On this day – 4 December 1906 – Alpha Phi Alpha was founded
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first African American, inter college Greek lettered fraternity. The first chapter was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Their names were Henry A. Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert H. Ogle, Vertner Woodson Tandy, and Eugene Kinckle Jones. The aims of the fraternity were "manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind" and it was founded as a study and suport group for minority students who faced racial prejudice. In 1945 Alpha Phi Alpha was opened for men of all races and the first non-black member was Bernard Levin who joined in 1946.
Alpha Phi Alpha spread to other american universities soon after its founding at Cornell University. There are 290,000 members and 730 active chapters today. Some famous members includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr., the former president of Jamaica, Norman Manley, the first African American supreme court judge, Marshall Thurgood, musician Duke Ellington and singer Lionel Richie. Member W. DuBois started The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1933 member Belford Lawson Jr started the New Negro Alliance (NNA) that fought a landmark case against discriminatory hiring practices (New Negro Alliance vs Sanitary Grocery Co). Alpha Phi Alpha have clearly contributed to a more equal society in the US and to giving black people in the US a voice.
Alpha Phi Alpha spread to other american universities soon after its founding at Cornell University. There are 290,000 members and 730 active chapters today. Some famous members includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr., the former president of Jamaica, Norman Manley, the first African American supreme court judge, Marshall Thurgood, musician Duke Ellington and singer Lionel Richie. Member W. DuBois started The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1933 member Belford Lawson Jr started the New Negro Alliance (NNA) that fought a landmark case against discriminatory hiring practices (New Negro Alliance vs Sanitary Grocery Co). Alpha Phi Alpha have clearly contributed to a more equal society in the US and to giving black people in the US a voice.
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| Delegates of the fourth annual convention |
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