ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY INC – WALKING THE WALK

Over thirty years ago, I joined the fraternity of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. Their motto “First of All, Servants of All, We shall Transcend All” spoke to not merely being the first black fraternity, but of their lofty ideas and vision for brotherhood. They touted iconoclastic members including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Senator Edward Brooke, and Ambassador Andrew Young, all who were on the forefront of the civil rights movement. They engaged in the community with programs like “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People”, and they have changed the trajectory of the lives of thousands of young men in the process. Yet despite their great history, the decision to pull their 2010 National Convention from Arizona, in the aftermath of that state’s recent legislation that effectively legalizes racial profiling may have been Alpha Phi Alpha’s greatest moment. The decision by the Board of Directors of Alpha Phi Alpha sent two strong messages. First, the fraternity was willing to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. The decision to change sites was not just a moral choice and political choice, but it was a choice fraught with economic consequences, as reportedly it may have cost them $300,000 in cancelled contracts, possible litigation, and creating a logistical challenge for many of their members. Yet the leadership of Alpha Phi Alpha did not blink, as they took a moral stand that would make its seven founding “Jewels” proud.

Yet what was more important was the second message, a message that I hope the African American community pays close attention to. This message was the rejection of fear, and the rejection of the self loathing that many in the African American community seemed to have with respect to its Latino brethren. A few weeks ago on the social network Facebook; I posted a note that reminded people who constantly complain about the lack of African Americans in baseball, they often do so, while ignoring the fact that the color line broken by Jackie Robinson was not exclusive to African Americans. And instead of bemoaning the fact there are less number of blacks in baseball, (many young African American athletes to be fair, are choosing the instant gratification that comes from football and basketball, at the expense of baseball a sport with a slower climb to fame and fortune). As such, we should celebrate the greatness of the Albert Pujols, Juan Marichal, and Roberto Clemente not minimize them because they are not black. This unfortunate point of view by many blacks toward Latin ballplayers was illuminated recently when Los Angeles Angels outfielder Tori Hunter dismissively labeled Latino baseball players as “imposters”.
But this “Latino thing” we seem to have goes far beyond public discourse. Often during the last few years, I would hear in private conversations, among African Americans, disdain, anger, and jealously toward foreigners, who come into “our neighborhoods” and start business, take jobs, and of late their vitriol is aimed at Latinos. I would listen and be amazed that so called educated black folks, were threatened by individuals, many who barely spoke English, often not afforded the protection of citizenship, and by and large could only compete for the most marginal of jobs. My amazement was deepened by the fact that if I closed my eyes, what I was hearing was not much different from those on the far right fringes whose inherent insecurity, fear and hatred creates enemies - more imagined than real.
This decision by Alpha Phi Alpha now places the nation’s oldest African American fraternity clearly on the side of those who are enlightened, who rather than fear immigration, place a higher value of the rights of all man. In 1946 Alpha Man Sydney P. Brown wrote the immortal poem House of Alpha - the poem begun with the words:

“Goodwill is the monarch of this house, men
Unacquainted, enter, shake hands, exchange
Greetings and depart friends. Cordiality exists
among all who abide within. I am the eminent
Expression of friendship. Character and
Temperament change under my dominant power.
Lives once touched by me become tuned and are
thereafter amiable, kindly, and fraternal.”

This week’s decision by Alpha Phi Alpha to eschew the convention in Arizona represents a transcendent perspective that is needed as this debate moves forward. Immigration is a complex issue that has as its roots, racism, greed, fear, and opportunity. The resolution of this issue can only come when the debate is elevated, from fear, hatred, and self loathing. The choice of men of Alpha Phi Alpha and its inherent messages represents a gauntlet dropped by far thinking black men who continue to be the “light of the world" its founders in 1906 intended it to be. Men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. - be very proud of your fraternity.