A college fraternity now comprised of functioning undergraduate and alumni chapters on major campuses and in cities throughout the country — the crystallization of a dream.
The Founders were God-fearing, serious-minded young men who possessed the imagination, ambition, courage, and determination to defy custom in pursuit of a college education and careers.
The ideals of the church were an important foundation of the Fraternity. One of the five Objectives of the Fraternity is “to promote the spiritual, social, intellectual and moral welfare of members.” Many aspects of the Fraternity’s rites are engrained in Christian ideals and contain excerpts from the Bible.
Elder Watson Diggs and Byron Kenneth Armstrong had previously attended Howard University and had come into contact with men belonging to the only national Black Greek-letter fraternity then in existence. Their experiences at Howard gave rise to the chief motivating spirits that sowed the seed for a fraternity at Indiana University and crystallized the idea of establishing an independent Greek-letter organization.
Consequently, eight other men met with Diggs and Armstrong for the purpose of organizing such a fraternity. The Founders sought one another’s company between classes and dropped by one another’s places of lodging to further discuss the means of formulating the fledgling fraternity in an effort to relieve the depressing isolation.
They found that through these close interactions, they had common interests and a close bond began to emerge. The organization was given the temporary name of Alpha Omega, while they further developed its formation. Diggs presided as president, while Irvin was assigned as temporary secretary. Alpha and Omega — the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet — correlate to Christ and the Founders’ relationship and connection to the church.
Elder Watson Diggs, Byron K. Armstrong, John M. Lee, Henry T. Asher, Marcus P. Blakemore, Guy L. Grant, Paul W. Caine, George W. Edmonds, Ezra D. Alexander, and Edward G. Irvin. The ten men who founded Kappa Alpha Psi.
The International Headquarters website provides an overview of all things Kappa — the major initiatives, events, community services, membership information, and the Kappa Foundation, the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of the fraternity.
To learn more about the International Headquarters of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., please visit our national website.
Visit Kappaalphapsi1911.com
The Eastern Province is comprised of the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and Bermuda. John M. Marquess was appointed as the first Eastern Province Polemarch. Brother Marquess was a native of Arkansas and a graduate of Fisk University (1902) and Dartmouth College (1904). During his time at Dartmouth, he sang on the college Choir and Glee Club and was a member of the Varsity Track Team. By profession Marquess was an educator, teaching and leading a number of schools prior to serving as President of the Colored Agricultural and Normal University, which would become Langston University.
At the time, the Eastern Province had established records indicating that it was comprised of four chapters: Epsilon, Xi, Baltimore (MD) Alumni, and Washington (DC) Alumni. In contrast to the static boundaries we have come to know, the boundaries of the Province were once amorphous and incorporated Chapters from New York to North Carolina.
Considering the current boundaries of the Eastern Province, the first Chapter was the Howard University Chapter, the Xi (E) of Kappa Alpha Psi, which was chartered on December 27, 1920. The second overall and first Alumni Chapter was the Baltimore (MD) Alumni Chapter, chartered on July 15, 1921. The third Chapter overall was the Washington (DC) Alumni Chapter, chartered on October 27, 1924.
The East has given Kappa five Grand Polemarchs and numerous Laurel Wreath Laureates, Elder Watson Diggs Awardees, and Guy Levis Grant Awardees. The Eastern Province is the epitome of achievement.
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. has adopted five core objectives for its members and the organization as a whole. Membership is a solemn commitment, and the maker of that commitment becomes synonymous with the commitment itself.
Membership in Kappa Alpha Psi is a lifelong dedication to the ideas and lofty purposes of the Fraternity, which considers for membership only those aspirants whose personal, social, and academic qualifications are acceptable to both the College and Fraternity.
Maturity is more than simply reaching a certain age. Maturity to us means acceptance of reality, the ability to sacrifice and set goals, consideration of others, incisive judgment, emotional balance, development of social skills, intellectual competence, and moral rectitude. We expect our members to be mature.
Dedication means putting those characteristics of maturity into a lifelong program of action to advance the goals and purposes of Kappa Alpha Psi. We expect our members to be dedicated, and not to let personal goals supersede those of the Fraternity. A person who feels he would do the Fraternity a favor by joining is not worthy of membership.
Kappa Alpha Psi is not interested in the simple accumulation of members and chapters. Its emphasis is on the quality and integrity of its membership. Membership quality manifests itself through an intangible element of brotherhood we call “that Good Old Kappa Spirit.”
The disposition to live in close companionship with men of similar values.
The wisdom to abide by the will of the majority without sacrificing individuality.
The discretion to refrain from destructive criticism while seeking to remove the causes of such criticism.
The acceptance of responsibility for any effort that moves the group forward.
The desire to strive for, and ultimately achieve, excellence in everything you do.
The commitment to train for leadership.
The resolution to give lifelong financial support and commitment to the maintenance and development of the Fraternity’s programs and purposes.
The Fraternity has outlawed pledging and dispensed with the customary practice of having pledges or a protracted probationary period prior to one’s initiation into full membership.
The Fraternity has developed an admissions process known as the Membership Training Academy, which establishes an orderly and rational process of applicant solicitation, screening, and initiation. The membership intake process is calculated to attract and retain members of high academic, moral, social, civic, ethical, and religious standards.
The Fraternity seeks to remove any and all opportunities for pledging, hazing, antisocial, and unlawful activity, and seeks to promote in every phase of fraternity life only safe and wholesome activities consistent with the Code of Conduct of the jurisdictions where our chapters are chartered.
It is the goal of the Fraternity to see that all individuals committing acts of hazing and other unlawful and Prohibited Acts are punished consistent with due process and the concept of proportionality, to the full extent of the rules of the Fraternity and the criminal law. The Fraternity does not countenance either acts of physical aggression by members or the willing submission to the same by prospective members or Candidates for membership.
The Fraternity has not only outlawed pledging, but bans from its membership those who submit to such a vile process. Some wayward members, who do not subscribe to our motto of achievement, have elected, in open defiance of the rules and regulations of the Fraternity, to conduct underground pledging and engage in acts of hazing and other Prohibited Acts in clear violation of Fraternity rules and criminal statutes. Such members’ criminal behavior is repugnant to all for which the Fraternity stands.
Such members are renegades, not wanted, and clearly deserve, because of their behavior, to forfeit their membership in Kappa Alpha Psi.
It is the specific intent of this organization to serve notice to law enforcement officials and the world that Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. forbids pledging, hazing, or any other unlawful acts — and urges the public to report any such suspected activity to the Fraternity, and especially to law enforcement officials.