THE FRATERNITY
100 Years of Achievement
"The
Origin"
The story of Kappa Alpha Psi
is to a large extent the story of black students everywhere, whether
organized or not, who attended predominantly white colleges or universities
in America prior to World War II. Within the first decade after the turn of
the 20th century, two young Hoosiers – Elder Watson Diggs and
Byron K. Armstrong - who were students of Howard University in Washington DC
declined membership in an existing Greek letter organization and returned to
their native Indiana to give group interpretation to achievement.
Located in the small Southern Indiana town of
Bloomington, Indiana University reflected both the times and the area.
Sentiments that gave rise to the Civil War only a half century before were
unmistakably present. With little incentive for training even at the grade
school level, there were few men like Diggs and Armstrong on the campus of
Indiana University.
During this time, African-American students
were actively dissuaded from attending college. Formidable obstacles were
erected to prevent the few who were enrolled from assimilating into
co-curricular campus life.
With little opportunity
for gainful employment, they were also without adequate funds. No social
life as afforded them. They were treated as if they did not belong.
Their responsibility was
clear. They had to bridge the social distance in order to accomplish their
career objectives. They had to pursue purposeful courses as a choice over
disparagement. They had to encourage personal and civic pride, and a
feeling of individual and group confidence.
Their problem was universal.
How could they meet it? Diggs and Armstrong sought a universal approach…a
national fraternity of college men with the purpose of ACHIEVEMENT. This
was an ambitious undertaking with little precedent upon which to rely, and a
small field within which to work. It was not their plan to restrict
membership by means of artificial barriers, but this resulted naturally, for
a time, from the existing climate of social distance.
An alert young Diggs worked on
campus and was able to gain knowledge of otherwise guarded fraternity
secrets. As he learned the fundamentals of fraternity organization, he
pursued a course in the science of armorial bearings.
During this period the
subsequent months were attended with frustration and the ever-present threat
of defeat of the dream. However, the perseverance and planning paid off,
because on January 5, 1911, Elder Watson Diggs, Byron K. Armstrong along
with eight other interested young men, were recorded as the Founders of this
noble clan of ours.
Almost 100 years have passed
since that memorable event. Spurred by the mandate of ACHIEVEMENT, Kappa
Alpha Psi continues to excel and expand. Membership is counted in the
thousands with over 700 chapters located at leading colleges and
universities as well as cities throughout the United States and abroad. |
