern Region

LONGEST MEMBERSHIP IN ALPHA Thomas W.S. Logan (78 years) Rho Chapter, Philadelphia, Pa. Eastern Region COLLEGE CHAPTER TRAVELED LONGEST DISTANCE Beta Psi, Richmond American International University London, UK Eastern Region

Theta Tau, Univ. of Mich.-Flint, Kettering Univ., Baker College, Mott College Flint, Mich.

Epsilon Upsilon Lambda Flint, Mich.

Midwestern Region

BELFORD V. LAWSON ORATORICAL CONTEST

ALPHA SPIRIT AWARDS WINNERS

Gamma Eta, Indiana Univ.

Bloomington, Ind. Midwestern Region

MARCH FOR BABIES ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE YEAR Delta Theta Lambda Huntsville, Ala. Southern Region PROJECT ALPHA ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE YEAR Gamma Omicron Lambda Albany, Ga. Southern Region MARCH OF DIMES PARTNERSHIP AWARD William Russell Berry III Gamma Omicron Lambda Albany, Ga. Southern Region

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ECUMENICAL SERVICE

Top left: The Rev. Brother Otis Moss Jr., delivers the message. Top right: Brother Orlando Hankins, member of the national Constitution Committee, applauds. Bottom left: Brother Rueben Griffin raises the word in song. Bottom right: Brothers celebrate the word and the music at the service.

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2011 CHICAGO CONVENTION

PLENARY AND BUSINESS SESSIONS

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PERSPECTIVE

APS Cheating ’s t e L : l a d n a c S Focus On the Kids Now

By Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.

The revelation that

there was cheating taking place by school personnel in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has caused a great concern in the community— and it should. Those who violated the rules, indeed the law, should pay the price for endangering the future of our most cherished resource— our children.

A dark cloud is hovering over the APS and it has drawn national attention.

And it appears Georgia is not alone. Thirty-four schools in New Jersey are now being investigated for possible cheating after an examination of standardized test data revealed irregularities and raised questions.

As a proud graduate of the APS and the son of a mother who taught for 30 years in the system, I am saddened by the recent state of affairs. This is not the APS that I or thousands of other students knew in the 1970s and 1980s. We were

PROUD APS GRADUATES AND PROUD ALPHAS WILL JOIN US IN AUGUST FOR THE FORMAL UNVEILING AND DEDICATION OF THE KING MONUMENT, TO A MAN WHO HIMSELF WAS A PROUD ALPHA—AND YES, A PROUD APS GRADUATE.

taught the basic skills by some of the most exceptional teachers and matriculated in an environment that was conducive for teachers to teach and students to learn.

When it came time to be tested we were prepared because the skills had been taught. Now it seems that our kids are being taught to take tests. Everything appears to be data driven. That’s the excuse many are using for the current APS debacle. However, that is no justification for what has occurred.

In my role as the general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, I take great pride in knowing that for more than a century educated men in this fraternity have worked across the U.S. and around the world to help mentor and educate students from every walk of life. We will continue to do our

part to help those who need after-school assistance, or need a big brother, in order to become productive citizens.

In metro Atlanta there are thousands of Alpha brothers and 15 college and alumni chapters. These men remain committed to ensuring that our young people go to high school, and go to college.

So while we redouble our efforts to help youngsters from the high chair to higher education, we also ask for every other stakeholder to do the same. Consider this our clarion call to return back to the basics—basics that work.

In no small way, it was my education in the APS that helped equip me to be the international leader of the world’s oldest African-American, (and first interracial) fraternity of college-educated men.

Alpha was the catalyst of the Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.

Proud APS graduates and proud Alphas will join us in August for the formal unveiling and dedication of the King monument, to a man who himself was a proud Alpha— and yes, a proud APS graduate.

It’s easy to point fingers and cast blame. The critics have nothing to prove. While the investigations proceed and we learn more about who did what and why, I hope we will begin to focus on the victims of this tragedy—our kids. They need our attention, now more than ever. H Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. is a graduate of Atlanta’s public schools system. He is an alumnus of Morris Brown College and earned his master’s degree in library science from Clark Atlanta University. He is the archivist of Morehouse College and general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

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A R T S A N D C U LT U R E

ALPHA’S POET LAUREATES DARE TO BE AN ALPHA MAN Dare, collegiate men of dreams To go well armed in all your schemes And pay no heed to distracting things That would have your patience tried.

For seven men did found one year A vision they saw as crystal clear Through trials and tribulations Sweat and tears A brotherhood couldn’t be denied.

There was no task they would not do For first of all they were servants who Transcended all and remained so true To the precepts they pledged so faithfully.

Personal progress as a must Loyalty to those deserving trust With dishonor or disgust to those that treat women other than politely.

With high moral character as their aim And outstanding scholasticism treated the same Love for mankind was the eternal flame That cast a light across a nation Of strong Black men unified as one Fully aware the job’s not done

And the battle never will be won Without the captains at their stations.

Dare we be leaders amongst all men Fully aware that we may sin Yet very confident we won’t again In the self same manner we did before.

With initiative as ours to take, The daring to gamble, to make a mistake For when all is shattered Our pride will not break And we’ll continue to strive for more.

