| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution honoring Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. |
| 3 |
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., founded December |
| 5 | 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, is the first |
| 6 | and oldest intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established |
| 7 | for African Americans and, since its inception, has supplied |
| 8 | voice and vision to the struggle of these Americans and other |
| 9 | people of color around the world, and |
| 10 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was founded by |
| 11 | visionaries known as the "Seven Jewels of the Fraternity," Henry |
| 12 | Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinkle Jones, |
| 13 | George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold |
| 14 | Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy, seven college men who |
| 15 | recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among |
| 16 | African descendants in this country, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, incorporated on |
| 18 | January 29, 1908, initially served as a study and support group |
| 19 | for minority students who faced racial prejudice and |
| 20 | discrimination, both educationally and socially, and the |
| 21 | founders and early leaders succeeded in laying a firm foundation |
| 22 | for the fraternity's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good |
| 23 | character, and the uplifting of humanity, and |
| 24 | WHEREAS, chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., have |
| 25 | been developed at other colleges and universities, many of them |
| 26 | historically black institutions, with Jewel Charles Henry |
| 27 | Chapman, who served as a Professor of Agriculture at Florida |
| 28 | Agricultural and Mechanical University, aiding in the founding |
| 29 | of the Beta Nu Chapter, the first African-American Greek- |
| 30 | lettered organization in the State of Florida, and |
| 31 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity continues to |
| 32 | proliferate, spanning the globe with over 400 undergraduate |
| 33 | chapters and 200 graduate chapters located throughout the United |
| 34 | States, the Caribbean Islands, Africa, the West Indies, Europe, |
| 35 | and Asia and, while realistically facing the educational, |
| 36 | economic, political, and social challenges encountered by |
| 37 | African Americans nationally and internationally, responds to |
| 38 | such challenges by a continued emphasis on academic excellence |
| 39 | through such mandated programs as Project Alpha, Go To High |
| 40 | School, Go To College, and A Voteless People Is A Hopeless |
| 41 | People, and |
| 42 | WHEREAS, the legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity includes |
| 43 | the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Paul |
| 44 | Robeson, Dick Gregory, John Hope Franklin, Justice Thurgood |
| 45 | Marshall, United States Vice President Hubert Humphrey, United |
| 46 | States Senator Edward Brooke, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, |
| 47 | Jr., Congressman Julian Dixon, Congressman Ronald Dellums, |
| 48 | Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., Duke Ellington, Lionel Richie, |
| 49 | Jesse Owens, Marc Morial, Cornell West, and scores more, and |
| 50 | WHEREAS, current Alpha membership includes Congressmen |
| 51 | David Scott (Georgia), Chaka Fattah (Pennsylvania), Earl |
| 52 | Hilliard (Alabama), Charles Rangel (New York), and Robert C. |
| 53 | Scott (Virginia), as well as Florida leaders such as retired |
| 54 | Justice Leander L. Shaw, Jr., Representatives Christopher Smith |
| 55 | and Curtis Richardson, former Representative Alzo Reddick, |
| 56 | former State Senator Dr. Arnett Girardeau, and Circuit Judges |
| 57 | Michael F. Andrews and Hubert L. Grimes, and, until their |
| 58 | deaths, the late Federal District Judge Wilkie D. Ferguson and |
| 59 | civil rights activists C. Spencer Pompey and Marvin Davies were |
| 60 | members from this state, and |
| 61 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., is celebrating |
| 62 | its Centennial Anniversary in Washington, D.C., July 25-30, |
| 63 | 2006, to commemorate the fraternity's outstanding history of |
| 64 | manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all of mankind, NOW, |
| 65 | THEREFORE, |
| 66 |
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| 67 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 68 | Florida: |
| 69 |
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| 70 | That the House of Representatives honors and congratulates |
| 71 | Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and joins its members in |
| 72 | Tallahassee in celebrating the admirable 100-year legacy of this |
| 73 | outstanding fraternal organization. |