Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
"The first Black Greek-letter intercollegiate Fraternity"
My first introduction 2 the realm of fraternities and
sororities occurred back in 1983 while visiting my then girlfriend, who later became my wife. I won't attempt 2 diss any other frat, but I
want 2 show the path that led me 2 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
While visiting my girlfriend, her brother came in2 the house with a pledgee. Thinking that I was in his fraternity, he was about 2 give me a greeting, but the brother stopped him. They went in2 the basement where he was given instruction on the step that he was going 2 do for his probate show. They were down there well after I left. Before I did, I learned that he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the pledgee was called a "sphinxman". Little did I know then that I would cross paths with this "sphinxman" again. This "sphinxman", Sherwood Davis, would eventually transfer 2 Towson State Univ. and Mu Rho chapter where he became an active and viable member. As I was in2 track, I usually went 2 see many of Towson's home meets. This is where I met DeJuan Martin. He would later pledge Alpha (1 MP 84) and be my Dean (of Pledgees). The following year, I met Brian Thomas (1 MP 85), who become my Asst. Dean.
I initially had four in my interest group, but the number dropped 2 three by the time we went on line. It was an eerie experience: I was 23 years old (older than all of the "big" brothers), married and had one son. I had imagined what it would be like, but my imagination had not prepared me enough for what I would experience over the course of the next six weeks. Though I was a grown man before I went on line, I still grew some more through the experience. During the process, our line number decreased, and we only had 2 remaining. Throughout the trials & tribulations, we both had our minds set, despite our losses, that we were going 2 see the process through. On November 21, 1986 @ 11:10 & 11:15 respectively Alpha Phi Alpha welcomed in2 its fold Timothy T. Melvin & Galen H. Muhammad (it wasn't Muhammad @ that time, but that's another story. See my "Islamic Life" page).
Because of the size of my chapter, during the first chapter meeting, I became the recording secretary. At the end of the year, I was elected as chapter president for the upcoming school year. That same year, I was elected as president of Towson State Univ.'s chapter of the NAACP. Talk about responsibilities.....!! Our grad advisor, Brian Ridgeley, had "da hook up" with food and drink and the chapter sponsored several cook-outs at Johns Hopkins Univ. This was the ongoing effort of our chapter that had been in place for years of work at JHU and eventually led 2 the interest in Alpha at JHU and later the establishment of Sigma Sigma chapter some years later at the same school.
[Back 2 the past].... Years earlier, that sphinxman that I encountered at my girlfriend's parents' house, Sherwood Davis, later transferred 2 Towson State Univ. and would become the Asst. Dean of the line for DeJuan and Ed (the latter now in Omega chapter). This same brother would later have another impact on me life (also further explained in "My Islamic Life"). I had actually crossed line while Sherwood was out of school, so when he came back 2 visit, he wasn't aware that I had pledged. He and I knew each other and he knew that I wanted 2 pledge, so he was very glad 2 find out that I had pledged Alpha!! Unfortunately, over the course of time, I and my only line brother would eventually begin 2 lose contact with one another. In the meantime, I was building another friendship & fraternal bond with another brother, Louis Cook III. I met Louis when he was on line (Sp. `87) in my advisory graduate chapter. I loved teaching him and his lb. It was especially fun because I am years older than Louis, though I was still in school. When he crossed we hit every Alpha party between George Mason, Howard & Towson State (not 2 mention the Greek-Fest - Philly `89 & `90).
After I pledged, the pledge period went from 6 weeks 2 four weeks and dwindled from there. I sent several letters 2 all of the "Elite Eight" (at that time, IFQ was not in the NPHC), which warned them about the danger that they faced if pledging was ended. Apparently, they didn't heed my warning or was aware of it and chose 2 risk it. All of the Pan-Hellenic Council organizations adopted new policies and language, to include what was widely called, "intake" as a means of initiation. After becoming disgruntled with my fraternity, I decided not 2 be active with a graduate chapter. No longer would the frat get another dime from me if they chose not 2 even acknowledge me [this was my thinking then] !!