While some say arrogance is our great fault We know this nonsense will never halt Unless our prides placed in a vault And that is something we’ll never do For we have got Alpha in our heart A fraternal bond which is very smart That encompasses every integral part Of we “Alpha Men.” For brotherhood is what we have dared In a world that is frankly scared To express feelings of love and care Due to society’s image laden game of chess

Why I wrote Dare To Be An Alpha Man

By J.W. Wiley IN THE SPRING OF 1983, 1983 as a young man from South Central Los Angeles, I had just completed a challenge I had taken on after much consideration.

For years I had thought about the merits of joining an all-male organization, and dismissed it as inconsequential due to the lack of necessity from having played team sports during most of my adolescence. But when I considered the need to learn how to work with other men with the necessity of knowing how to work with other underrepresented people, and more specifically, blacks folks, it was a no-brainer that it was time for me to explore what Alpha Phi Alpha and I might offer one another.

The intake process for Alpha was provocative. Learning to work with an array of men was daunting, while remaining proactive as a “pledge,” intimidating. Alpha taught me to care about what I

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But we know images are to project, not to hide nor to protect.

So we try to always reflect exactly who we are and nothing less True to ourselves we will always be For success in life is not guaranteed So we will most assuredly Conduct ourselves with the utmost taste.

For we are men that all should know when cast as extras can steal the show for unlike the wind which dies and grows our aura remains constant to state our case.

We are men of colors, Black and Gold.

Men who won’t be bought and sold.

With Alpha Phi Alpha dwelling in our soul In a world that can’t understand That men of destiny from birth we are Men that shine bright as a star Men who have dared to have gone so far As to have dared to be Alpha men.

—J.W. Wiley

projected to others because now it wasn’t just a statement about me, or my family, but also about my brotherhood.

Within my chapter was a closeted gay brother. In the 1980s more men than today were homophobic and Alpha men were no exception. Considering the irony of the chapter brothers not wanting to endure racism, some of them still discriminated against our gay brother, often discussing his organizational worth, and right to even be an Alpha.

Knowing that this Alpha brother loved and worked hard—if not harder—for the fraternity than many shirt-wearing members, I committed to ensuring this brother knew that he had brothers who would judge him by the “content of his character,” not by the sexual orientation of which he was born. My poem was then and remains today a challenge to all men of Alpha to truly build an organization that is about changing dysfunctional behavior, not succumbing to it. The poem speaks to authentic “brotherhood,” proactive images and men with ideals that “won’t be bought and sold.” Before we can be Alpha Men, we must “dare to be” Alpha men striving for ideals not always easily attainable.

A R T S A N D C U LT U R E

ALPHA’S POET LAUREATES TO BE AN ALPHA MAN To be an Alpha man means more than just to wear a pin; It requires intrinsic qualities that are developed deep within.

It calls for lasting Brotherhood, a word sometimes used in vain; It means an honest devotion, not anticipation of personal gain.

Fraternity speaks of Brotherly Love, that’s something to achieve; It’s more than just a grip of hands, It’s an ideal to conceive.

You’re proud to be an Alpha, and share Her praises won, But before you inflate yourself with pride, ask yourself, honestly, “How much have I done?”

To realize the wealth of personal satisfaction from knowing you’ve given your all, To have helped Her cause unfalteringly, when you rally to Her call; To combine all these qualities, and root them deep within, The product would be an Alpha man, deserving of his pin.

So take an honest inventory of your character within, And for every virtue you find missing, try and weave it in.

For a man without these virtues isn’t worth a grain of sand.

It’s plain to see, it’s more than just a pin, that makes an Alpha man.

—Fred H. Woodruff

The story behind the poem To Be An Alpha Man

By Gregory J.Sims and Gerry L. White FRED H. WOODRUFF has achieved iconic status in the House of Alpha through his literary masterpiece, To Be An Alpha Man. Despite the success of that poem and its impact on our lives, many brothers around the world barely recognize him when we walks in the room. That’s because he is a humble brother who continues to live up to the aims and ideals of Alpha every day.

Woodruff was initiated at Eta Chapter in 1955 at the metropolitan New York college chapter, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at the City College of New York.

The poem was written in 1955, while he was still a college brother. It was published in The Sphinx in 1957, without his knowledge, after being submitted by an older brother who was one of his mentors. Here’s a bit of what he told Gregory Sims and Gerry White, of Eta Lambda Chapter in Atlanta, in 2007 about this historic and often-recited poem, when asked what inspired him to write it.

“Actually, it was a negative inspiration. I was really talking about things that I had seen over the two years since my

initiation in 1955, and I wrote the poem in 1957. We had a term for brothers who would pledge, attend a couple meetings and then disappear. We called them pin wearers. Pin wearers were always a source of annoyance to me. When it came time to do a little work for Alpha and the chapter, these were the guys that you did not see.

It used to work on me at times because when you are part of the 20 percent who does the work and not the other 80 percent, who kind of pull from the glory, that got me thinking about the writing this poem.

I had a facility for rhyme. I used to write little pledge songs that we might sing. So, as I say, I was inspired to do this out of a concern for negative activity as I saw it.

