A few of the brothers whose work shaped New Orleans — and the chapter that helped form them.
Alexander Pierre "A.P." Tureaud (1899–1972) was a pioneering New Orleans civil rights attorney who dedicated his life to challenging racial segregation and discrimination in Louisiana. Born in New Orleans in 1899, he grew up during the era of Plessy v. Ferguson and legalized segregation; his parents descended from Louisiana's free people of color, giving him a family background rooted in the state's unique racial and legal history. As a teenager, Tureaud left New Orleans as part of the Great Migration, first to Chicago and later New York, where he was introduced to the NAACP — an organization that would become central to his life's work. At 19, he moved to Washington, D.C., working at the U.S. Department of Justice library before enrolling at Howard University Law School in 1921, where he excelled academically, became involved with the NAACP, and met prominent Black intellectuals including W.E.B. Du Bois. He graduated in 1925, the first in his family to graduate from college. After briefly practicing law in Washington, Tureaud returned to New Orleans in 1926 to care for his ailing mother and to fight racial injustice in his home state. Admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1927, he was one of only four Black lawyers in the state; because Black students were excluded from Louisiana's law schools, he worked another government job while practicing law part-time. Despite these obstacles, he became increasingly active in New Orleans civic organizations and the NAACP, focusing particularly on educational inequality and segregation.
Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial (1929–1989) was a New Orleans attorney, civil rights advocate, politician, and the city's first Black mayor, serving from 1978 to 1986. Born and raised in the Seventh Ward, he graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 1951 and, in 1954, became the first African American to earn a law degree from LSU. He became active in the civil rights movement, serving as president of the local NAACP and fighting segregation primarily through the courts. Morial broke several racial barriers throughout his career: in 1967, he became the first Black member of the Louisiana Legislature since Reconstruction, then Louisiana's first Black Juvenile Court judge, and the first Black judge elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. In 1977, he became New Orleans' first Black mayor. His administration expanded affirmative-action efforts, increased Black representation in city government and the police department, and pursued major economic-development projects, helping secure federal funding for Canal Place and the Jax Brewery. Morial was known for a strong and sometimes confrontational political style; during the 1979 police strike, he refused to give in to union demands, resulting in the cancellation or relocation of that year's Mardi Gras parades. His second term proved more difficult as New Orleans' economy slowed and the 1984 World's Fair became a major financial failure. After leaving City Hall in 1986, Morial remained influential in New Orleans politics and considered running for mayor again before his sudden death in 1989 at age 60. His legacy remains prominent in the city: the convention center was renamed the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in 1992. Morial also served as Alpha Phi Alpha's 23rd General President from 1968 to 1972.
Bro. Emmett W. Bashful, Ph.D. was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. in 1939 through the Beta Sigma Chapter at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, and remained an active and viable member of the brotherhood throughout his life. While pursuing his Master's and Ph.D., he was a member of Tau Chapter at the University of Illinois, living in the fraternity house while he matriculated. He later joined Gamma Mu Lambda in Tallahassee while a professor of Political Science at Florida A&M University, and Beta Iota Lambda upon returning to Baton Rouge to chair the Political Science Department. When tapped by Bro. Dr. Felton G. Clark to lead the establishment of Southern University at New Orleans, one of Bashful's first actions was to join his beloved Sigma Lambda Chapter, where he remained active until Hurricane Katrina forced him to return to Baton Rouge and affiliate with Beta Iota Lambda. While in New Orleans, he served as President of Sigma Lambda Chapter, chaired the 1983 General Convention, and founded the Epsilon Upsilon Chapter at SUNO. He also chaired the National Rules and Credentials and Constitutional Committee. Bro. Bashful received numerous awards and honors, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the District and Regional levels. His highest honor in Alpha Phi Alpha was the Alpha Award of Merit, the fraternity's highest honor — Bro. Bashful was a "Jewel" in Alpha at the Chapter, Area, District, Regional, and National levels.
