Dear Brothers: As always I thank you for your kind letters. If you have not heard from me personally it is only that  I have about 600 plus emails saved waiting to be answered. You will hear from me either directly or through the historical moment if it is a question that should be shared by all of the readers. I  had a great weekend. I was invited to speak at a Scholarship Banquet. My topic "When Something is Wrong with my Neighbor, Something is Wrong with Me." We ought to replace the word neighbor with brother often!  That afternoon I 
flew to Huntsville, Alabama for the Sunday's Men Day Service.  A very special thanks to my beloved brothers for your support, especially the brother who told me he drove all the way from Jackson, Mississippi just to hear me preach.  My sermon topic was from Exodus & and 2nd Chronicles. The topic was"A Do Right Man." I examined the disobedience of  Moses's nemesis, the Pharaoh of Egypt and Solomon's fall from grace. It was Aretha Franklin who said, "You gotta be a do right, all right man!'" God reminds us to "humble  ourselves, pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways."  Well, the printing presses are turning, cranking out pages and pages. Soon and very soon.....It's coming brothers, its coming. Our brother Martin Luther King spoke some prophetic and powerful words in August of 1956, I share a few of those words with you as I begin to provide just a brief glimpse into the lives of our General Presidents. Thursday's issue will focus on three R's and its not reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. It will look at transforming our rich history to allow each of us to  Refocus, Recommit and  Reclaim Alpha.  I believe (because you tell me in your letters)  that the many of the readers of  Skip's Historical Moments are being empowered by a higher calling to come back into the "House of Alpha." God is about to do a mighty work in this house and move in the lives of brothers and this organization in a magnficent and magnanimous way. We have no other choice because that's what the Jewels would want us to do.  (Sounds like something T.D. Jakes would say, so you better "get ready, get ready, get ready!). I will have a major announcement in Thursday's edition also.   Enjoy!

THIS NOBLE ASSEMBLY OF ALPHA MEN
By Skip Mason

"...God grant from this noble assembly, this noble assembly of fraternity men some of the leaders of our nation will emerge. God has blessed you with great intellectual resources and those of you who represent the intellectual powers of our race.  God has blessed many of you with great wealth and never forget that those resources came from people in the back doing a little job in a big way. Never forget that you are where you are today because the masses have helped you get there and they stand now out in the wilderness, not being able to speak for themselves, they stand walking the streets in protest just not knowing exactly what to do and the techniques.  They are waiting for somebody out in the midst of the wilderness of life to stand up and speak and take a stand for them.... "

Brother Martin Luther King, Jr, August 1956
 

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE WERE FIVE GENERAL PRESIDENTS WHO SERVED DURING THEIR UNDERGRADUATE DAYS:

1st- Moses A. Morrison(Beta)
2nd- Roscoe C. Giles(Alpha)
3rd-Frederick H. Miller(Epsilon)
4th -Charles H. Garvin(Beta)
5th -Henry Lake Dickason(Kappa)

The 1st General President-
 Moses A. Morrison

"As the first General President, Brother Moses Alvin Morrison work was instrumental in the expansion of Alpha from  four chapters to seven. It was during his term that Epsilon, Zeta, Eta chapters were chartered.  The members of his administration all would go on to serve as General President. His vice president was Henry Arthur Callis; Secretary,  Simeon S. Booker and Treasurer, Roscoe Conklin Giles. The first Annual Fraternal Address was delivered by Past General President Morrison at the Fifth Annual Convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1912. Brother Raymond Cannon, who was attending his first convention made notes of his address. He said that Brother Morrison  "urged the preservation of the bond beloved for the fraternity." He spoke of his struggle to keep back tears of joy over the progress Alpha Phi Alpha had made up to that time and congratulated the administration on its success and progress…"

The 2nd General President-
 See Skip Notes No. 14    for information on Roscoe Conkling Giles

The 3rd General President
Frederick Harvin Miller

Miller's early education was acquired from his mother and at Stringer's Academy in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Following graduation, he was accepted to the University of Michigan and entered in the fall of 1906.Brother Miller was initiated as a member of Epsilon Chapter at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1909,  the same chapter that made W. E.  B. DuBois an Honorary member in earlier that year. Miller graduated from the Literary College in 1910 and entered the Law Department.

