“But on December 4, the decision is made deliberately and purposefully to organize a fraternity…It was in reality Founders’ Day. For on this date the victory of the Jewels was certain….Alpha Phi Alpha was a fraternity and the black student group had been given the nucleus of its first national Greek letter fraternity.”

Bro. Charles H. Wesley, The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: A Development in College Life, 1929

The momentous decision, taken 118 years ago, marked the beginning of an ambitious idea, the formation of a Black Greek Letter fraternity dedicated to betterment of its members and of society in general. Many celebrations have since taken place in its wake, marking the founding of our great fraternity and rededicating ourselves to the tasks and aims for which Alpha Phi Alpha was founded. 

And while we partake in another set of Founders Day activities, we do so against a familiar backdrop of challenges facing our people and our nation at large that require a recommitment to achieve our oft stated motto, First of All, Servants of All we Shall Transcend All.

The challenges are not new and are found across numerous areas and venues.  Challenges to a complete and honest educational curriculum, voting rights, voting education, gun violence, financial literacy, housing and income inequality. Issues that will confront us for years to come.

Yet we only need look to our history book and the circumstances and actions surrounding the formation of our fraternity to find the inspiration to continue the tasks to which we have dedicated ourselves. 

In reviewing our history, we note that the nucleus of the group that would become known as our Jewels associated out of the necessity borne from a being a group of Black students “cut off from the many opportunities for mutual helpfulness” at a large, predominantly White Cornell University. Though the group was originally social in nature that surely enjoyed what was described as “the good times”, it soon evolved into a literary society which began to focus their meetings on “some phase of American life” and reading from texts such as “The Negro and The Nation”. They provided each other with copies of examination questions to ensure each other’s academic success. They provided community service to a local church by presenting readings from The World Today as well as selections from the likes of W.E.B Dubois and Paul Dunbar. They later discussed establishing a fund to assist “colored students” in need at the university. 

In these actions, all taken BEFORE the official founding of the group as a fraternity, one sees the origins of what this great fraternity has come to symbolize; service to the community, a focus on educational excellence, assisting those in need, providing knowledge to the surrounding community. 

118 years later we must continue to build upon the foundation the Jewels have laid for us.

THE

WORK

IS

STILL

NEEDED.

We must continue to inspire “…the youths who march onward and upward toward the light” to great educational achievement.  We must continue to not just inspire our community to vote but to be educated voters. We must work to eliminate financial disparities through the support of Black Businesses and the encouragement of home ownership. We must stress the importance of health and promote lifestyle choices that ensure longevity. We must remain not just politically active but politically aware of the issues that directly affect our communities.

We must be courageous and proactive in these endeavors and be willing to partner with those entities whose aims align with our own. That is how we remain true to the legacy established 118 years ago.  We have the tools, the programs, the talent and the opportunity to achieve ALL these endeavors. We must maintain the drive, the focus and the commitment to see it through.

The Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. will celebrate today and into the weekend; as well we should.  But the work remains, and we will step to the task with the same fervor with which we step to the sounds of Das Efx. 

Only then we will begin to achieve the long-stated aims of the Fraternity: Mainly Deeds, Scholarship and Love For All Mankind.