Charles Teamer, Sr. was born on May 20, 1933 in Shelby, North Carolina to B.T. Teamer and Mary Teamer. He received his B.S. degree from Clark Atlanta University in 1954, served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958, and later earned his M.A. from the University of Nebraska and his Ph.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans. Teamer worked in the business manager's office at South Carolina State University in 1954, became assistant business manager at Tennessee State University in 1958, and was hired as business manager at Wiley College in 1962. In 1965, he became vice president of finance at Dillard University and was promoted to chief financial officer in 1968. In 1983, Louisiana Governor David Treen appointed him the first African American on the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. From 1985 to 1988, Teamer served as national president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. In 1993, he co-founded Dryades Savings Bank and served as chairman, retiring from Dillard University in 1997 and continuing as a consultant to Clark Atlanta University. In 2001, he led a partnership of investors in opening The Cotton Exchange and Holiday Inn Express Hotel in downtown New Orleans, and became president of the World Trade Center of New Orleans in 2003. Former executive director of the Amistad Research Center and a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education, Teamer held numerous board appointments, including the Board of Education of the United Methodist Church, the Ford Foundation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Common Fund, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Ochsner Medical Foundation, and the Audubon Institute. He also served as board chair for the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, the Metropolitan Area Committee, Harrah's New Orleans Casino, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and the United Way, and on the boards of the University of Louisiana System, Tulane University, and the Southern Education Foundation. Teamer resides in New Orleans with his wife, Linda Phoenix Teamer.
Longest Serving President of Xavier University of Louisiana.
Brother Vernon Lloyd Winslow was a native of Dayton, Ohio, who moved to New Orleans and became one of the most influential cultural figures in the city's history. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, later won an art fellowship at Rockefeller Center in New York, and earned a Master's degree in education from Tulane University. He joined Dillard University in the mid-1930s as the first full-time instructor in the Arts Department and soon became Department Head. In November 1938, he helped charter Beta Phi, serving as its first Sergeant-at-Arms. In 1947, Brother Winslow started a radio show on WJMR highlighting Black music. After being fired for stepping to the mic when the regular DJ was a no-show, he joined WWEZ and became New Orleans's first Black DJ as "Doctor Daddy-O." Within a year, his show was the top radio program in New Orleans, and he became one of the top ten DJs in the country. He was a former columnist for the Louisiana Weekly and continued broadcasting well into his 70s. Brother Winslow died on December 13, 1993, at age 82, and is buried in Lake Lawn Cemetery in Metairie, Louisiana.
Brother Marcus Neustadter, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 2, 1917. He earned a degree in Business Administration from Dillard University, graduating with honors, and served as the first Chaplain of the Beta Phi Chapter. He was the first appointed dental hygienist for Louisiana's "Free Clinic on Wheels" — an innovative socialized medicine program that provided free dental services to 776,000 Black residents in Louisiana. Brother Neustadter served as National Public Relations Director for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and as International President of the Frontiers International service organization. He was a 33rd degree Mason and a senior deacon at Central Congregational United Church of Christ. Professionally, he held roles at Keystone Life Insurance Company, the Times-Picayune, the Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the Fairmont Hotel, and Dillard University — from which he retired in 1987. Brother Neustadter died on October 16, 1992, at the age of 75.
Brother Harry E. Johnson, Sr., the 31st General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, represents a distinguished legacy of leadership, service, entrepreneurship, and public engagement. A proud member of the fraternity to which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. belonged, Brother Johnson has dedicated much of his career to advancing the principles of service and leadership that have long defined Alpha Phi Alpha. From 2001 to 2004, Brother Johnson served as General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, providing leadership to more than 700 chapters across the United States and abroad. During his administration, he emphasized economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, franchise ownership opportunities, and partnerships designed to provide greater value to fraternity members. His service extended beyond the General Presidency — he previously served as the fraternity's General Counsel and as Regional Vice President of the Southwestern Region. Perhaps one of Brother Johnson's most nationally recognized accomplishments came through his leadership of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. Serving as President and CEO from 2002 through 2013, Johnson helped lead the effort to establish the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, raising $127 million toward its completion. The memorial was dedicated on October 16, 2011, bringing together the President and Vice President of the United States, members of the Cabinet and Congress, and representatives from the corporate, nonprofit, and civic communities. Brother Johnson's professional career has encompassed law, business, education, and public service. A graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University and completed post-baccalaureate studies in Public Administration at St. Louis University. His experience includes serving as a municipal attorney, teaching at Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law and School of Public Affairs, and operating businesses including a Domino's franchise in Houston; he is also President of Creative Concourse Concessions, LLC, an airport concessions company. His civic involvement has included work around voter registration, blood donations, HIV/AIDS awareness, and youth development, with board service including the AARP Foundation, National Urban League, and March of Dimes. He was recognized by Ebony magazine among its 100 Most Influential Black Americans from 2001 through 2004. Brother Johnson's connection to Alpha Phi Alpha also places him within a notable tradition of leadership beyond the fraternity: his election as Grand Sire Archon of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, set to begin in July 2028, continues a historic connection between the two organizations, following 27th General President Charles C. Teamer of New Orleans as one of only two former Alpha Phi Alpha General Presidents to also serve as Grand Sire Archon of Sigma Pi Phi.
