ABOUT THE FRATERNITY

The History of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated

The Seven Founding Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, 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 Founding Seven Jewels of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. were no ordinary achievers. Given racial attitudes in 1906, their accomplishments were monumental. As founder Henry Arthur Callis stated — because the half-dozen African American students at Cornell University during the 1904–05 school year did not return the following year, the incoming students in 1905–06, in founding Alpha Phi Alpha, were determined to bind themselves together to ensure that each would survive in the racially hostile environment. In coming together with this simple act, they preceded by decades the emergence of on-campus programs like Affirmative Action and Upward Bound. The students set outstanding examples of Scholarship, Leadership, and Tenacity — preceding even the efforts of the NAACP and similar civil rights organizations. The fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell. The Jewel founders and early leaders succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity.

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. While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African Americans. Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African American community's fight for civil rights through leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, and many others. True to its form as the "first of firsts," Alpha Phi Alpha has been interracial since 1945.

Since its founding on December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world.

The Alpha Phi Alpha house and Singleton residence at 411 East State Street, Ithaca, New York — 411 East State Street — the Alpha Phi Alpha house and Singleton residence. Photo: Cornell University Library

MISSION

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities.