Famous Alphas
David Dinkins
Brother David Dinkins served as mayor of New York City from 1989 until
1993. He is currently Professor in the Practice of
Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and
Public Affairs, serves as Senior Fellow at the Barnard-Columbia Center
for Leadership in Urban Public Policy, and hosts a public affairs
radio program on WLIB-AM. He also is a member of the board or the
advisory committee of several non-profit groups, including the Association
to Benefit Children, the Association for a Better New York, and the
March of Dimes.
Frederick Douglass
Born a slave, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, in Talbot County,
Maryland, Frederick Douglass has been called the father of the civil
rights movement. He rose through determination, brilliance, and eloquence
to shape the
American nation. He was an abolitionist, human rights and women's
rights activist, orator, author, journalist, publisher, and social
reformer. Committed to freedom, Douglass dedicated his life to achieving
justice for all Americans, in particular African-Americans, women,
and minority groups. He envisioned America as an inclusive nation
strengthened by diversity and free of discrimination. Frederick Douglass
died on February 20, 1895 at Cedar Hill after attending a women's
rights meeting. He became an honorary member of Omega Chapter in
1921, enjoying the distinction of being the only member initiated
posthumously. It is also noted that Douglas died before the founding
of the Fraternity.
Duke Ellington
Born in 1899, Edward Kennedy Ellington created thousands of musical
works, led his famous orchestra for an unmatched stretch of fifty years,
and earned
his nickname, Duke, by setting the standard for sophistication and
elegance. Always a modernist, he made countless contributions to the
jazz art form, and his music continues to be rediscovered and re-interpreted
by every new generation of artists. Today, more than 20 years after
Brother Ellington's death in 1974, musicians and scholars are still
uncovering new riches in the trove of materials that he left behind.
Brother Duke Ellington was, to use a phrase he coined, BEYOND CATEGORY.
John H. Johnson
Johnson Publishing's business is black and white and read all over.
In 1942, Johnson
used his mother's furniture as collateral to secure a $500 loan to
start the publication Negro Digest, the forerunner to Ebony magazine.
He parlayed his dream of publishing "a magazine of Negro content" into
a "black gold mine." Today, Johnson is chairman and CEO
of Johnson Publishing Co. Inc. in Chicago, the largest black owned
publishing and cosmetics company in the world. In November 1995 the
company expanded its operations with the launch of Ebony South Africa.
Also part of the company are Fashion Fair Cosmetics, Supreme Beauty
Products, Ebony Fashion Fair and Johnson Publishing Company Book
Division.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
One of the world's best known advocates of non-violent social change
strategies Martin Luther King, Jr., drew his ideas from many different
cultural traditions. Born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929, King's
roots were in the African-American Baptist church. On December 5,
1955, five days after Montgomery
civil rights activist Rosa Parks (Alpha Kappa Alpha) refused to obey
the city's rules mandating segregation on buses, black residents
launched a bus boycott and elected King as president of the newly-formed
Montgomery Improvement Association. King gained national prominence
as a result of his exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage.
King's renown grew as he became Time magazine's Man of the Year and,
in December 1964, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was
assassinated on April 4, 1968, while seeking to assist a garbage
workers' strike in Memphis. To date, King is the only American (excluding
U.S. Presidents) to be honored with a Federal holiday.
Thurgood Marshall
Brother Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), was the first African-American justice
of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served as an associate
justice from 1967 until his retirement in 1991. As a justice, Brother
Marshall took liberal positions on a wide variety of issues, including
capital punishment, free speech, school desegregation, and affirmative
action. From 1940 to 1961, he was director and chief counsel for the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall is perhaps best
known for arguing, before the Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education,
the landmark case declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland Owens was born in Danville, Alabama in 1913. After
his family moved to Ohio, he became known as "Jesse", derived
from his initials
"J.C.". Brother Owens competed as a runner while at Ohio
State University, setting two world records. At the 1936 Olympics in
Berlin, Adolf Hitler put on a massive propaganda campaign claiming
that Aryan supremacy would win the games for the Nordic countries.
Brother Owens, a Black man, won gold medals in four events, beating
several world records and embarrassing the Nazis. Brother Owens died
in 1980.
