Alpha Phi Alpha and MLK

Sounds like Mr. Marcus Calhoun is running for office this spring. In any event, you have probably already heard by now that all three Alpha Chapters [Beta Nu (FAMU), Iota Delta (FSU) and Gamma Mu Lambda (Alumni)] all participate in the city-wide celebration sponsored by the NAACP and others every year on his celebrated official holiday. So I hope to see you there at 9:00 a.m. at the Taltran Bus Transfer System. It was an Alpha man, Brodes Hartley, that was the SGA President who led many students in the civil rights marches in the 1950s, the first ever student run bus boycott in the country after Rosa Parks started it in Birmingham. The Beta Nu Chapter was the catalyst for the MLK Convocation to honor their fraternity brother back in the 1970s, so it is no coincidence that they participate in this convocation along with SGA and Student Activities every year. It was another Alpha man, myself Reginald Mitchell, that was the SGA President that encouraged all students to boycott classes in 1985 on the federal holiday that was not yet recognized in Florida. I urged students right from the MLK Convocation Podium to skip classes, and encouraged all teachers not to deliberately frustrate our efforts by scheduling quizzes or tests on that day. Eventually Dr. Frederick Humphries officially cancelled classes after calling the governor to let him know what the students had planned. We marched from the William H. Gray Plaza in his memory on his holiday. I then attended state legislative committee meetings to get the holiday approved in the state of Florida. Lastly, the National Organization of Alpha Phi Alpha successfully led the charge to establish a monument in the national mall in Washington, DC. In 1998, the fraternity was authorized by the United States Congress to establish a foundation to manage the fundraising and design of a memorial to Dr. King. So as you can see, we are ever vigilant in participating in activities honoring our fallen brother.