From the Desk of Herman "Skip" Mason hmason1906@aol.com Iota Chapter, Spring 82(Morris Brown College/Atlanta, Georgia) Eta Lambda Chapter since 1984 Historian, Pastor, Author, Entrepreneur and Lecturer

Dear Brothers:

Okay, perhaps I was a bit harsh on the Sigma who wrote that absurd letter requesting that we reconsider our place as first and recognize the fact that we are second. As I think about it, it may have not been harsh enough. SMILE.. Tandy always said "We must fight till hell freezes over.... To those of you who don't believe there is a book(smile), go to my newly redesigned 
temporary website: http://www.baylor.edu/~Roderick_Robeson/skip 
and click on Alpha and you will see the beautiful cover of the book.  By the way book orders are needed and still appreciated. On Tuesday, I will have a firm date as to when books will be shipped to me. Apologies in advance for any typos in this newsletter. I have given my copy editor a break and have been editing it myself. Have a great 4th of July weekend. Be safe and be careful brothers! For your intellectual enlightenment, I share with you a brief excerpt from our posthumous brother Frederick Douglass who wrote the following in a speech titled "What To The Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

"What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a 
sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and 
equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and Thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour." 

Brother Frederick Douglass, 1852 (Omega Chapter)
 

JEWEL OGLE'S GRANDSON JULIAN WILSON TO JOIN ME IN DALLAS TO CELEBRATE THE 
RELEASE OF THE BOOK  THE TALENTED TENTH.

It's official, Brother Julian Wilson, the grandson of our beloved Jewel will be in Dallas to share with me in the release of  my book The Talented Tenth.   You will be able to meet him on Saturday to "meet, greet, shake hands, exchange greeting.  " We will both arrive on the same flight on Friday evening. He excited about coming to Dallas and meeting the brothers. To you die hard brothers bring your cameras. His grandfather died several years before he was born, but like his cousin, their mother's kept Robert Harold Ogle pioneering spirit alive. More details forthcoming. 
 

SPEAKING OF CONVENTIONS, EVERY NEOPHYTE  NEED TO ATTEND HIS FIRST CONVENTION

Songtress Oleta Adams sang "I don't care how you get here, get here if you can." Let me echo that phrase and urge every neophyte who reads this page to make plans to come to Dallas. There is nothing like your first convention. In my opinion it is the glue that seals the bond and commitment for your involvement in the fraternity. At a National Convention, you get to meet other brothers, see Past General Presidents, and share in the fraternal spirit. There is a photograph of Jewel Callis posing with the brothers for a convention photo. One of the college brothers standing behind Callis has his hands placed firmly on his shoulder's. Priceless indeed. Come to the convention and learn more about the fraternity than what you see in your chapter. Let money not be an issue. Pool your resources  with other brothers.. Check the Internet for cheap tickets. Take Greyhound and leave the driving to them.  It is worth the sacrifice to come. I missed my first convention in 1982 simply because I did not know about it. Unfortunately, the chapter members failed to mention to me that there was a convention that summer of 1982 in Los Angeles. The following summer by an act of divine faith, I attended the convention, replacing a brother who was unable to go from my chapter. It was there that I met and took pictures with Brother Charles Harris Wesley (go to my redesigned website and click Alpha, you will see us), 
Past General Presidents Ernest Morial, Lionel Newsom and so many others. I took photographs of everything and everybody. That was 16 years ago and I have not missed a convention since. I promise you after you experience a National Convention, your view of the fraternity will not be the same. At this convention, you will witness the nomination and electrifying acceptance speeches of the candidates for General Presidents. 
 

RECLAMATION: 2000 for 2000

If I  sound like I am running for something, I'm not; well at least not yet. (SMILE)  I am personally kicking off 2000 for 2000.  2,000 reclaimed brothers for the year 2,000. This is my personal goal for reclamation throughout the country through this newsletter. Alpha needs you! That chapter needs you too! So many 
of you have written and said that you have decided to reactive and join a chapter. I have printed and saved those letters. If you are one in that number, please drop me a line and let me know what chapter you have 
affiliated with. Come on brothers, no more excuses, just do it.  There is power in numbers. I recognize my goal of 2000  large, but I believe that there are 2,000 of you who have been mulling and thinking about reaffiliating with a chapter. Utilize the Corporate Website for assistance. If that doesn't work, utilize me. If you are in an area and you are unsure of a chapter, I will list your request in a SHM(with your email address) and ask a brother to contact you directly with contact information and forward it to you. Is that more work for me, yes. But it is worth it. So many of you have already ask me for a chapter or contact. Every brother ought to be about reclaiming. I am just using this medium as an outlet. Don't worry brothers you will still get the vintage Skip Historical Moment. I just want to take this a step higher. Read From the Lips of a Jewel to see what Jewel Murray said about reclamation. By the way Life Membership goes up to $2,000 in 2000. It is currently $1000. You still have time to make a deposit on your life member and pay by installments. The convention is Atlanta next year. Yes, my hometown, the city too busy to hate. The city where Charles Wesley unveiled the first copy of the Alpha History book in Atlanta, where Jewel Chapman attended his first convention in over 20 years, where Jewel Callis and Jones both visited and spoke. 

