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Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ) Fraternity is the second oldest active African American collegiate Greek-letter fraternity, and since its founding in 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, the West Indies and South Africa.
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 fields of political, social, cultural and scholastic achievement. The fraternity sponsors programs providing community service, social welfare and academic scholarship through the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation and is a great supporter of the United Negro College Fund and Habitat for Humanity. The fraternity has many notable Kappa Alpha Psi brothers 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), the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), and the first African-American Greek letter society founded west of the Appalachian Mountains still in existence. The fraternity is known for its "cane stepping" in NPHC organized step shows.
History
The Founders
The men who founded Kappa Alpha Psi, and dedicated to the principles of achievement through a truly democratic fraternity are: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-American students rarely saw each other on campus and were discouraged or prohibited from attending student functions and extra-curricular activities by white college administrators and fellow students. African-American students were denied membership on 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 for the 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. Xi Chapter was also 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. 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, overheard 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, mentorship, 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 to more effectively execute individual chapter procedures and initiatives.
The Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation, established in 1981, is the philanthropic arm of the fraternity and assists both alumni and undergraduate chapters in support of scholarships, after-school programs, and national projects such as Habitat for Humanity.
Pan-Hellenic membership
The fraternity maintains 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 of the fraternity. 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.
Footnotes
External links
Kappa Alpha Psi
Outside websites
Kappa Alpha Psi | 1911 establishments | International student societies | National Pan-Hellenic Council | United States student societies | Kappa Alpha Psi brothers
"Kappa Alpha Psi"