Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants 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. Alpha Phi Alpha chapters were established at other colleges and universities, many of them historically black institutions, soon after the founding at Cornell. The first Alumni Chapter was established in 1911.
For more than 100 years, Alpha Phi Alpha and its members have had a voice and influence on politics and current affairs. The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP, was started by fraternity member W. E. B. Du Bois in 1910. In 1914, The Sphinx, named after the Egyptian landmark, began publication as the fraternity’s journal. The Crisis and The Sphinx are respectively the first and second oldest continuously published buy viagra equivalent black journals in the United States.
While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha’s leaders recognized the need to correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African Americans and the world community. Alpha Phi Alpha has a long history of providing scholarships for needy students and initiating various other charitable and service projects. It evolved from a social fraternity to a primarily community service organization.
The campaign to erect a permanent memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the fraternity. In 1996, the United States Congress authorized with Public Law 104-333 and President Bill Clinton confirmed the fraternity’s request to establish a foundation. The National Park Service maintains the memorial site.
Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Owens, Charles Hamilton Houston, Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, singer Lionel Richie, Dick Gregory, Cornel West, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, entrepreneur John Johnson and musician Donny Hathaway.