SPECIAL FEATURE: 
The General Presidents, cont'd- 

Provided are brief excerpts on the 4th, 5th, 6th General President from the book "The Talented Tenth: The Founder's and President of Alpha" in a continuing series  highlighting the legacy of these 30 men. Is there one who can recite all of the General President with the same enthusiasm as you do the Jewels?. The first person to recite all of them to me at the convention will get a special gift. I mean it. We must be about our father's business in the House of Alpha. 

The 4th General President-Dr. Charles H. Garvin, Alpha's First Historian

"…In the fall of 1912, General President Charles Garvin and Secretary Fugett made a special attempt to have all of the founders present at the Fifth General Convention. He sent letters to each one of them inviting them to come to the convention. It is also the first correspondence which acknowledges that there were seven founders... 

After his tenure as President, Brother Garvin remained active with the fraternity. By 1917, during the war years, he was appointed as the fraternity's first Historian and collected a substantial amount of data that 
he gathered during the years he was General Secretary and General President.  In 1920, he served on the commission on Graduate Work and Public Affairs…"

The 5th General President- Henry Lake Dickason

"Referred affectionately as the "big guy or the fat guy," Henry Lake Dickason was a colorful character in the annals of the fraternity.  Brother Dickason was born in West Virginia and received his early education from the Bluefield Institute. He was a classmate of James Morton, who was one of the original seven at Cornell University when the fraternity was founded.  Dickason attended college at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio where he earned a BA and MA degrees. 
 

As a math and physics teacher for 22 years, Dickason was an inspiration to thousands of students. 
For ten years, he served as Registrar of Bluefield State College and twelve years as Dean, before being elected as President of the college in 1936, where his tenure lasted until 1952..,"
 

The 6th General President- Howard Hale Long

"…By 1919, Brother Long  moved to Augusta, Georgia and Paine College where he was appointed Dean. Paine had a rich Methodist tradition and  Long himself was a member of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church(CME). 

 He later accepted an appointment as the Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Washington, DC and as the Dean of Administration in the College of Education and Industrial Arts at Wilberforce University.  Brother Long served as chairman of the Commission on Evaluation  of the  American Council on Human Rights

Initiated into Beta Chapter,  Brother Long served his fraternity as General Treasurer in 1914, General  Secretary in 1915 and was elected General President in 1916…"

WHAT'S ON THE DRAWING BOARD:
-Why the "House of Alpha" was written
-An article on C.C. Poindexter
-The origins of the Ape (as it relates to our pledging process) 
 

From the Lips of a Jewel

"A partial answer to the foregoing is that these Brothers need a real heart to heart talk with a view of reacquainting themselves as to how absolutely necessary it is for them to continue to affiliate with their local chapters,  as they did in the beginning of their undergraduate days. The fraternity needs them as necessary integral parts of its forward moving program. Brothers do not make the mistake of stressing the need of their returning merely to help in some financial program because that is not the idea the speaker wishes to convey. Far be such an idea. Let the Brother be persuaded by personal visits and talks to come out and see for himself what a wonderful thing it is to be a part of Alpha Phi Alpha whose efforts will live forever. "

Jewel Nathaniel Allison Murray
 

SKIP'S FAVORITE QUOTE FOR TODAY
This is longer than usual but I thought that it would bless some brother as it did me when it was shared with me by Brother Stefforn McIntosh

"SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP"
      
 A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well.  The farmer 
 heard the mule praying--or whatever mules do when they fall into wells.  After carefully assessing  the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule,  but decided that neither the mule nor the well was 
 worth the trouble of saving.  Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had 
 happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to  bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
     
Initially, the old mule was hysterical!  But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him.  It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!  This he did, blow after blow. 
     
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself.  No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old  mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
      
You're right!  It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY
OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL!  What seemed like would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
      
THAT'S LIFE!  If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US!
      
 Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to 
"SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

SKIP'S SCRIPTURAL LESSON FOR TODAY

"The first step to wisdom is silence; the second is listening."

Proverbs 1:5  -  A wise man will hear; and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

Have a very "blessed" day!!!
 