Most brothers liked the poem. The chapter and my fellow pledge-line brothers liked it. Initially there was no real sense of it being anything special. I think that happened over the years, because the brothers who knew me personally were used to me writing these kinds of things. It was only later, that it became a really big deal. I never knew it had been submitted for publication in The Sphinx. But thanks to Brother Oliver Gibson, it came out in May 1957 and surprised me by saying: ‘There it is!’

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7

QUESTIONS

The Sphinx Interview

The son of a powerful American trailblazer called “Dutch,” NUL’s Marc Morial now paves way for future generations and ponders a governor’s mansion

You have been the CEO of the National Urban League for nine years now. How has the mission of the NUL changed over the years?

The mission of the NUL, to obtain parity, power and civil rights for African Americans and others who may be disadvantaged remains the same. What has changed is how and what we must do to carry forth this mission. We are still the premiere direct-services organization in our community in job training, afterschool programming, homebuyer education and counseling and small-business assistance.

What has changed is our involvement in the public-policy arenas at the local, state and national levels. Also, our involvement in the work of corporate America. The League has seen a bit of a youth movement over the last decade too. At the local level there is a new generation of local affiliate CEOs and a growing number of young urban league professionals.

Like your father, Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, you were mayor of New Orleans and know urban matters. What needs to be done to save cities in trouble, for example, Detroit?

The most important thing for cities that are struggling is to have a plan. Detroit needs a plan on how it’s going to build its economy, its infrastructure, and its schools. I think that mayors, business leaders and elected officials have to be more vocal on the national level on behalf of cities.

They have to disavow the notion that America’s cities are hopeless causes, and reaffirm the idea that cities are the centerpieces of America’s image, both nationally and internationally and the American economy.

Detroit will be a city with a smaller population; New Orleans is a city with a smaller population. Cities have to adjust to that new reality.

But, cities are still the centers of commerce, the centers of higher education, and centers of media.

My large concern is that we are experiencing a rise in poverty and we are not saying or doing anything about it.

If you were the president, what would be your two top foreign affairs priorities?

I think creating an environment of safety and security of America is critical. I also think economic security and growth is important. We also have to be a moral leader when it comes to emerging nations, whether in Latin America or

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Africa. We need to help advance them not just democratically but economically. I think America has an overriding moral responsibility when it come to human rights, wherever those rights may be violated.

I think President Obama had done a positive job with foreign policy. However, I think we want and need more focus on Africa and the Caribbean. Those are areas of special interests to us. We need to increase trade and relations with those areas in a way that benefits those countries as well as the United States.

In your role at NUL, you help determine what’s on the American Agenda. What role should Alpha Phi Alpha and similar groups play?

I think Alpha can provide a forum for discussion about important issues facing black America and the nation. I think the fraternity can help train and develop leaders, which is something we have always done. Alpha’s special niche is in rescuing and advancing the black boy, the black male. Black men continue to be battered by the economy, by the criminal justice system, by the achievement gap. It’s almost as if we have a humanitarian crisis right under our noses and we need to focus much more on it.

But Alpha has a special role and important role to play because of the incredible talent and accomplishment of its members. There’s not a walk of life in America where you don’t see an Alpha man.

Look at Denver, the new mayor is an Alpha brother, Michael Hancock, the former head of the Denver Urban League. We have a very important role to play. We have to engage and fellowship with a purpose.

It’s been nine years since you left the mayor’s office. Why does it seem, a decade later, that we are still fighting the same battles?

You know, we are. The 1990s were an era of great progress. In New Orleans for example, the crime, the joblessness and poverty rates fell dramatically. That was the story in cities across the nation. The last 10 years, however, we have witnessed a seismic slide.

There’s the widening of the wealth gap between blacks and whites, the poor and rich. We have seen a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate.

It’s very important to understand that in the past 10 years the pendulum swung forcibly— in a negative direction—in America’s urban communities and communities of color. America at large went from having a surplus to having a deficit; we got engaged in two wars, (one which is still going on). We saw the absolute utter ineptitude of insensitivity of the government, (federal, state and local) with Katrina. Every time I think about it my blood boils.

That said, it is also important to recognize that the last decade gave us the nation’s first African-American president, the country’s first Latino supreme court justice and up to 10 African Americans who became CEOs of major corporations. There are record numbers of black elected officials and judges. So, there is another story to tell; that African Americans with education, primarily with college degrees and particularly advanced degrees, did hold on during the downturn.

But yes we are re-fighting some of the same demons. History has a way of repeating itself and we have to also fight against being frustrated that, that is the case. It is the continuation of the Tale of Two Cities.

Are you going to run for public office again?

I don’t know. I never say absolutely no. I like what I’m doing now at the Urban League. It’s very rewarding.

This is a great organization with a lot of great people and it has given me the chance to work on many of the same issues from a different platform.

Rumor has it you might run for governor of Louisiana or for office in New York. Might you?

I would have to move back to Louisiana, and I would never rule that out. Public service is indeed my life. You always have to be ready for your next calling. New York is the kind of place that has been very receptive to people who are new residents.

We’ll see what evolves and what happens. For now, at 53, I’m happy with my family and my children.

BROTHERS ON THE MOVE CHARLES P. ASHLEY It’s rare that brothers achieve major fraternal awards in their neophyte year of membership in Alpha, but Brother Charles P. Ashley has done just that—and in a big way. Following in the footsteps of previous brothers of Pi Upsilon Chapter, he landed not one, but two honors just shy of his one-year anniversary in the fraternity.

