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DURHAM -- Martin Luther King Jr. Thurgood Marshall. John Hope Franklin. Phail Wynn. Chuck Stone. Charlie Nelms. Howard Clement. Julius Chambers. Maynard Jackson. Duke Ellington. W.E.B. DuBois. Cornel West. Walter M. Brown.
When you start listing men who have been brothers in Alpha Phi Alpha, it looks like a who's who of African American men of stature. The fraternity is a brotherhood that continues well beyond graduation day.
Today, the Beta Theta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha will celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the alumni chapter at 4 p.m. at Alfonso Elder Student Union at N.C. Central University. The alumni chapter includes brothers in Durham and Chapel Hill.
The location of the event is especially appropriate, as Elder was one of the chapter founders.
He and Augustus Heningburg, Lawrence Knox, Robert Randolph, James M. Schooler Sr., James Taylor, William Walker, Carol T. Willis and John Payne founded the Durham alumni chapter on May 7, 1938. The men dubbed "pioneers" will be honored in today's event. Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Greek-letter fraternity for African Americans, was founded in 1906 at Cornell University. All area Alphas are invited to today's celebration. About 38 are active in the Beta Theta Lambda chapter, with another 200 Alphas living in the area. The Alpha chapters at UNC, NCCU and Duke are also invited.
Baldwin Gammage became an Alpha brother in 1966 while a junior at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. Initially he just loved the colors -- black and old gold -- but wanted to pledge after learning its history and high academic standards.
Gammage got involved in the Alpha alumni chapter here right away when he moved to Durham in 2003.
"Once it's in your blood, it's part of you," he said. "We call ourselves brothers and we mean that dearly. No matter where you go, you're welcome as a brother."
Beta Theta Lambda is active in Durham -- working with boys at Chewing Middle School through its Alpha Academy; promoting voter education and registration; promoting academic scholarship; and collaborating with the March of Dimes Foundation with a focus on teen pregnancy. They also serve as Brothers' Keepers to their alumni elders, helping them however needed.
Historian John Hope Franklin was active in the local chapter before his death, and NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms is active and has been invited to today's event, as are Durham City Councilman Howard Clement, NCCU retired dean Walter M. Brown and others.
Roger Gregory is today's emcee. He is an NCCU alum and is now special assistant to Nelms at NCCU. Gregory joined Alpha after college, when he was working in New York City.
He looked up to King, Marshall, and Alphas he knew.
"I just wanted to be like them," Gregory said. He has been a member of three alumni chapters, and Durham for the past 22 years.
"The brotherhood is just extraordinary. There are a lot of good people," he said. "We try to look out for each other. I think Alphas do outstanding work with young men, particularly African American men."
Marcus Hilliard joined Alpha Phi Alpha just last fall after moving to Durham. The 24-year-old didn't have time for a fraternity in college, but knew Alpha's reputation.
"Being a part of it after college is about brotherhood and giving back to the community," Hilliard said.
Alpha Phi Alpha has been the driving force for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., and local Alphas are planning a trip to the dedication Aug. 28.
