Alpha phi alpha fraternity was the first intercollegiate greek letter fraternity in the united states seven men founded a fraternity because they recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood between african americans these seven visionary founders would later be called the jewels of the fraternity these men were no ordinary achievers
Given the racial attitudes in the year 1906 their accomplishments were monumental as joel henry arthur callus stated because of the half dozen african-american students that didn’t return for the school year 1904-1905 the incoming students during the school year 1905 to 1906 were determined to bind themselves together
To ensure that everyone could survive in a racially hostile environment the seven founders known as jewels so you see alphas develop great people no matter what age or race alpha kappa alpha in 2012 donated over 1.2 million hours of service we touched the lives of 12 million people we have a
Program for emerging young leaders 5th 6th and 7th grade girls we have over 10 000 young ladies enrolled in that program and through the generosity of our members we donated over four million dollars last year right our whole concept is our whole mission is service to all mankind and rosa parks was the
Perfect example of service and what she did not only instilling courage and values and integrity but standing up for what is right there’s no question that when kappa alpha psi was founded in 1911 the world was totally different we were embedded in segregation we were suffering from the effects of pleasure
Versus ferguson the old separate but equal doctrine we were not allowed to be a part of this society because of discrimination and other impacts indiana and and that part of middle america was a proving ground for a lot of anti-black or anti-negro type of activity i think the last
I think it’s pulaski indiana might be at the the seat of the ku klux klan for example there was a lot of clan activity in the midwest during those course of that that time of the of history and i think that many of them survival was not
Just survival in an academic sense but it was survival for life in many respects so uh being together and coming together and being protective of one another was another goal i’m sure an objective of theirs not just for fraternal socialization but survival which is a much more serious
Aspect of what their interests might have been but it’s the social structure that they were thinking about the discrimination that diggs suffered as a college student extermination that others suffered who are founders as college students they wanted to have an impact upon the social political and economic structure and always remember that
Mediocrity has a place in the world it just doesn’t have a home in omaha so as we look toward the 100th anniversary we have to look at the exceptional things that we can do the differences that we can make in the quality of life of our people and indeed humanity
On january 13 1913 22 women got together at howard university to use their collective strength to found a sorority that would promote academic excellence and provide assistance to those in need our founders were walking on a foundation that remains today and psalm 18 became alive in their midst our founders walked with
A spirit of humility and not one of pride god caused their inner spirit to be lit and they were a shining light for all to see i believe the founding fathers really saw a need to establish a brotherhood that was very sincere about working with a common man
They really want to put forth a movement that would utilize the skills of regular men from all walks of life to utilize in the communities all across the world that they envisioned at that time believing each potential member should be judged by his own merits rather than family background
Skin tone or texture of hair the founders embrace the phrase the inclusive we rather than the exclusive we is cause you’re beautiful and making love with you is all i wanna do is just a dream come true and everything that i do is out of love in you a dedication um uh is
You either love iota phi theta or you don’t know us when we were pledging in the first line one of the first things we received in terms of an assignment from some of the founders was what are you guys going to be known as okay we have an organization
You’re not iota man you’re not iot what are you going to be you weren’t around campus you’re pledging people say you’re pledging iota but what are you going to be what you have just seen is just a little something about the glorious history of the divine nine black greek glitter organizations
Yet when you fast forward to the future of today many seem to feel that the divine nine are becoming irrelevant and some feel we are counterproductive to correcting the root causes of the problems in our communities among others one national consultant and speaker attorney rasheed ali cromwell spoke at texas christian university
Earlier this year and said that there’s been a disconnection between greek organizations and the advice they were founded upon such as networking service and leadership today the divine nine may be known more for who gave the best performance at the atlanta greek picnic most of us will probably agree that the
Atlanta greek picnic is a great event and a well-needed break for students who make sacrifices and work hard to get an education yet today conditions for many children and families in our communities are worse now than during the era of segregation in america a resurgence of
The divine nine is needed more than ever now it is time for all of us to stand up as leaders and to also develop future african american leaders to save our communities a prime example of the type of future african american leaders the divine nine must develop is da’quan oliver a 2014
Graduate of babson college he exemplifies the new generation of african american change makers poised to impact urgent issues in the united states and around the world with big dreams that have turned into tangible solutions to improve the world da’quann is the founder of russia’s preneurs which teaches entrepreneurship
To at-risk middle school students and he has been named one of the five black student leaders to watch in 2014 by president bill clinton’s global initiative program the clinton global initiative provides inspiration and a challenge for the divine nine to recognize support and develop our future african-american leaders
Please welcome the 42nd president of the united states william jefferson clinton tonight there are more than a thousand of you here from more than 300 universities 82 nations and all 50 states you represent your generation young people who have a greater ability to enact change than any before you
More than a thousand college students will gather in miami florida this weekend to discuss ways to improve the world how do we build the next generation of entrepreneurs business entrepreneurs social entrepreneurs political and government entrepreneurs let’s stop talking about everything and let’s just do it you’re not what you say
You are you are what you do now is the time for all divine nine members to stand up and become leaders who engineer the future of our communities and the world by developing future african american leaders this is an open call to collaborate and submit your ideas and suggestions video
Clips performances stories songs and our scripts for inclusion and the back the future glory days of the divine nine edutainment documentary pledge your support for the campaign to produce the back the future glory days of the divine nine edutainment documentary today you
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