From the Archives of Brother Julius Brice

my recollection is somewhat shrouded on that issue. However, as usual, brothers were chosen to read the requisite parts of the Omega service as is commonly done. The brother chosen to read the Litany of the dead, which is the part of the service necessitating a call and response from the brothers, was a tall, thin, narrow faced, softly spoken, slightly balding individual who always reminded me of a mortician or a hangman in the old westerns. All he needed was a black top hat. I cannot recall his name but I do, however, remember the pained expression that perennially covered his pinched face as if his dogs were always on fire and his hemorrhoids were pulsing in unison! His raspy voice reminded me of Victor Borga’s! As the service was held reasonably early in the morning, I do not believe, although, I may be in error, that he had already succumbed to the seduction of the spirits delivered from the oaken barrel. I choose to believe that he had forgotten his spectacles at home, or at last that morning had a vision problem, for the words that he read, to which the brothers had to respond, made it quite clear that he either could not read or see, or both. Fortunately the majority of the congregation was quite elderly and probably could not hear very well and so missed the faux pas that he cavalierly doled out, mercilessly delineating a pugnacious juxtaposition between call and response! He would say something like, “On the third day he arose from the dead,” to which we had to respond “...and grant us thy blessing!” Needless to say after a few of his pronouncements, our responses ebbed to a few vague mutterings as we could not utter cogent replies. To top it off, Brother Hunnigan conducted the Alpha and Omega chapter hymns! As Jesus did, I wept, for nothing more cruel has ever been foisted upon humanity! It was in this environment that my dear friend and our delightful brother McClellan was laid to rest. Brother Kenneth Holbert, attorney-at-law, is from Texas, if you please, and if you did not previously know it, he will make sure that you know it in the opening salvo of any discussion in which you and he are involved. Though diminutive in stature, his mind is as expansive as the universe. No subject in the world is beyond his ken nor far from or cannot be related to Texas. He will sinuously and cogently weave it in no matter the genesis of the conversation. Brief discourse is not in his compendium and his every pronouncements are delivered with the theatrical elan and panache of Mark Anthony, eulogist to Julius Caesar! When he speaks, like E.F. Hutton in the television commercial, you have to stop and listen! Impeccably attired at all times, mustache neatly outlined upon his upper lip, every hair, though few now remain, slicked to his balding pate, nattily accoutered in a three piece suit with shoes gleaming a la dog stones on a moon-lit night, he often holds court. His suave and debonair manner is so engaging that even now, fully invested into his ninth decade, he attracts denizens of the fairer sex, in numbers akin to his annual existence. Unencumbered by matrimonial restraints, he continues to engage as an agent provocateur to a bevy of comely sisters of Nefertiti. Conversations with him become a tutorial in law, philosophy and social constructs laced with effusive oratory. His vast knowledge of housing as it relates to governmental involvement is encyclopedic and his wry grins as he postulates on anything, are a joy to behold. He is indeed a beloved human being, and I wish that he would live another hundred years! Brother Horace Dawson, another nonagenarian and diminutive giant, fraternally and universally, is another of Mu Lambda’s most beloved icons. Professionally, he was a diplomat having served the US in posts in Africa. He is revered not only among his fraternal brothers but among his diplomatic colleagues as well. His contributions to his fraternity, Washington, DC and the world are myriad. While not as effusive as Brother Holbert, his mild manner masks a massive intellect and an unfettered admiration for the daughters of the earth! He has been known to share a great story from time to time and like Brother Holbert, he too, loosed from the bonds of matrimony following the demise of his spouse, and likewise in his ninth decade, has eschewed renewing such bonds for the greater pleasure of sharing his bounty! His self-effacing manner is not without cost as some of his opponents have discovered, for he is quick of wit and glib of tongue. I wonder if that is why….. no I won’t even voice such a thought! As a result of his advanced age, I suspect that in these his extended years, his cocktails are liberally laced with derivatives of sildenafil citrate and that both he and Brother Hobart have somehow have elevated their glossal skills, honing them to a fine art in areas more than simple elocution! He, too, is still quite incisive in mind and intellect and serves as a beacon for all who would aspire to greatness! I wish him also another century of convivial existence for he is one of my favorite people upon this earth! I end this segment with the disclosure that for most is not necessary but for the unwitting few, I have a deep and abiding filial love for these aforementioned brothers and none of the prior observations should even remotely be considered anything but laudatory as they all have erected stellar sign posts along the way as we all engage in our terrestrial peregrination. More to come! Brother Ryle Bell

JUNE 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39

Sports teams were one of the ways that Black fraternities showed their influence on college campuses and in the community in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

We are digging through my father-in-law’s Alpha material and found the picture of the Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball team (Harlem, 1926). I am providing a copy of the front and back.

Brother Gerard “Kent” Williams