FROM THE PAN HELLENIC ARCHIVES

From the Phi Beta Sigma History Book

"About the time, Sigma received an invitation to merge with another Greek letter organization that had originated in Indiana. This rather unusual bid came from Elder W. Diggs, founder and head of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.. the letter was dated December 11, 1915, and was typed on official stationery with Diggs listed as "Grand Polemarc." At that time Kappa was getting on its feet in the Midwest while Sigma was getting its start in the East and South.  It is interesting to speculate as to what the picture of fraternity life in 
America would be today if these two organizations had joined forces in 1915. Would they have melted together, smoothly adding strength and power to the union or would there have been a clash of strong personalities and different ideals and objectives? " 

From "Our Cause Speeds On: An Informal History of the Phi Beta Sigma 
Fraternity" by W. Sherman Savage and Lawrence D. Reddick
 
 

LETTERS FROM THE EMAIL BAG

Brother Mason,

        Stemming from a deep desire to attain once again some of the traditions that Brother's of yesterday have practiced, I'd like to place this topic on the table for discussion.  I'd like hear your views on what would be deemed as appropriate dress at Fraternal functions such as chapter meetings, Omega services, etc.  The reason I ask is due to the fact that I've noticed a poor trend in fraternal moral that I have related to this one of many common factors.

I LOVE TO HEAR FROM NEW BROTHERS!!!!

 Brother Mason,

I am a recently initiated college brother at Florida A&M University, Beta Nu Chapter.  A brother who works in University administration forwarded some of your "Historical Moments" to me.  As a new initiate, I am seeking any and all information about our dear fraternity.  I have read and studied several books already, however, I know that much more knowledge remains to be gained.  I love reading about my frat, so could you please add me to your mailing list.  I would also like to have a list of good books to read, if possible.   Thanks for the information and keep distributing those "Historical Moments."

Fraternally,
Bro. Glenn Davis, Jr.

Of course every Alpha has his history book. You should also have a copy of Henry Arthur Callis: Life and Legacy. I also invite you to read The Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha by yours truly. You may refer SHM No. for additional titles which feature information relating to the fraternity. 

Dear Skip:
   I have been reading your historical moment pieces and would like to tell you that it is Brothers like yourself that constantly validate my decision to become an Alpha Man. I know you probably get a million of these e-mails a day, but I believe that you deserve this recognition of your efforts.   I am a new brother (spring 99') of Beta chapter, and it is my intention now and for ever to follow in the path of the greatness that came before me and lean on the strength of those beside me.  Reading your work makes me think that the past isn't as hard to grasp or follow as most people may believe.  I give you a big A-Phi for your efforts.  Please keep holding up the light, if for nothing more than so those behind and beside you can see. 06'Most noble Man of Alpha

Keith R. Gill
Spr 99 Beta

Dear Skip:

        My name is Chadd Matthewson and I am a recent initiate into the Beta Epsilon chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I finally crossed those burning sands on March 18th, 1999. As a neophyte, I am
constantly wanting to learn more and more on the history of our rich organization and when I started receiving you historical tidbits, I was very happy and could not wait to check my e-mail everyday to see what new
wealth of information I would learn so I could internalize it and try to become even more thorough. I want to thank you very much for starting your historical moments and even though I only know you through your
writings, I have the utmost respect for you and what you do. Going about finding the information that you cite must be a very tedious task and keeping it consistent even more. I am very anxious for your book to come
out so I can go buy it and feed my mind with so much information. History is one of my favorite pass times and to belong to such an organization and to know what we stand for and how it all started, I can't help but to want to learn more and more even if it's just the small things like whose married to who in AFA/AKA, etc. All of your historical moments are my favorite and I printed all of them out and situated them in a notebook so
I can always go back when I get home and study them. 

Thank you for your time and continue to hold the light high!

--Chadd Matthewson      
#5BE99
                Brother Skip,

        I was reading your historical moments yesterday evening when I came upon #10 which talks about the conspiracies of the other fraternities and I noticed that you stated that Kappa Alpha Psi used to be Kappa Alpha Nu, and before it was that it was Alpha Omega. Where does the Phi Nu Pi come from in Kappa Alpha Psi? I also heard a rumor (just like a lot of other greeks) that Kappa Alpha Psi originally had 13 founders and three of them were white but they do not want to recognize them being it is supposed to be a BLACK Greek organization so they just say that they have 10 founders. Do you know anything about this? Not that I'm really DYING to know but I hate rumors and I like to know what I am talking about in discussions I have with other Greeks. Thank you.

Fraternally,
Chadd Matthewson
North Carolina A&T State University
Beta Epsilon Spring '99
 

Brothers, I thought I would share this with you regarding another virus. We cannot be too careful. 

>>WARNING!

>>If you receive an e-mail entitled, "How to Give a Cat a Colonic,"
>>DO NOT open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive.
>>Forward this letter out to as many people as you can.
>>This is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it.
>>This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM.
>>Please share it with everyone that might access the Internet.
>>Once again, pass this along to EVERYONE in your address book so that
>>this may be stopped. AOL has said that this is a very dangerous virus
>and that there is NO remedy for it at this time.
 