"Our responsibility does not lie dormant until another depression or wave of injustice strikes us. We possess tremendous power in joint thought, planning and action that remains unused still... Our council should be our clearing house for analysis of these problems, for our study and planning; for our programs and strategy. After fifty years, as the vocal representative of 15 million American citizens we should be in position through joint action, to lay before every new Federal Administration our continuing needs and the plans we propose for their alleviation. The ultimate fulfillment of the social purpose of our organization is threatened only by our own narrow selfish vision."
Jewel Henry Arthur Callis, 1952

"I would urge that brothers individually, would continue to be inspired to worthy actions through the ideas and visions of the fraternity and its leadership, and strive for even greater achievements in the future than we 
have had in the past."
Charles Harris Wesley, 1949

A PICTURE WORTH SEEING:

From the December, 1954 Sphinx:
With  a pair of reading glasses, a tweed blazer and silk tie,  a young Brother Willie Brown presents a trophy and roses to the Delta Omicron and Alpha Epsilon 1954 Sweetheart. Now the Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown served as the lay member (now known as the Assistant Regional Vice President.. 
Brown was initiated into Delta Omicron.

AN ALPHA CHAPTER MOMENT:

Q-Who was the first man rejected for membership by Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Chapter?

A- He is only known as Mr. Brown and he was not voted upon by common consent of the members present at the meeting on October 16, 1906
 

FROM THE EMAIL LETTER BAG:

Greetings Once Again Brother,

I read your piece and I had some questions of my own.  If brothers get upset, then maybe I got them at least thinking...  Only those who feel they are not holding the light high would be offended anyway.

As the Black Greek System has gone from betterment, uplift and service to suspension, expulsion, and imprisonment, it has occurred to me that ignorance may ruin our beloved fraternity and many BGLO's thereafter. How did we get here? How did Alpha go from Fraternity to Facade over the years? And those BGLO's after us who said we weren't upholding what we were founded upon, really don't have a clue.  They made the problems far worse trying to imitate Alpha instead of respecting their roots.  When did we think we could make it when all sense of brotherhood could be replaced by legal litigation and political hysteria?  What is a secret society?  It was my understanding that intake is business of the fraternity, not the media and judicial 
system. ALPHA BUSINESS is ALPHA BUSINESS!!!  Why have so many brothers risked extinction of our organization with lawsuits to fulfill some adolescent need for attention?  Why has the character in the aspirants been reduced to if can they afford the fee, let them in? Deep within the hearts of those who hold the light high is a love to meet or surpass the expectations of our BELOVED JEWELS.  I have been challenged several times, yet brothers can't recall their last community service project, nor when their chapter meetings are. Individuals in chapters focus so much on their chapter that maybe their chapter letters should be worn instead of A-Phi-A.  Alpha is now run by a bunch of cliques.  THIS IS NOT HIGH SCHOOL!!!  Pride in the chapter should not succeed the overall focus of the organization.  BROTHERS, (FOR I MEAN THIS SO DEARLY!!!) it is important to REDEDICATE ourselves to Alpha.  What has happened, has happened what will we be in 2000?  It was the belief by so many before that we possessed what Alpha's are made of, let's not let our organization down.  It's not what Alpha can do for you but, what you can do for Alpha.

Fraternally yours,
Bro. S. Crudup

****************************

  OH THAT HAND SIGN QUESTION AGAIN. HERE'S ANOTHER RESPONSE:
Skip, the hand sign, first came to my use in 1975, at Florida State Univ.  (Iota Delta). It was started by Bro. Vernon (Truck) Mc Knight but had a totally different meaning. Suffice to say, it has evolved to be recognized as the "sign of the times"          

Clifford T. Lee Iota delta 74
Pres. Zeta Upsilon Lambda Fairfax,VA.  
99, 00

A BROTHER SPOTTED THIS IN A BOOK: 

Regarding Jackie Robinson as an Alpha.

In the book "Jackie Robinson--A Biography"
by Arnold Rampersad.

Page 63

"For Robinson, the next few months were a respite from the intense athletic activity of the previous two years. In the spring, he stuck to his promise and emphasized his studies.  Taking courses in English, French, physiology, and physical education, he also finished work in algebra and geometry started at Muir Tech.
If he attended spring football training in Westwood in March, he did so as a spectator.  He also played no basketball for UCLA.  However, suiting up for an Alpha Phi Alpha team in a statewide league of Negro fraternities, "the Black panther," as the California Eagle dubbed him, scored 25 points in leading the Alphas to victory."

This is the only reference to Mr. Robinson's affiliation with Alpha in this text.

Can we extract from this reading that Jackie Robinson was a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha?

Andre Blackman
Alpha Gamma Lambda