On April 13 he was named a Distinguish Student Leader of the Year at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

He was recognized for his work throughout the years with the University and its partners such as United Way and working with campus organizations such as Campus Video Network where he served as both associate and executive producer for the past two years. A week later, he was named Greek Life’s Fraternity Man of the Year by the university’s Greek Leadership Council.

Did we mention he also is chapter president of Pi Upsilon?

ROBERT BELTON A nationally recognized trailblazer in civil rights as an attorney and scholar, Brother Robert Belton was recently honored by Vanderbilt University Law School in

Nashville, Tenn. Belton retired from a career as a professor of law that spanned 34 years.

For his distinguished service, the university commissioned a portrait of him that now hangs in the law school. Before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt, he was the head of a major civil rights litigation campaign for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. An active member of Tau Lambda Chapter in Nashville, he is the immediate past chairman of the Tau Lambda Chapter Education Foundation.

BRANDON BRICE When it comes to emerging leaders of conservative political

thought, Brother Brandon Brice is a standout in the state of New Jersey. He currently serves as director of Education and AfricanAmerican Affairs for Gov. Chris Christie. Brice graduated from Howard University in 2006 and earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. While at Rutgers, he was awarded a fellowship with the New Jersey Eagleton Institute for Politics. He was initiated in the spring of 2007 at Alpha Gamma Lambda Chapter in New York City.

Before serving in his present position, Brice worked as a fellow for the United Nations, was a community organizer and served

on various community boards throughout upper Manhattan. He has contributed to FOX News and is a contributing writer for NBC’s The Grio website.

JACOBY COCHRAN Bradley University sophomore speech team member and Epsilon Kappa Chapter neophyte Brother Jacoby Cochran (fall 2010) left the Peoria, Ill., campus and traveled to the National Forensic Association (NFA) Tournament at Illinois State University in Bloomington, Ill., recently with several national quarterfinalist and semifinalist accolades under his belt. No small feats, for sure, but Cochran left the competition a cut above the rest. He needed a large >

CORNELL JONES IS MR. HBCU A SENIOR MASS COMMUNICATIONS major at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) in WinstonSalem, N.C., Brother Cornell Jones, recently won the 7th Annual Mr. Historically Black College and University (HBCU) title. Jones, a spring 2009 initiate at Beta Iota Chapter hails from Manassas, Va. He bested 11 other contestants for the Mr. HBCU 2011-2012 crown. He also was WSSU’s Mr. Ram for the 2010-2011 school year.

Jones, a member of WSSU’ Honors College, has been on the Dean’s List for seven consecutive semesters and is a leader on the university’s cross Brother Cornell Jones is country and track and field teams. After graduating Mr. HBCU for 2011-2012 this spring, he will attend graduate school.

The Mr. HBCU King’s Leadership Conference and Competition was held at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. The competition included oratory, talent, ease of manner and projection, as well as a question and answer session.

Jones received a $1,500 scholarship and will make special appearances and presentations on behalf of HBCUs through February 2012. H Spring-Summer 2011 H THE SPHINX

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BROTHERS ON THE MOVE rolling suitcase to carry home his two giant trophies. He also sported the loftiest title in collegiate forensics, individual sweepstakes champion.

Put another way, Cochran was the tournament’s most outstanding speaker. The NFA individual sweepstakes award goes to the top scorer competing in at least five events.

ERIC K. HAM Earlier this year the dream of Brother Eric K. Ham of operating Washington’s newest think-tank/strategic information and research organization became a reality.

He created The XII Project. It’s a new voice that will elevate the debate surrounding the most pressing foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. leading into the 2012 presidential election.

The XII Project is the umbrella organization run by Ham from his Washington headquarters which also houses the Capitol Connection, a new online website that offers news, information, opinion and commentary on world and national affairs.

Before founding his own organization, Ham served as policy director for the 3D Security Initiative in Washington, served as director of congressional relations for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and was national security fellow to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., where he focused primarily on military operations and defense appropriations.

Ham, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He was initiated at Pi Upsilon Chapter seated at UM-D. To learn more, visit www. xiiproject.com.

GLENN JOHNSON Brother Glenn Johnson was recently elected to the Lake Ridge School Board and appointed to Urban League of Northwest Indiana Advisory Board, both in Gary, Ind. Johnson is the first African-American to serve on the Lake Ridge board. Johnson, an assistant vice president with JPMorgan Chase Bank, is a member of Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter in Gary. In 1989, he

joined Alpha at Iota Theta Chapter while a student at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Ind., where he earned a bachelor’s degree.

JASON JOHNSON Beta Eta Lambda Chapter Brother Jason Johnson was recently selected to present at the Fifth International Conference on Social Science Research held in New Orleans, La. Johnson, who was initiated at Beta Eta Lambda in Oklahoma City, Okla., in 2005, delivered a paper on “How does Personal Hardship influence the Educational Pursuits of African American Males?” It was one of 25 research papers accepted for the conference. Currently, Johnson serves as director of Membership Intake for his chapter. He holds a Bachelor

of Science Degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Okla., and a master’s degree in education from Langston University in Langston, Okla. He’s pursuing a doctorate in education with a concentration on multicultural and diversity issues at OSU. TYSON KING-MEADOWS Assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Tyson KingMeadows is the new president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS). The organization is the largest and the leading organization of black political scientists in the United States.