TO OBTAIN BACK ISSUES OF SKIP'S HISTORICAL MOMENTS, GO TO
http://www.baylor.edu/~Roderick_Robeson/skip (my temporary web site)

Pull up About Skip and go to Skip's Historical Moments (now located beneath a picture of me and Alex Haley). There you will be able to retrieve back issues in their entirety.

No 1- Callis's First Wife
No 2- The Ties That Bind: Lyle and Hedgeman/APHIA/AKA
No 3- Charles Chapman, A Poet?
No 4- The APHIA/Delta Connection (Most requested issue)
No 5- Frederick Douglass: He was the Spirit of the Fraternity
No 6- Rev. A Wayman Ward: The Author of the Fraternity
No. 7- Abram L. Simpson, Author of the Fraternity Hymn and other Alpha Songwriters
No. 8- Revisionist Fraternities: The Omega, Kappa, Sigma Conspiracy
No. 9- The Daughter of Jewel Ogle
No 10- How Alpha is Portrayed in Current Literature
No. 11- Duke Ellington and Alpha Phi Alpha
No. 12- Jewel Vertner Woodson Tandy's Connection to  Tuskegee
No. 13-  The Mothers of the Jewels, Part One
No. 14- Jewel Jones Mother: Mrs. Rosa Kinckle Jones/ Dr. Roscoe C.Giles
No. 15- Jewel Murray Mother: Mrs. Anna Evans Murray
No. 16-  Jewels Ogle and Tandy's Mothers
No. 17- Mrs. Annie Singleton and the Mothers of Ithaca
No. 18- Jewel Eugene Kinckle Jones: Truly A Servant of All
No. 19- Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi(The Boule)
No. 20- The Sphinx Club and Pledging 1906-1930
No. 21- Masonic and other fraternal ties to the Seven Jewels
No. 22-DuBois and Alpha Phi Alpha: Was it the pride of his heart?
No 23- The Book: The Talented Tenth
No. 24- Jewel Ogle's Grave/Alpha's Second Honorary Member
No. 25- Having Their Say: Letters from the Brothers
No. 26- Jewel George Biddle Kelley, An Eternal Neophyte and Advocate for College Brothers
No. 27-Charles Henry Chapman: The Reclaimed Jewel
No. 28-The Lighter Side of Alpha(White Brothers in the Fraternity, pt. 1)
No. 29- The Lighter Side of Alpha, pt. 2
No. 30- Egyptian Excursion/The Jewel's Granddaughter visits Atlanta
No. 31-The Father's of the Jewels/ Men of Ithaca
No. 32- Jewel Murray Speaks
No. 33- Having My Say:Skip Mason Speaks
No. 34- God, Give us men
________________________________________________
THE TALENTED TENTH:
THE FOUNDERS AND 30 GENERAL PRESIDENTS
OF  Alpha
By Skip Mason
Foreword by Brother Andrew Young

Published by Four G's Press, c. 1999
Winter Haven,  Florida
480 pages; 28 cm, 100+ photographs
ISBN: 1885066-63-5
$25.00 (soft back)
$32.50 (hard back)    
To be released in June '99(hardbacks in July) 
ORDER FORM, PLEASE PRINT, FILL OUT AND MAIL .
_____________________________________________________________________

$25.00 (Soft back)                  $32.50 (Hard back)
This is still prepublication price. So get it while it lasts!

ORDER FORM
Please send me ______ copies at  ___________. Total enclosed: $____________
(add $3.20 for shipping for each copy/ 6% sales tax each copy)

Ship books to:

NAME________________________________________________________

ADDRESS_____________________________________________________

CITY STATE ZIP_________________________________________________

email address__________________________________

INDICATE IF YOU WANT BOOK INSCRIBED AND TO WHOM_______________

_____________________________________

To order, send order form, check or money order made payable to Skip Mason to:
Skip Mason/The Talented Tenth    564 Blake Avenue, SE  Atlanta, Georgia 30316

_____________________________________________________________________
 

Skip's Historical Moments is a twice weekly newsletter used to dialogue and discuss issues of historical importance to men of Alpha.  This newsletter is sent to over 4,000 brothers.  If every brother would send
this to ten brothers this communication would reach a network of  45,000 or more. If you don't want to forward, please forward to me email addresses and

I will add them to the list. The list is growing by leaps and bounds. Send 
your questions, queries, comments to hmason1906@aol.com 

Advanced apologies to you if you are receiving each issue more than once. Some names appear twice on the email distribution list.

DISCLAIMER:  THIS PAGE IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. ALL COMMENTS ARE THOSE OF THE EDITOR. SOURCES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.  APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE FOR ANY SPELLING ERRORS.