It wasn't until I joined the Nation of Islam when I heard the teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad through Min. Louis Farrakhan that I realized that I was wrong and that there was a much bigger picture. Min. Farrakhan told all of the members of the Nation of Islam who are in fraternities & sororities 2 remain active with them. How else are they (fraternities & sororities) 2 learn about the life-saving teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad?? Since then, I have joined Omicron Lambda Alpha chapter and have been quite active since joining that chapter. I have learned through this trial that it is not realistic 2 attempt 2 make a change from the outside of the house. It's much more feasible 2 bring about change from within!! {{MESSAGE - - PAY YOUR DUES, BECOME ACTIVE, ATTEND YOUR CHAPTER, DISTRICT, REGIONAL AND/OR NATIONAL MEETINGS, BECOME AN OFFICER, VOTE .............MAKE A DIFFERENCE}}!!
FEEL ME??!!
More 2 follow.......
"The first Black Greek-letter intercollegiate Fraternity"
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My first introduction 2 the realm of fraternities and sororities occurred back in 1983 while visiting my then girlfriend, who later became my wife. I won't attempt 2 diss any other frat, but I want 2 show the path that led me 2 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. While visiting my girlfriend, her brother came in2 the house with a pledgee. Thinking that I was in his fraternity, he was about 2 give me a greeting, but the brother stopped him. They went in2 the basement where he was given instruction on the step that he was going 2 do for his probate show. They were down there well after I left. Before I did, I learned that he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the pledgee was called a "sphinxman". Little did I know then that I would cross paths with this "sphinxman" again. This "sphinxman", Sherwood Davis, would eventually transfer 2 Towson State Univ. and Mu Rho chapter where he became an active and viable member. As I was in2 track, I usually went 2 see many of Towson's home meets. This is where I met DeJuan Martin. He would later pledge Alpha (1 MP 84) and be my Dean (of Pledgees). The following year, I met Brian Thomas (1 MP 85), who become my Asst. Dean. I initially had four in my interest group, but the number dropped 2 three by the time we went on line. It was an eerie experience: I was 23 years old (older than all of the "big" brothers), married and had one son. I had imagined what it would be like, but my imagination had not prepared me enough for what I would experience over the course of the next six weeks. Though I was a grown man before I went on line, I still grew some more through the experience. During the process, our line number decreased, and we only had 2 remaining. Throughout the trials & tribulations, we both had our minds set, despite our losses, that we were going 2 see the process through. On November 21, 1986 @ 11:10 & 11:15 respectively Alpha Phi Alpha welcomed in2 its fold Timothy T. Melvin & Galen H. Muhammad (it wasn't Muhammad @ that time, but that's another story. See my "Islamic Life" page). Because of the size of my chapter, during the first chapter meeting, I became the recording secretary. At the end of the year, I was elected as chapter president for the upcoming school year. That same year, I was elected as president of Towson State Univ.'s chapter of the NAACP. Talk about responsibilities.....!! Our grad advisor, Brian Ridgeley, had "da hook up" with food and drink and the chapter sponsored several cook-outs at Johns Hopkins Univ. This was the ongoing effort of our chapter that had been in place for years of work at JHU and eventually led 2 the interest in Alpha at JHU and later the establishment of Sigma Sigma chapter some years later at the same school. [Back 2 the past].... Years earlier, that sphinxman that I encountered at my girlfriend's parents' house, Sherwood Davis, later transferred 2 Towson State Univ. and would become the Asst. Dean of the line for DeJuan and Ed (the latter now in Omega chapter). This same brother would later have another impact on me life (also further explained in "My Islamic Life"). I had actually crossed line while Sherwood was out of school, so when he came back 2 visit, he wasn't aware that I had pledged. He and I knew each other and he knew that I wanted 2 pledge, so he was very glad 2 find out that I had pledged Alpha!! Unfortunately, over the course of time, I and my only line brother would eventually begin 2 lose contact with one another. In the meantime, I was building another friendship & fraternal bond with another brother, Louis Cook III. I met Louis when he was on line (Sp. `87) in my advisory graduate chapter. I loved teaching him and his lb. It was especially fun because I am years older than Louis, though