Brother King-Meadows, initiated in 1991 at Gamma Beta Chapter at North

ROBERT JOHNSON HONORED BY BOY SCOUTS When it comes to making sure young African-American boys are “always prepared,” no one does it better than Brother Robert Johnson. Initiated in 1983, at Alpha Phi Lambda Chapter in Virginia’s Norfolk and Virginia Beach communities, Johnson recently received awards from the Boy Scouts of America, the Brotherhood of St. Brother Robert Johnson at left, receives his awards.

Andrew, and Alpha Phi Lambda for his outstanding work as scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 70 (Powhatan District, Tidewater Council).

Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1967 from Boston University in Boston, Mass., and a medical degree at State University of New York, Downstate in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1971. H

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BROTHERS ON THE MOVE Carolina Central University, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from that school and earned a Doctor of Philosophy Degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has held fellowships at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., and a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Ghana.

HERMAN “SKIP” MASON, JR. On February 10, Kentucky Governor Steven L. Beshear made Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr., a Kentucky Colonel. The award is the highest honor given by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Brother Mason, the 33rd general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., is one of many national leaders who have been commissioned Kentucky Colonels over the years.

Mason was initiated at Iota Chapter at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Ga., in 1982.

N. PATRICK RANGE SR. The National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association has honored Brother N. Patrick Range Sr. with the Robert H. Miller Professional of the Year Award. Range has been a funeral director for the past 50 years and has continued his father and mother’s legacy as the

principal of Range Funeral Homes. In 2006, he was also recognized as Mortician of the Year by the First Regional District of Florida.

In 1958, Range joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Alpha Rho Chapter at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. He continues his involvement with as a member of Beta Beta Lambda Chapter in Miami, Fla. Range is also a member of the Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity and serves on the advisory board of the Miami Dade College Department of Funeral Services.

CLARENCE C. RUSSEAU JR. The African American Educators Hall of Fame has a new member— Clarence C. Russeau Jr. Brother Russeau, initiated in 1947 at Alpha Sigma Chapter at Wiley College, at which he earned his undergraduate degree. He later earned a master’s degree at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, now the University of North Texas. He has since been a longtime member of Alpha Sigma Lambda Chapter in Dallas.

The African American Educators Hall of Fame recognizes educators who have made positive, outstanding contributions to the educational experiences

of African Americans in Dallas County, Texas. The Hall of Fame is part of the African American Education Archives & History Program whose mission is to collect and maintain a repository of artifacts, documents and visual images that record the African American educational experiences in Dallas County.

Russeau began his career in the Dallas Independent School District in 1961 and served as principal at seven schools before retiring in 1991.

JOHN D. STOKES When members had to select who was the top member of their chapter at Theta Omicron Lambda in Goldsboro, N.C., they look to none other than John D. Stokes. Brother Stokes carries the award for year 2010, and was honored because of his true essence and spirit of professionalism.

Stokes earned a bachelor’s degree at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., and a master’s degree from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. He was initiated in1970 and since then he has always been active, and a positive force in the fraternity. He has served in almost every position in the chapter governance including vice president and president.

Stokes is a retired education consultant with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

RAYBURNE TURNER In April, Rayburne “Ray” Turner was presented with the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Library and Information Science’s F. William Summers Outstanding Alumni Award. Brother Turner is the reference services manager for the Otranto Road Regional Library, in the Charleston County Public Library System.

A week later, after earning the USC honor, Turner was named Employee of the Year by the county library system. Also in 2010, he served as president of the South Carolina Library Association. In 2007, he was named Outstanding Librarian of the Year by the group.

A graduate of USC in Columbia, S.C., in 1985, Turner holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and in 2000, earned a master’s degree in library and information science.

The

If you know of a brother on the move, please contact us at sphinx@apa1906.net.

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O M E G A : Chapter of Sweet Rest

Emmett Bashful was One of the “Giants” of Alpha

By Rick Blalock

W

to establish a campus of hen the word spread Southern University in New that Emmett Bashful Orleans. had passed, it was another As chancellor Bashful one of those moments when fostered SUNO’s growth from Alpha members everywhere one partially constructed pause. Even though a short building, 15 faculty and man in height, Bashful was 158 freshmen to a campus a towering figure in the offering 1,000 courses and fraternity and in professional servicing over 3,000 students and educational arenas. per semester. He stayed on Brother Bashful, the as chancellor until retiring in first and longtime chancellor 1987. He then held emeritus of Southern University New status until his death.

Orleans (SUNO) was born of In Alpha he was always humble beginnings in 1917. He Brother Emmett Bashful then and now (circa 1964 and in later years). that special brother who spent a lifetime advancing the provided mentoring and cause of freedom, justice and leadership to the thousands of Alphas who have been fortunate to education—especially for African-American students during the days cross his path during their life’s journey. Made an Alpha at Beta Sigma of the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

Chapter at SU in 1939, he maintained his activity with Alpha for the Bashful was one of the first African Americans with a Doctor of next 71 years. In 1999, he earned the fraternity’s highest individual Philosophy Degree in constitutional law, and long before President honor, the Alpha Phi Alpha Award of Merit. He also was awarded and Barack Obama, was one of the first black college professors in that honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from his alma mater, SU. field. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Southern University (SU) Bashful entered Omega Chapter February 26, in Baton Rouge. in Baton Rouge, La., he would become the first black student at the He was 93. H University of Illinois to earn a graduate degree in political science.

