Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

 Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on December 4, 1906, by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood between African-Americans. The visionary founders, known as the “Jewels” of the Fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle and Vertner Woodson Tandy. 

The Fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell. During those beginning days, the Jewel Founders and early leaders of the Fraternity worked to lay a solid foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha’s principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character and the uplifting of humanity. 

Soon after the founding in 1906 at Cornell, Alpha Phi Alpha Chapters were developed at other colleges and universities—many of them traditionally African-American schools. 

The constitution, adopted on December 14, 1907, provided that following the establishment of the fourth Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the general organization of the Fraternity would be set up. 

The certificate of incorporation for the organization was filed and recorded in the Office of the Secretary of the State of New York as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., on January 29, 1908. The Fraternity was again incorporated on April 3, 1914, under the laws of the District of Columbia. The purpose and object of the Fraternity was declared to be “educational and for the mutual uplift of its members.” 

On December 28, 1908, the Fraternity’s first General Convention assembled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The convention expressed the hope that “the influence of Alpha Phi Alpha would reach every (African-American) college and university in the land, to bring together under one band and with one bond of fraternal love, all the worthy leading college men wherever found, to form, as it were, a link to join them together.” 

The first General Convention and subsequent conventions have continuously exhorted chapters and members to remember that “manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind” are the aims of the Fraternity. 

While continuing to stress academic excellence and pursuit among its members, the Fraternity also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political and social injustices faced by African-Americans. 

The Fraternity’s national programs date back to 1919, when Alpha Phi Alpha introduced its “Go-to-High School, Go-to-College” campaign to increase the education level of the African-American community. Alpha Phi Alpha later took the lead in the voting rights struggle for African-Americans and coined the nationally famous phrase, “A Voteless People Is a Hopeless People” as part of its effort to register black voters. The slogan remains the battle cry today for Alpha voter registration efforts. 

Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community’s fight for civil rights and human dignity. From the Fraternity’s ranks have come outstanding public servants such as Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer; former U.S. Senator Edward Brooke; Houston Mayor Lee Brown; San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; educator/civil rights activist Julius Chambers; Illinois Congressman Danny Davis; former New York City Mayor David Dinkins; scholar Dr. W. E. B. DuBois; Pennsylvania Congressman Chaka Fattah; Alabama Congressman Earl Hilliard; College Fund CEO and former Congressman William Gray; Langston University President Ernest Holloway; University of Maryland Baltimore County Chancellor Freeman Hrabowski; former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson; civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; New York Congressman Gregory Meeks; New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial; late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.; New York Congressman Charles Rangel; actor/civil rights activist/scholar Paul Robeson; Colorado Lieutenant Governor Joe Rogers; Virginia Congressman Robert Scott; Governor General of the Virgin Islands Charles Turnbull; Ambassador Andrew Young; and many others. 

The Fraternity’s leadership development and community service training for young men has made Alpha Phi Alpha the most prestigious organization of its kind today. 

Today, Alpha Phi Alpha continues its commitment to the African-American community through the Fraternity’s Economic Development, Education and Building Foundations, which promote entrepreneurship, provide scholarships to outstanding students, and build housing for underprivileged families. The Fraternity also has dedicated itself to training a new generation of leaders via an in-house training and development university known as Alpha University, national mentoring programs, and partnerships designed to ensure the success of our Brothers as well as our children and youth. 

Emphasis on citizenship was and remains a paramount consideration of the Fraternity. With its popular slogan, “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People,” Alpha Phi Alpha Chapters throughout the country led the way during the period of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s with massive voter registration drives, encouraging all African-Americans to become registered voters. 

Education and scholarship remain a major focus in today’s Alpha Phi Alpha. The Collegiate Scholars Bowl, which annually tests the intellect of Brothers, was introduced in the current era as a feature of General Conventions. The Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest also annually challenges our College Brothers’ public speaking skills and oratory. A General Presidents’ Scholarship has been endowed during the last decade as a part of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Education Foundation. 

The Fraternity has established an Alpha Phi Alpha Archives as a part of the historic Moorland-Spingarn Collection at Howard University in Washington, D.C. so that the history of the organization, which parallels the success of African-Americans, will be preserved. 

As African-Americans and underprivileged peoples around the world continue to struggle for their God-given rights of freedom, justice, equality and human dignity, the Fraternity continues to stand at the forefront of efforts to win those rights. Alpha Phi Alpha today continues in the spirit of leadership the Fraternity has demonstrated since 1906 through its dedication to training a new generation of leaders with national mentoring programs and partnerships designed to ensure the success of our children.