The Founding of
Alpha Phi Alpha™
History
Alpha Phi Alpha™, the first inter-collegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, was founded on December 4th, 1906. Seven college men at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendents in this country.
The fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice—both educationally and socially—at Cornell. The Jewel 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.
Alpha Phi Alpha™ chapters were established at other colleges and universities soon after the founding at Cornell—many of them at historically Black institutions. The first alumni chapter was established in 1911. While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African Americans.
Alpha Phi Alpha™ has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community’s fight for civil rights through leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, and many others. True to its form as the “first of firsts”, Alpha Phi Alpha‡ has been interracial since 1945.
Since its founding on December 4th, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world.
In August 2020, Bro. President Everett B. Ward requested Bro. Ramon Peralta to contact Latino members of Alpha Phi Alpha for the development of a public service announcement (PSA) in Spanish of the Fraternity’s Voteless People is a Hopeless People initiative. As Brother Peralta stated in his email, “The goal is an evergreen PSA that can be used every year… and that can emphasize the importance of voting in local and national elections, not just the Presidential election.”
With the approval of General President Brother Dr. Everett B. Ward, Bro. Peralta and the Brothers embarked on creating the PSA in time to debut at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The public service announcement—now trademarked “Un Pueblo Sin Voto, Es Un Pueblo Sin Esperanza” and known colloquially as VOTA—was released on the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15, 2020) on social media. It featured Brothers from various Latin American countries, including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Nicaragua, to name a few.
Bro. Dr. John H. Carter, Chairman of the Strategic Planning International Affairs Committee, having seen and been moved by the VOTA video, reached out and contacted the Brothers featured. Bro. Dr. Carter proposed to these Brothers the idea of chartering a Chapter of Alpha in their native country and asked if they would be interested in participating in this historical effort.
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TAU DELTA LAMBDA
CHAPTER
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Bro. Juan Calixto, Epsilon Phi, Spr. ‘84 (Life Member)
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Bro. Norman Hernandez, Nu Epsilon, Spr. ‘84 (Life Member)
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Bro. Timothy Jackson, Gamma Rho, Spr. ‘90
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Bro. Moses Matias, Alpha Alpha Lambda, Spr. ‘09 (Life Member)
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Bro. Norman Parrish, Iota Iota, Spr. ‘89
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Bro. James Ramos, Iota Delta Lambda, Fall ‘10 (Life Member)
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Bro. Angel Solis, Alpha Alpha Lambda, Fall ‘19
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Bro. Anibal Vega, Mu Alpha Lambda, Fall ‘12 (Life Member)
On October 6th, 2020, the first meeting was held via Zoom video conference, with the following Brothers in attendance:
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Alpha Phi Alpha™, the first inter-collegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, was founded on December 4th, 1906. Seven college men at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendents in this country.
The fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice—both educationally and socially—at Cornell. The Jewel 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.
Alpha Phi Alpha™ chapters were established at other colleges and universities soon after the founding at Cornell—many of them at historically Black institutions. The first alumni chapter was established in 1911. While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African Americans.
Alpha Phi Alpha™ has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community’s fight for civil rights through leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, and many others. True to its form as the “first of firsts”, Alpha Phi Alpha‡ has been interracial since 1945. Since its founding on December 4th, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world.
Celebrating the 'Men of Distinction' - the driving force behind Alpha Phi Alpha's global leadership and legacy.