He then earned his doctorate there before returning to Louisiana Searcy James Ewell Sr., 82, of Little Rock, Ark., was a member of Pi Lambda Chapter in Little Rock, Ark. He was initiated at Nu Chapter at Lincoln University in Lincoln University, Pa., in 1949, and later graduated magna cum laude in 1953, with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

Brother Ewell earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Mo. He was also valedictorian of his graduating class at the Missouri School for the Blind (MSB) in St. Louis.

As a student at MSB, he had worked part time, teaching boxing and swimming courses. Early in his career, Ewell was principal of the racially segregated Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind in Little Rock.

Ewell, who retired as a school teacher and band director, was also a professional musician and well known

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in local entertainment circles. Though challenged with blindness at a very early age, he did not allow his disability to prevent him from becoming a successful and valuecreating member of society.

In addition to his more than 50 years of membership in Alpha Phi Alpha, Ewell’s activities and accomplishments included service on several boards of organizations that aided people with disabilities, including being president of the Arkansas chapter of the National Federation for the Blind. He also held memberships in the alumni associations of Lincoln University, Missouri School for the Blind and Arkansas School for the Blind.

A member of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ewell was a deacon there for many years. President Bill Clinton, when he was governor of Arkansas, appointed Ewell to the Silver Hair Legislature.

Ewell entered Omega Chapter on Oct. 22, 2010.

George Exum Sr., (aka “Bossman”) of Raleigh, NC.., was a member of Phi Lambda Chapter in Raleigh, N.C. He was initiated on Dec. 17, 1945, at Beta Nu Chapter of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University [FAMU] in Tallahassee, Fla. Born in 1922, he was a graduate of F (FAMU) in Tallahassee, Fla. After college, he began a life of enterprise, mentoring, community service and leadership in the Wake County, N.C., community, which spanned over six decades.

Brother Exum was the first licensed African-American general contractor in North Carolina; an entrepreneur, a building developer and a community leader. In Raleigh, Exum’s business ventures through the 1950s and 1960s

O M E G A : Chapter of Sweet Rest paved the way for other blacks: he enabled the first subdivision for middle class, professional African-American families in Raleigh. Soon after moving to the area in the late 1940s, Exum bought a chunk of land just south of downtown Raleigh. There, in the Les Pines community, he sold lots to AfricanAmerican professionals; as a contractor, he built many of their homes. He also bought and managed area shopping centers, renting space to entrepreneurs who were shut out of traditionally white complexes.

Exum was also a 25-year veteran teacher. Even in his final years, he continued to look for business deals and continued to manage a local shopping center, which he owned.

He entered Omega Chapter on Sept. 24, 2010.

Wesley James, 58, of Mobile, Ala., was a standout community servant and a leading pastor in Mobile, Ala. A member of Beta Omicron Lambda Chapter in Mobile, he was initiated on Feb. 26, 1972, at Theta Delta Chapter at the University of South Alabama in Mobile (USA). A Mobile native, James earned a bachelor’s degree at USA. He received a Master of Divinity degree at the Virginia Union University (VUU) Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology in Richmond, Va., in 1979. In 1981, he graduated number one in his class at Southwest Police Academy at Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Ala. From 1990 to 1995, he was a fellow at the Boston University School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. He later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at VUU’s School of Theology in 1997.

Brother James was pastor of Franklin Street Missionary Baptist Church for 20-plus years. He was active with many religious, social, civic and political organizations, including: holding memberships in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce; serving on the National Board of Directors of

the Community Coalition for a Drug Free America; serving as a moderator of the Mobile Baptist Sunlight Association–a role in which he oversaw programs for 87 Baptist churches in the Mobile and Washington, County, Ala. area; and serving as past chairperson of the Mobile Area Water and Sewer Service board.

James entered Omega Chapter on Nov. 27, 2010, after illness.

Hernando Palmer, 88, of Smithfield, N.C., was a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. He had been a member of Alpha Phi Alpha since 1965, when he was initiated at Phi Lambda Chapter in Raleigh, N.C. A native of Warren County, N.C., Palmer earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now North Carolina A&T State University) in Greensboro, NC. He later received a Master of Education degree from North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. Brother Palmer was a bombardiernavigator in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946, in which he attained the position of flight officer. A documented original Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, Palmer was one of 350 Tuskegee Airmen to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. He was a member of the Wilson V. Eagleson Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. in Goldsboro, N.C., and a member of American Legion Post 132 in Smithfield.

After completing undergraduate school, then moving to Smithfield in 1959, Palmer made a career for himself as a North Carolina agricultural extension agent and as a teacher in Bertie and Johnston Counties.

His community activities and key leadership roles extended beyond his fraternity, including serving for 13 years on the Smithfield Planning Board–10 of those as chairman; president of the Mental Health Association of North Carolina; chairman of the Johnston County Chapter of the Mental Health Association of North Carolina; president and director of the North Carolina Association of County

Agricultural Agents; and chairman of the Johnston County Board of Elections; member of Johnston Choral Society; member CONTACT of Johnston County; and member of North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature.

