Kappa Alpha Psi (???) is a predominantly African-American Greek letter fraternity. Since its founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin. The fraternity has over 150,000 members with 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state of the United States, and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan, United States Virgin Islands, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Kappa Alpha Psi sponsors programs providing community service, social welfare and academic scholarship through the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation and is a supporter of the United Negro College Fund and Habitat for Humanity.
The fraternity is the first predominantly African American Greek-letter society founded west of the Appalachian Mountains still in existence.
In the 1950s, as black Greek-letter organizations began the tradition of step shows, the fraternity began using the “Kappa Kane” in what it termed “cane stepping.” In the 1960s the national organization did not condone the use of canes or Kappa Alpha Psi’s participation in step shows contending that “the hours spent in step practices by chapters each week would be better devoted to academic or civic achievement.”
In 1985, during the fraternity’s 66th national meeting, cane stepping was finally recognized as an important staple of Kappa Alpha Psi.
The “Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation,” established in 1981, is the philanthropic arm of the fraternity and assists both alumni and undergraduate chapters in support of scholarships, after-school programs, and national projects such as Habitat for Humanity.
To be considered for membership, a candidate must have at least a 2.5 gpa on a 4.0 scale. For consideration into Kappa Alpha Psi on the alumni level, one must possess at least a Bachelors Degree or the equivalent of such a degree from an accredited college or university. Kappa Alpha Psi also prides itself on the fact that it has never bestowed honorary membership.