Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity history

The first black Greek letter organization among historically black colleges was Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, as it was established early in November 1907.

The first general convention assembled in December 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., producing the first ritual and the election of the first General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, Moses A. Morrison.

The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was started by fraternity member W. E. B. Du Bois in 1910.

The fraternity established its first alumni chapter Alpha Lambda in 1911 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The fraternity established its first alumni chapter Alpha Lambda in 1911 in Louisville, Kentucky. It was again incorporated as a national organization on April 3, 1912, under the laws of Congress within the District of Columbia, under the name and title of The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

In 1914, The Sphinx, named after the Egyptian landmark, began publication as the fraternity's journal.

Today, the fort is a museum and education center which honors the United States Army's first officer candidate class for African-American men in 1917.

The fraternity's national programs date back to 1919, with its "Go-To-High School, Go-to-College" campaign to promote academic achievement within the African-American community as its first initiative.

The National Urban League's (NUL) Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life was first published in 1923 under the leadership of Alpha founder Eugene K. Jones and Charles Johnson as its executive editor.

In 1933 fraternity brother Belford Lawson Jr. founded the New Negro Alliance (NNA) in Washington D.C. to combat white-run business in black neighborhoods that would not hire black employees.

Pearson (1935) was initiated by the fraternity and successfully argued by Alpha men Thurgood Marshall and Charles Houston to challenge biases at the university which had no laws requiring segregation in its colleges.

In 1938, Alpha Phi Alpha continued to expand and became an international organization when a chapter was chartered in London, England.

In 1940, true to its form as the "first of first", Alpha Phi Alpha sought to end racial discrimination within its membership.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the nation's entry into World War II, the fraternity fought to secure rights for its membership within the ranks of officers in the armed forces.

The general convention in 1952 was the venue for a significant historical action taken regarding the Seventh Jewel Founder.

In 1961, Whitney Young became the executive director of the National Urban League.

In 1963 the NUL hosted the planning meetings of civil rights leaders for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

In 1971, Alpha Homes received an $11.5 million grant from HUD to begin groundbreaking on Channelwood Village with the Henry Arthur Callis Tower as its centerpiece.

In 1976, the fraternity celebrated its 70th anniversary with dual convention locations: New York City and Monrovia.

In 1996, the World Policy Council (WPC) was created as a think tank to expand the fraternity's involvement in politics, and social and current policy to encompass important global and world issues.

Historian and fraternity brother John Hope Franklin was an early beneficiary of the publishing company and was the 2006 Kluge Prize recipient for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity.

In 2007, General President Darryl Matthews addressed demonstrators at a protest rally touted as the new civil rights struggle of the 21st century.

Alpha Phi Alpha responded to the 2010 Haiti earthquake by sending a humanitarian delegation of Alpha men led by President Mason to Haiti on a fact-finding mission to assess the situation and develop a long-term support plan for the Haitian people.