Palmer was also active in his church, First Missionary Baptist Church in Smithfield, where he served as a deacon and sang in the choir.

He entered Omega Chapter on Nov. 22, 2010.

Thomas N. Reed, Sr., 90, of Mobile, Ala. was a member of Beta Omicron Lambda Chapter in Mobile. He was initiated in 1948 at Beta Tau Chapter at Xavier University of Louisiana (XU) in New Orleans, LA. A native of Mobile, he attended Alabama State Teachers College of Montgomery-Mobile campus (now Bishop State Community College) and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting at XU. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, and was one of 10 Mobile residents listed as a Montford Point Marine, who served a tour of duty in the South Pacific during the war. The first African-American Marines were trained at Camp Montford Point, in Jacksonville, N.C., from 1942 to 1949.

Brother Reed made history, by becoming Mobile’s first black registered auditor and public accountant. Active in the local business and civic community, he served as director emeritus of Gulf Federal Savings and Loan Association of Mobile; dean of Spaulding Business College in Mobile; and dean of Twentieth Century Business College in Mobile.

Reed also was a standout in the community. He served as campaign chairman for the March of Dimes’ Alabama Chapter-Southwest Division and for the United Way of Southwest Alabama in Mobile County for several years.

He was a life member of the National Education Association (NEA); president of the XU Alumni Chapter #1; a charter member of Delta Iota Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; and was a founder and organizer of the civic and social club Comrades, Inc., in Mobile. A member of State Street AME Zion Church, he sang in its choir for over 60 years.

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Henry Arthur Callis

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

LEADERSHIP DIRECTORY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. president@apa1906.net Immediate Past General President Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. drmatthews@apa1906.net General Treasurer Hyacinth Ahuruonye generaltreasurer@apa1906.net Comptroller Frank A. Jenkins, III frankaj@bellsouth.net Regional Vice President - East Sean McCaskill vicepresident@alphaeast.com Regional Vice President - Midwest Elgie Sims midwestvp@apa1906.net Regional Vice President - South James L. Crumel southvp@apa1906.net Regional Vice President - Southwest Roderick Smothers southwestvp@apa1906.net Regional Vice President - West Aaron Crutison westvp@apa1906.net Regional Assistant Vice President East Chris Alexander eastavp@apa1906.net Regional Assistant Vice President Midwest Fredrick Cox midwestavp@apa1906.net Regional Assistant Vice President South Xavier Jones southavp@apa1906.net Regional Assistant Vice President Southwest Roger Sancho southwestavp@apa1906.net Regional Assistant Vice President West Cameron Henry westavp@apa1906.net General Counsel Keith A. Bishop keithbishop@keithbishoplaw.com

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Charles Henry Chapman

Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer William Douglass Lyle wdlylel@apa1906.net APPOINTED OFFICERS Historian Robert L. Harris, Jr. rlh10@cornell.edu Director of General Conventions Justin Shamell director.conventions@apa1906.net GENERAL CONVENTION OFFICIALS Parliamentarian Anderson C. Elridge, III aelridge1906@aol.com Chaplain William E. Flippin, Sr. srpastor@pineygrovebapt.org Sergeant of Arms Ron Russell ronstony@hotmail.com GENERAL CONVENTION COMMITTEES CHAIRMEN RULES & CREDENTIALS Desmond M. Ables desmondables@hotmail.com AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENT Herman Clifton Johnson jklift@bellsouth.net GRIEVANCES AND DISCIPLINE Hervery B. O. Young, Esq. pathfinder1906@juno.com STANDING COMMITTEES CHAIRMEN CONSTITUTION Ricky L. Blalock rlblalock@aol.com ENDOWMENT & CAPITAL FORMATION Robert L Wright rlwright@sentel.com BUDGET & FINANCE Frank Humphrey fhumphre@voyager.net ELECTIONS Thomas A. Phillips thomphilli10@aol.com MEMBERSHIP, STANDARDS & EXTENSION Melvin M. Stroble, Sr. mstroble@msn.com

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Eugene Kinckle Jones

PUBLICATIONS James W. Ward ward_jw@tsu.edu HISTORICAL COMMISSION Norman E.W. Towels betasigma7@msn.com PUBLIC POLICY Tyson King-Meadows kmcgrp@aol.com HUMAN RESOURCES Antonio I. M. Johnson, Esq. ajohnsonesq@gmail.com RACIAL JUSTICE (COMMISSION) Derrick Pope, Esq. dapope@bellsouth.net COLLEGE BROTHERS AFFAIRS (COMMISSION) Maurice D. Gipson mdgipson@gmail.com BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (COMMISSION) Cecil Howard, Esq. cehoward2@comcast.net LIFE MEMBERSHIP Charles P. Loeb, III cploeb@sbcglobal.net SPECIAL COMMITTEES CHAIRMEN ALPHA PHI ALPHA GOES GREEN INITIATIVE Sacoby Wilson wilsons2@mailbox.sc.edu ALPHA LITERACY INITIATIVE Vacant AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY Anton C. Bizzell antonbizzell@aol.com ALPHAS IN THE ACADEMY M. Christopher Brown mcb2@unlv.edu BELFORD V. LAWSON ORATORICAL Gregory L. Bailey gbailey@literacyaction.org BIG BROTHERS & BIG SISTERS Dale H. Long dale1906@verizon.net BOY SCOUTS Verdree Lockhart verdreel@aol.com BLACK AND GOLD PAGEANT Andre Prospere prosperea@bellsouth.net