Paul Robeson
In the annals of Alpha's history, no one man has exemplified the spirit
of an Alpha man more than Brother Paul Robeson. Born in 1898, he
was a world famous scholar, athlete, actor, singer and civil rights
activist. Entering Rutgers
University on an academic scholarship, Brother Robeson excelled in
athletics and earned a combined 12 letters in track, football, baseball
and basketball. During his senior year, he earned All-American honors
in football and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors as well as the
distinction of being named a Rhodes Scholar. In 1923, he received
his law degree from Columbia University, where he was discovered
acting in a school play. Brother Robeson went on to star in numerous
productions including Porgy and Bess and Othello, where his outstanding
voice was well received. Traveling the world, Robeson spoke several
languages including Chinese, Russian, Gaelic and Spanish. In 1945,
he was awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal for his outstanding achievements
in the theater and on the concert stage. Brother Paul Robeson, arguably
the most versatile black man of all-time, died in Philadelphia on
January 23, 1976.
Eddie Robinson
There is little doubt among the informed that, by definition, Brother
Eddie G.
Robinson is a legend. His pursuit of coaching excellence is intense,
devoted, and resolute. Brother Robinson's success in this lifelong
endeavor is recorded in his more than a half century of college coaching
(54 years at the college level) and his win record of more than 400
games. Affectionately known as "Coach Rob", he retired
from his position as Head Coach of Grambling University in 1997,
the winningest coach in football history.
Whitney M. Young, Jr.
An educator, humanitarian, author and civil rights leader, Young dedicated
his life to full participation of African-Americans in the nation’s
economic and
political systems. For more than two decades, he led the National
Urban League in its effort to improve the economic status of African-Americans.
Young accomplished this by working within the economic and political
systems to achieve equal opportunities. In 1953, Young took a brief
hiatus from the Urban League to become the Dean of Atlanta University’s
Graduate School of Social Work. He served in that position until
he was appointed National Urban League Executive Director in 1961.
On March 11, 1971, Whitney Young died while attending the African-American
Dialogue (a conference held to strengthen the relationship between
peoples of African descent throughout the Diaspora) in Lagos, Nigeria.
CIVIC LEADERS
- W.E.B. DuBois, Philosopher
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader
- Jow Duff, NAACP Attorney
- Paul Robeson, Civil Rights
Leader, Actor, Singer
- Lester Granger, former
Executive Director of the National Urban League
- Whitney M. Young Jr.*,
former Executive Director of the National Urban League
- Dick Gregory, Civic Activist
- Charles Hamilton Houston,
former NAACP Legal Counsel
- Hugh B. Price, National
Urban League Executive Director
GOVERNMENT (FEDERAL)
- Edward W. Brooke, former
U.S. Senator (MA)
- Adam Clayton Powell,
Jr., former U.S. Representative (NY)
- Andrew Young, former
US Congress Representative (GA) and former Mayor (GA)
- William Dawson, former
U.S. Representative (IL)
- William Coleman, Secretary
of Transportation
- Harold Ford, U.S. Representative
(TN)
- William H. Gray III,
U.S. Representative (PA), UNCF President & CEO
- Julian Dixon, U.S. Representative
(CA)
- Ronald Dellum, U.S. Representative
(CA)
- Charles Rangel, U.S.
Representative (NY)
- Thurgood Marshall, U.S.
Supreme Court
- Damon J. Keith, U.S.
Court of Appeals
- Terrence Todman, Ambassador
to Denmark
- Charles Mahoney, United
Nations
- Channing H. Tobias, Delegate
to the United Nations
- Hubert Humphrey, U.S.
Vice President
- Clarence Pendleton, U.S.
Civil Rights Commission
- Ralph Metcalfe, U.S.
Representative (IL)
- Samuel Pierce, U.S. Secretary
of HUD
- Harry Edwards, U.S. Court
of Appeals
- O. Rudolph Aggrey, former
U.S. Ambassador to Romania
- U.W. Clemon, U.S. District
Court Federal Judge
- James A. Joseph, U.S.
Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa
- Ralph Metcalfe, former
U.S. Representative (IL)
GOVERNMENT
(STATE/LOCAL)
- Marion Barry, Mayor-Washington,
DC
- Henry Marsh, Mayor-
Richmond, VA
- David Dinkins,
Mayor- New York, NY
- Lawrence Crawford,
Mayor- Suffolk VA
- Walter Washington,
Mayor- Washington, DC
- Maynard Jackson,
Mayor- Atlanta, GA
- Ernest Morial,
Mayor- New Orleans, LA
- Richard Arrington,
Mayor- Birmingham, AL
- Lionel Wilson,
Mayor- Oakland, CA
- Willie Brown, Assembly
Speaker (CA)
- Roland Burris,
Comptroller- State of Illinois
- Dr. Arthur Jefferson,
Superintendent- Detroit Public Schools
- Dennis Archer,
Mayor- Detroit, MI
- Thomas V. Barnes,
Mayor- Gary, Indiana
- Lee Brown, Mayor-Houston,
TX
- Emanuel Cleaver,
Mayor, Kansas City, MO
- Norman Rice, Mayor-
Seattle, WA
- Eugene Sawyer,
Chicago, IL
BUSINESS
LEADERS
- L.D. Milton, President-
Citizens Bank
- N.B. Herndon, President-
Atlanta Life Insurance Co.
