When most of us think of fraternities these images come in but there’s much more they develop leaders promote Brotherhood academic excellence cannot call it a service this is truly out loud for fraternity incorporated and one man in particular dr. Martin Luther King jr. while we were process of organizing our
Pledge group we were informed that there was going to be a theology major so we were intimidated felt we’re not gonna be able to have as much fun it was thanks to Alpha Phi Alpha that I met Martin Luther King I was general secretary of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity one of our
Initiatives was the 50th anniversary of the president of charity he wasn’t very well known at that moment but when he finished talking that Sunday afternoon to that pank audience everybody know who dr. King was when we got through hi I’m Hill Harper and it’s been 60 years since global human rights icon
Dr. Martin Luther King jr. answered the call became part of the pioneering Brotherhood of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated after over a century of activism and leadership the fraternity stands tall as our brother is forever immortalized with the Martin Luther King jr. memorial tonight in this beatty news special you
Will hear the untold story of dr. King’s life as an alpha by alpha brother and how our pioneering brother had helped him launch the first battles of the civil rights movement The year was 1952 jazz great Duke Ellington ruled the day elsewhere publishing mogul Johnny Johnson celebrated the one-year anniversary of Jet magazine an attorney Thurgood Marshall was arguing Brown versus Board of Education all of these successful men are members of Alpha Phi Alpha the first black Greek letter fraternity and then a
New pledge 23 year old Martin Luther King jr. a PhD student studying theology would indelibly change the Brotherhood the country and the world I traveled to Boston to be one of the almost surviving men that pledged with dr. Martin Luther King Joe how do you know dr. Martin Luther King jr. first
Met him actually in 1952 I was a sophomore at Brandeis University struggling through actually being the first and only black male student there at the time do you actually remember the first time you met that yes I do okay the fraternity the pledge group met at my grandfather’s house one of the last
People to show up again was dr. King we were very interested to see how the other brothers would big brothers and would actually treat him and how they would treat us differently since he was around the same age as the the brothers I have a photo here you’re in this photo
Dr. King is in this phone yes and he seems to be you know we think of him as such a big man in terms of his stature but he seems to be the smallest of you guys was he number one in the line and and and he’s beaming here he’s smiling
Brightly was that generally his demeanor we’re impressed with him as a as a serious person but for this particular photograph again we were first of all glad together over with now is that when you when you cross the burning sands oh this was before this book this is part
Of the the requirements for us to complete the brendensen so this is one of the torches that we had to go through basically by wearing the full dress morning suits and in order to have us realize our own humility as we say an Alfa he saw the light and and because of
That I think he met men who were alphas and he admired something within the fraternity that in the spring and early summer of 1952 June 22nd to be exact he was initiated into the fraternity I have here in my hand it reads Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated let it be known that Martin
King is a duly initiated member of Sigma chapter signed by the general-secretary here James huger yes so this would be your signature sir it is my signet when this was signed uh had you heard of this this Martin King had you had people been talking about oh he was just another
Inductee he was just another duck to us and it’s another inductee when you started did you get a sense that he was destined for any type of extraordinary greatness or was he similar to we know the other brothers just really great leaders etc was it was there any type of
Special sense that you got at any point said wow this is something different going on here this man could change the world there was a kind of a spiritual aura about him even from the first time that I met him that kind of set him aside whether it was because of the fact
That of his age or whether it was because of this particular aura that he seemed to have with his newfound affiliation with the fraternity Martin Luther King jr. and his alpha brothers began pondering how they can improve the basic rights of black Americans coming up next King and alpha in the battle for
Racial equality in Montgomery high got in my car with the couple guys and go to my government because I wanted to see how he was making the poor time There are four dr. King principles upon which this amazing memorial is built upon democracy hope justice and love he’s given us a legacy of courage a legacy of righteousness a legacy on which we can build and we must In 1953 Martin Luther King jr. married Coretta Scott the couple moved from Boston to Montgomery Alabama he began pastoring the Dexter Avenue Church and was thrust into the forefront of the famous Montgomery bus boycott first met Martin only organized the boycott in Montgomery couple guys and
Rolled him on tumblr because I wanted to see how he was making a boy hard work there was not easy job he had black folk to work hard but he got him to do it the my understanding is this is the Brotherhood of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated giving dr. King
A check phone Ray it was Frank Stanley he said Jimmy they just arrested Martin and I want you to come up with an idea when they have his trial to let America know that Alpha Phi Alpha stands 100% behind Martin Luther King since um I
Said just to go down there and sit with him doesn’t make any sense take some money to help him and in a very pointment letter that dr. King wrote he said nothing moved him more than to look in that courtroom and then look in the back and to see his general president
And members of the fraternity I in that that courtroom but we was sitting right down below dr. King so that he could just look at us right like this being born and raised in the south I’d heard every name in her book that we could be called you know I’ve seen the
Action and we I’ve seen people that would have been list I saw these things so I was not surprised that they had no time ever said dr. King or Rowan King I’ll give you any kind of respect but I wasn’t prepared one of the lawyers said
That niggler we said well just get the hell out of here you know Martin was looking at us and he realized what we were about to do he reached old and said coolant brothers coolant he’s at this too shall pass and that took the wind out of our sails
Completely with a boycott in full swing dr. King was asked to speak at the 50th anniversary convention of Alpha Phi Alpha which was attended by the remaining living fraternity founders King’s Speech was entitled the birth of a new age this rare look inside that day in 1956 has never been broadcast one of
Our initiatives was the 50th anniversary of the president eternity well he wasn’t very well known at that moment but when he finished talking that Sunday afternoon to that paying audience everybody knew who dr. King was actually it was thanks to Alpha Phi Alpha that I met Martin Luther King I had bumped into
Him casually and I had shaken hands with him after speeches but we both got invited to Talladega college by the Alpha chapter Leia and I always said that and they invited him because he was already famous and they didn’t think he would come so they invited me as a
Backup but we both showed up dr. King and brother King vicariously inspired a movement in the hearts and minds of brothers across the country from 1956 until his death and I think it may have been particularly evident during the student sit-ins when alpha men along with other students courageously set in
And picketed and protested and Mart ought to gain access and and equal rights as a part of their the civil rights racial equality now seemed possible in the minds of African Americans dr. King answered the call became the leader of a movement that transforms human rights activism around
More no one the problem would be a non-violent we knew that violence would get you killed quick I mean here’s a small army of people with shotguns with tear gas with horses and we got winning children we never had as many men in a march as we had women and children I
Said any night we have 25 black men in the March I guarantee you there won’t be any violence they said what do you mean I said these guys they take advantage of picking all women and children and so when we finally got the men marching the violence booms peddle out coming up the
Hidden hand of alpha in the civil rights movement I don’t believe I ever once gave Martin Luther King magic
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