I was still in school. When he crossed we hit every Alpha party between George Mason, Howard & Towson State (not 2 mention the Greek-Fest - Philly `89 & `90). After I pledged, the pledge period went from 6 weeks 2 four weeks and dwindled from there. I sent several letters 2 all of the "Elite Eight" (at that time, IFQ was not in the NPHC), which warned them about the danger that they faced if pledging was ended. Apparently, they didn't heed my warning or was aware of it and chose 2 risk it. All of the Pan-Hellenic Council organizations adopted new policies and language, to include what was widely called, "intake" as a means of initiation. After becoming disgruntled with my fraternity, I decided not 2 be active with a graduate chapter. No longer would the frat get another dime from me if they chose not 2 even acknowledge me [this was my thinking then] !! It wasn't until I joined the Nation of Islam when I heard the teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad through Min. Louis Farrakhan that I realized that I was wrong and that there was a much bigger picture. Min. Farrakhan told all of the members of the Nation of Islam who are in fraternities & sororities 2 remain active with them. How else are they (fraternities & sororities) 2 learn about the life-saving teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad?? Since then, I have joined Omicron Lambda Alpha chapter and have been quite active since joining that chapter. I have learned through this trial that it is not realistic 2 attempt 2 make a change from the outside of the house. It's much more feasible 2 bring about change from within!! {{MESSAGE - - PAY YOUR DUES, BECOME ACTIVE, ATTEND YOUR CHAPTER, DISTRICT, REGIONAL AND/OR NATIONAL MEETINGS, BECOME AN OFFICER, VOTE .............MAKE A DIFFERENCE}}!! FEEL ME??!! More 2 follow.......
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If
by
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
«»
The Man Who Thinks He Can
by
Walter D. Wintle
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you've lost
For out in the world we find
Success begins with the fellow's will:
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win the prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
«»
INVICTUS
by
William Ernest Henley
OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
«»
To Be An Alpha Man
byBro. Fred H. Woodruff
To be an Alphaman means more than just to wear a pin,
It requires intrinsic qualities that are developed deep within;
It calls for lasting brotherhood, a word sometimes used in vain,
It means an honest devotion, not anticipation of personal gain.
Fraternity speaks of brotherly love, that's something to achieve,
It's more than just a grip of hands, it's an ideal to conceive.
You're proud to be an Alpha, and share her praises won;
Before you inflate yourself with pride, ask yourself,
Honestly, how much have I done??
To realize the wealth of personal satisfaction, from knowing
You've given your all,
to have helped her cause
Unfalteringly, when you rally to her call.
To combine all these qualities, and root them deep within,
The product would be an Alphaman, deserving of his pin.
So take an honest inventory of your character within,
And for every virtue you find missing, try and weave it in.
For a man without these virtues isn't worth a grain of sand.
It's plain to see, it's more than just a pin, that makes an
Alphaman.
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House of Alpha
byBro. Sydney P. Brown
Goodwill is the monarch of this house. Men unacquainted, enter, shake hands, exchange greetings, and depart friends. Cordiality exists among all who abide within.
I am the eminent expression of friendship. Character and temperament change under my dominant power. Lives, once touched by me, become tuned and are thereafter amiable, kindly, fraternal.
I inspire the musician to play noble sentiments and assist the chemist to convert ungenerous personalities into individuals of great worth. I destroy all ignoble impulses. I constantly invoke principles which make for common brotherhood and the echo resounds in all communities and princely men are thereby recognized. Education, health, music, encouragement, sympathy, laughter--all these are species of interest given on self-invested capital.
Tired moments find me a delightful treat, hours of sorrow, a shrine of understanding--at all times, I am faithful to the creed of companionship.
To a few, I am the castle of dreams, ambitious, successful, hopeful dreams. To many, I am the poetic palace where human feeling is rhymed to celestial motives. To the great majority, I am the treasury of fellowship.
In fact, I am the college of friendship, the university of brotherly love, the school for the better making of men.
I AM ALPHA PHI ALPHA!!
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LEGAL YIKITTY-YAK