MICHIGAN SENATE
Offered by Senators Ananich and Chang
A RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE MAY 25, 2022, AS ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY DAY
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was established by seven students from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, known as the “Jewels” of the fraternity. Their names are Dr. Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy; and
WHEREAS, In 1906, these male students met to form a study group for Cornell University minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educationally and socially; and
WHEREAS, The founders and early leaders of the fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha’s principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity; and
WHEREAS, On December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men with the aims of “Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love For All Mankind”; and
WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its members, Alpha Phi Alpha recognized the need to help rectify the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced daily by African Americans based solely on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African American community’s fight for civil rights through leaders and fraternity members such as W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, Damon Keith, and many others; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 290,000 members and more than 730 chapters located throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and Asia. Nearly 20 of these chapters are located in communities and on college or university campuses in Michigan; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha members in this state have made numerous contributions to the educational, civic, and well-being of Michigan’s citizens and communities through work on issues such as apartheid, AIDS, urban housing, and voting rights, including economic, cultural, and political issues of interest to people of color; and
WHEREAS, National programs and initiatives of the fraternity include: A Voteless People Is a Hopeless People, My Brother’s Keeper; Go To High School, Go To College; Project Alpha, and the World Policy Council; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha members in this state can count successful collaborations with philanthropic programming organizations, such as initiatives with the March of Dimes, Head Start, the Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, numerous food banks, and shelters; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the members of this legislative body recognize May 25, 2022, as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Day; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we express our sincere appreciation for Michigan District Director Lindsey Williams, and the members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, for their commitment to service in our state; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s national headquarters for commemoration of the 115th anniversary.
Adopted by the Senate, May 26, 2022.
Secretary of the Senate