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Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ) Fraternity, is the second oldest active African American collegiate Greek-letter fraternity and since 1911 has been open to men of all races, religion and creed. The fraternity has over 105,000 members with 600 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state of the United States, with international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan and the West Indies.

The president of the national fraternity title is Grand Polemarch, who assigns a Province Polemarch for each of the twelve provinces (districts/regions) of the nation. The Kappa Alpha Psi Journal is the official magazine of the fraternity since 1914. Frank M. Summers was the magazine's first editor and later on became the 14th Grand Polemarch.

Kappa Alpha Psi is a major contributor in the field of politcal, social,cultural and scholastic achievement through programs providing community service, social welfare and academic scholarship with the Kappa Alpha Foundation and great supporter of the United Negro College Fund and Habitat for Humanity. The fraternity has many notable members recognized as leaders in the arts, athletics, business, civil rights, education, government, and science sectors at the local, national and international level.

Kappa Alpha Psi is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), umbrella organizations of international Greek-letter sororities and fraternities. The fraternity is known for its "cane stepping" in NPHC organized step shows. Kappa Alpha Psi was the first African-American Greek letter society founded west of the Appalachian Mountains still in existence.

History

The Founders

The men who founded Kappa Alpha Psi, and dedicated to the principles of achievement through a truly democratic fraternity are:

• Dr. Elder Watson Diggs, "The Dreamer" - 1st Grand Polemarch
• Dr. Erza Dee Alexander
• Dr. Byron Kenneth Armstong
• Attorney Henry Thomas Asher
• Dr. Marcus Peter Blakemore
• Mr. Paul Waymond Caine
• Mr. George Wesley Edmonds
• Dr. Guy Levis Grant
• Mr. Edward Giles Irvin
• Sgt. John Milton Lee

The founders endeavored to establish the fraternity with a strong foundation before embarking on plans of expansion. By the end of the first year, the ritual was completed and a design for the coat of arms and motto had begun.

Founding

The fraternity may have begun in 1903 on the Indiana University campus, but there were too few registrants to assure continuing organization. In that year a club was formed called Alpha Kappa Nu, but the club disappeared after a short time. There is no record of any similar organization at Indiana until the fraternity was founded as Kappa Alpha Nu on the night of January 5 1911 by ten African-American college students.

During this time there were very few African-American students at the predominately White campus and they were a small minority due to the era of Jim Crow laws. Many African Americans students rarely saw each other on campus and were discriminated from attending student functions and extra-curricular activities by white college administration and student body. They were denied participation in athletic teams with the exception of track and field. The racial prejudice and discrimination encountered by the founders strengthened their bond of friendship and growing interest in starting a social group. From the beginning, the founders goal was to create a fraternity founded on Christian ideals and purpose of achievement regardless of a person's race or social class.

By 1912, the fraternity expanded with the second undergraduate chapter opened at the University of Illinois—Beta chapter; then the University of Iowa—Gamma chapter. After this, Kappa Alpha Psi chartered undergraduate chapters on Black college campuses at Wilberforce University—Delta Chapter, and Lincoln University, PA—Epilson Chapter. In 1920, Xi Chapter was chartered at Howard University, whose campus was the birthplace of five NPHC members. Alpha Phi Alpha was founded at Cornell University in 1906, but opened its Beta chapter at Howard in 1907. Since then Kappa Alpha Psi has expanded through the Midwest, South, and West at both white and black colleges. The first chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi in the South, Pi Chapter, was installed at Morehouse College, in 1921.

There is no evidence as to why the greek letters Kappa Alpha Nu were chosen, but the name became an ethnic slur among racist factions. Founder Elder Diggs, while observing a young initiate compete in a track meet, over heard fans referring to the member as a "kappa alpha nigger", and a campaign to rename the fraternity ensued. The resolution to rename the group was adopted in December 1914, and the fraternity states, "the name acquired a distinctive Greek letter symbol and KAPPA ALPHA PSI thereby became a Greek letter Fraternity in every sense of the designation." Kappa Alpha Psi has been the official name since April 1915.

In 1947, at the Los Angeles Conclave, the National Silhouettes of Kappa Alpha Psi were established as an auxiliary of the fraternity. Membership is comprised of the wives or widows of fraternity members. In 1980, the Silhouettes were officially recognized and granted a seat on the Board of Directors of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation. Silhouettes provide support and assistance for the activities of Kappa Alpha Psi at the Grand Chapter, Province and Local levels.

National programs

The Fraternity began Guide Right, its national social out-reach program, in 1922. The Guide Right Program assists youth between the ages of 5 to 25 with education, tutoring, mentors, and financial assistance for college. The programs of Guide Right are Kappa League, Kappa Alpha Psi Scholarship, A-MAN, and the premier program, Kamp Kappa, which enables inner city boys to attend camp at Hemlock Overlook Park in Clifton, Virginia.

The C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference is held annually in each province to educate and train alumni and undergraduates officers with professional aspects to effectively execute individual chapter procedures.

The Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation, established in 1981, is the philanthropic arm of the fraternity to assist both alumni and undergraduate chapters support of scholarships, after-school programs, and national projects such as Habitat for Humanity.

Pan-Hellenic membership

The fraternity maintians dual membership in the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The NPHC is composed of nine international black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities, and Kappa Alpha Psi is the first NPHC member to be incorporated as a national fraternity. The council promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information, and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions. The NIC serves to advocate the needs of its member fraternities through enrichment of the fraternity experience; advancement and growth of the fraternity community; and enhancement of the educational mission of the host institutions.

The History of the Kappa Kane

The cane is viewed by the fraternity as a symbol of a "Gentleman" and is an unofficial tradition and symbol since the fraternity was founded. In the 1950s, as black greek-letter organizations began the tradition of step shows, the fraternity began using the "Kappa Kane" in what it termed "cane stepping." In the 1960s, the cane was decorated with the fraternity colors, and shortened in the 1970s so brothers could "twirl" and tap the cane in the choreography with high dexterity. The national organization did not condone the use of canes in step shows and contended that "the hours spent in step practices by chapters each week would be better devoted to academic or civic achievement." Senior Grand Vice Polemarch Ullysses McBride complained about the vulgar language and obscene gestures sometimes engaged in by cane-stepping participants. The Fraternity succumbed to the pressure of undergraduate chapters in 1986 and added cane stepping as an official item on the Grand Chapter agenda.

External links

Kappa Alpha Psi

• Kappa Alpha Psi Offical Homepage website
• Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation

Outside websites

• Kappa Alpha Psi Founders
• History of the Cane

Footnotes

1. ^ "Kappa Alpha Psi (ΚΑΨ) Founding History". kappaalphapsi1911.com. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
2. "The History of Kappa Alpha Psi". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Germantown Alumni Chapter. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
3. "Kappa Alpha Nu becomes Kappa Alpha Psi". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Mu Epsilon chapter. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
4. "History of the National Silhouettes of ΚΑΨ". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Southwestern Province. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
5. "ΚΑΨ Guide Right Program". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Indianapolis Alumni Chapter. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
6. "The Programs of Guide Right". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Indianapolis Alumni Chapter. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
7. "Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation". kappafoundation.org. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
8. "National Pan-Hellenic Council Aboutpage". NPHC. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
9. "North-American Interfraternity Conference". NIC. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
10. "The History of the Kane". Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Arlington/Grand Prairie Alumni Chapter. Retrieved 2006-05-08.

• Kappa Alpha Psi
• 1911 establishments
• International student societies
• National Pan-Hellenic Council
• United States student societies
• Kappa Alpha Psi brothers