Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity celebrates 100 years at annual convention in D.C

Jet, August 28, 2006

More than 5,000 members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. gathered in Washington, D.C., recently for the organization's annual convention, and to mark its 100th anniversary. The four-day celebration of the nation's first and largest African-American intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity consisted of educational forums, social events and ceremonies that featured special appearances by prominent fraternity members and guests.

"This year's Centennial Convention was a monumental success," said Alpha Phi Alpha General President Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. "As we celebrated the Centennial by reflecting on our rich past, an important chapter in American history was being written this past week that will forever be a part of the new legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha."

The convention, called Reflects on Rich Past, Looks toward Bright Future, began on Capitol Hill with the passing of a resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives that recognized the fraternity's accomplishments and its historic milestone. The bill was sponsored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) along with 44 House members, including fraternity members Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-VA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), David Scott (D-GA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Al Green (D-TX), who were on hand for the ceremony, as well as former U.S. Senator Edward Brooke.

Afterwards, the convention participants gathered at the future site of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and paid special tribute to perhaps the fraternity's most famous member. President Matthews and fraternity members Harry Johnson, Sr., president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Foundation, Andrew Young, former U.N. Ambassador, Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League and a host of Alpha brothers gathered for the hour-long reflection ceremony that included a special wreath-laying tribute at the National Mall site.

And in memory of its late Alpha brother, business giant John H. Johnson, Johnson Publishing Co. founder, the fraternity dedicated the back cover of its commemorative centennial magazine, The Sphinx.

At the Centennial Luncheon, the ExxonMobil Foundation announced that it will donate $1 million to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project, which increases the amount of funds raised to $61 million. The project needs an additional $39 million to reach the final goal of $100 million for completion. Groundbreaking for the memorial is set to begin in late 2006.

While in the nation's capital, several past Alpha presidents, including Ozell Sutton, the 26th General President, witnessed President George W. Bush sign the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a ceremony at the White House. The ceremony was particularly significant to Sutton, a civil rights activist and King confidant, who was in the hotel room adjacent to King when he was slain in Memphis.

"Our members have always excelled scholastically, professionally as well as in our tireless efforts in social and civic engagement," Matthews said. "We continue to not just highlight problems, but to offer solutions and lead the way in implementing them."

One highlight of the convention was a two-day symposium, The Future of African-American Men: The Mind, The Body and The Soul in the 21st Century, which addressed the state of the African-American male in the categories of health, wealth and innovation through a series of thought-provocative discussions with several well-renowned speakers such as fraternity members Hugh Price and Ambassador Andrew Young and guests Lou Gossett, Jr. and Captain Bill Pinkney.

Grammy Award-winning singer and fraternity member Lionel Richie gave a spectacular performance at the Centennial Concert Gala sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Education Foundation, Inc. at the John F. Kennedy Center.

Since 1906, the fraternity has grown from one chapter at Cornell University to almost 700 collegiate and alumni chapters in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Africa with nearly 200,000 members.