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George Biddle Kelley

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Nathaniel Allison Murray

COLLEGE BROTHER AFFAIRS Mark Crain mcrain@gmail.com

POLITICAL ACTION Arthur Vaughn avaughn@spsu.edu

COLLEGE LIFE TO CORPORATE LIFE Nicholas B. Fletcher Nick.Fletcher@kellogg.com

RECLAMATION Bradley D. Thomas phdsocialwork@hotmail.com

COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS BOWL James “JI” Irvin JIrvin06@nemesispromotions.com

PROJECT ALPHA Byron D. Gautier projectalphacoordinator@apa.1906.net

HOUSING Jerryl E. Bennett jbennett91@mindspring.com

RITUAL & CEREMONIES Russell E. Flye phantom1906@charter.net

HEALTH & WELLNESS Michael A. Smith mas1906@aol.com

SENIOR ALPHA AFFAIRS Sylvester L. Shannon slshannon06@aol.com

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES Jamil Omar Buie jamil.buie@gmail.com

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Audrey L. Mackey amackey@austincc.edu

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. MEMORIAL INTERNAL FUNDRAISING Frank Russell, Jr. frj41@bellsouth.net

TIME AND PLACE Maurice Jenkins jenkinsmaurice@bellsouth.net

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Andre A. Moss aamoss@batelnet.bs

WALK AMERICA-MARCH OF DIMES Wilbert L. Brown wlb72@aol.com WORLD POLICY COUNCIL Horace G. Dawson, Jr. hdawson@howard.edu

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Brandon Tucker btucker921@aol.com

FOUNDATIONS CHAIRMEN

MEDIATION & ARBITRATION Edwin D. Givens, Esq. egivens@scsu.edu

EDUCATION FOUNDATION Waldo Johnson wejohnso@uchicago.edu

MILITARY BROTHERS Langston D. Smith ldsrcdoc@verizon.net

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MEMBERSHIP INTAKE TASK FORCE Walter Kimbrough wkimbrough@philander.edu

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MIS / TECHNOLOGY Wendell D. Ferguson alpha3bebc@aol.com

Assistant to the General President and Chief of Staff Don Weston chief-of-staff@apa1906.net

NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES ADVISORY COUNCIL Darryl Bell darrylmbell@gmail.com

Assistant to the General President and Deputy Chief of Staff Keith Harris harriskr1906@gmail.com

NEW FRATERNAL PROGRAM INITIATIVES Ronald J. Peters rpeters20@comcast.net

Assistant to the General President and Senior Advisor James A. Wright jewright@bellsouth.net

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Robert Harold Ogle

SPECIAL ADVISORS TO THE GENERAL PRESIDENT Charles King charlesking1906@yahoo.com Calvin McNeill cmcnmd@aol.com Elvin Dowling ejdowling1906@gmail.com L. Sidney Gleaton gleato_s@bellsouth.net

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Vertner Woodson Tandy

VIP, Protocol and Logistics Chairman

Deonte Simmons deonte.simmons@gmail.com Protocol and Logistics Anthony C. Hytche achytche@aol.com Transportation Chairman Ken Baskett kgbaskett@bellsouth.net PAST GENERAL PRESIDENTS

Joseph E. Heyward heywardj8@aol.com

32nd General President Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. darrylmatthews@apa1906.net

NATIONAL ARCHIVIST Jerome Offord, Jr. jeromeofford@aol.com

31st General President Harry E. Johnson, Sr. hej@flash.net

DEPUTY ASSISTANTS TO THE GENERAL PRESIDENT

30th General President Adrian L. Wallace alwallacea@aol.com

Governmental and International Affairs Marc Garcia getsmart06@aol.com SPECIAL ASSISTANTS TO THE GENERAL PRESIDENT M. Cole Jones mcolejones@gmail.com Dasmyn Grigsby Administrative Assistant grigsby@gmail.com Marques J. Wilkes mjwilkes1906@yahoo.com GENERAL PRESIDENT’S ADVANCE TEAM Chairman Warren Isenhour dub1906@yahoo.com Ian Coleman iancoleman3@gmail.com James McFadden mcfadden06@aol.com Solomon Graves solomon.graves@gmail.com

29th General President Milton C. Davis tuskmcd@aol.com 28th General President Henry Ponder ewilsonp@aol.com 27th General President Charles C. Teamer, Sr. cteamer@cox.net 26th General President Ozell Sutton 1640 Loch Lomond Trail, SW Atlanta GA 30331 (404) 344-0370 25th General President James Williams 1733 Brookwood Drive Akron, OH 44313 (330) 867-7536

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Corporate Office 2313 St. Paul St. Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 554-0040 (410) 554-0054 Fax www.apa1906.net

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JEWEL eugene kinckle jones

jewel eugene kinckle jones, in later years

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