- Thomas P. Harris,
President- Chicago Metropolitan Insurance Co.
- Henry G. Parks,
President- Parks Meat Co.
- Joshua Smith, President-
Maxima Corporation
- Wayman Smith, Anheuser-Busch
- Thomas J. Burrell,
Burrell Advertising
- W. Melvin Brown,
American Developing Corporation
- Eugene Jackson,
World African Network CEO
EDUCATION & SCHOLARSHIP
- Charles Harris
Wesley, Educator, Historian *
- Garrett A. Morgan,
Inventor (Sewing Machine) *
- John Hope Franklin,
Historian
- Mal Goode, Journalist
*
- John H. Johnson,
Publisher
- Countee Cullen,
Poet
- Benjamin Quarles,
Historian
- Calvin Barnett,
President of Coppin St. College
- E. Franklin Frazier,
Sociologist
- William Strother,
Professor of Psychology Princeton University
- Frederick Patterson,
Founder-United Negro College Fund
- James Cheek, President-
Howard University
- Earl Richardson,
President Morgan State University
- Luna I. Mishoe,
President- Delaware State College. +
- Cornell West, Educator,
Philosopher and Author.
THE
MILITARY
- Fred A. Gordon,
Brigadier General- AUS-West Point
- Benjamin Hacker,
Rear Admiral of US Navy Commander +
- Samuel Gravely,
Admiral-USN
- James McCall, Major
General-AUS
- Winston Scott,
NASA Astronaut
- Edward Honor, Major
General-AUS
- Roscoe Cartwright,
General-AUS
- Charles A. Hines,
Major General - Ret. US Army
MEDIA
AND ENTERTAINMENT FIGURES
- Duke Ellington,
Music Legend *
- Lionel Hampton,
Music Legend
- Antonio Hart,
Jazz Musician
- Gerald Albright,
Jazz Musician
- Darryl Bell, Movie
Actor & Network TV
- Tony Brown, Journalist & TV
Producer
- Jerry Butler,
Singer
- Keenen-Ivory Wayans,
Actor & Writer
- Stuart Scott,
TV Sports Analytst
- Keith Garrett,
Network TV Executive Producer
- Donny Hathaway,
Singer & Musician *
- Lionel Richie,
Singer and Songwriter
RELIGIOUS
LEADERS
- John Hurst Adams,
Bishop & Founder of National Black Churches
- Harold Davis,
President of the American Baptist Churches
- T.J. Jemison,
President of the National Baptist
Convention +
- E. Edward Jones,
President of the National Baptist Convention of America +
- Dr. Joe Samuel
Ratliff, Brentwood Baptist Church - Houston, Texas
MEDICAL
AND SCIENCE LEADERS
- Levi Watkins,
Medical Scientist
- James Corner,
Psychologist
- Lasalle Lefalle,
First African-American President of American Cancer Society
- Louis Sullivan,
President of Morehouse Medical School.
SPORTS
FIGURES
- Walt Bellamy,
NBA +
- Junior Bridgeman,
NBA +
- Quinn Buckner,
NBA +
- Lenny Wilkins,
NBA
- Walt Frazier,
NBA +
- Bobby Phills,
NBA
- Wes Unseld, NBA,
Washington Wizards
- Wayne Embry, NBA-General
Manager Cleveland Cavaliers
- Wes Chandler,
NFL +
- Greg Coleman,
1st Black Punter, NFL +
- Charles Haley,
NFL-Dallas Cowboys
- Michael Jackson,
NFL-Baltimore Ravens
- Carnell Lake,
NFL-Pittsburgh Steelers
- Art Shell, NFL
Hall of Fame
- Eric Wright, NFL
+
- Reggie Williams,
NFL +
- Joe Green, NFL
+
- Eugene Upshaw,
Executive Director with the NFLıs Playerıs Association
- Jesse Owens, Sports
Legend-Track Star
- Mike Powell, World
record holder in the long jump-Track and Field
- Eddie Robinson,
Coach, Grambling State University +
* = deceased
+ = no longer active in the noted position. |
HOW TO REACH US
Alpha Phi Alpha
Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter
P.O.
Box 50026
San Diego, CA 92165-0026
info@alpha-zsl.org |
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