Dear Brothers: I hope each of you had the kind of holiday you had hoped for including some rest, relaxation, good food and fellowship. Well, several of you (not very many) emailed me to find out what happened to Tuesday's SHM. Glad to know you missed it. I decided to take a much needed break. I simply did not have the energy to compile one. I am currently working on several books for Arcadia Press out of Charleston, South Carolina. They have published my last four books (The Talented Tenth excluded). I do a series of books on the African-American history of communities and cities. Check out my website for the books: http://www.baylor.edu/~Roderick_Robeson/skip I am currently completing books on "African American Life in Washington, Georgia; "The Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta: and "Black Jacksonville, Florida, Part 2." Some of you have reported having problems with my temporary website.
It is being redesigned and reconfigured. The "Back issues page" has been
redesigned, but you might not be able to retrieve them yet. Hope to have
that resolved by weekend. Brother Robeson is working to fit everything
in.
The Whitehall Printing company is busy rolling out the pages of "The
Talented Tenth." Books will arrive just in time for the convention. Most
will be shipped to Dallas. To those brothers who ordered books and will
not be attending Dallas, your copies will be mailed as soon as they arrive
to my
I have started booking for booksignings and lectures on the "The Talented Tenth." If your chapter is interested in hosting a citywide or campus booksigning for brothers in your city, please contact me at hmason1906@aol.com. Press kits on the book went out today (which included the cover and
several related photographs. Brothers please send me the name and address
of the local African-American Newspaper in your area so that we might mail
them a press kit. (Need the LA Sentinel, New York Amsterdam News, Washington
and Baltimore Afro-Americans and other black newspapers. Email me the address
at
Over the holidays, I had an opportunity to fellowship with several of my SHM readers who were visiting Atlanta. Special thanks to Brother Vince Truett for a great lunch. Well, the series on the General Presidents continue. This issue looks at the 8th, 9th and 10th Presidents(Pollard, Fowler and McGhee). The new issue of The Sphinx is out. I have not received my copy but they tell me it is a great issue. Brother Seaton White does a fantastic job with the publication. Also the Historical Commission is named and the new fraternity historian Brother Robert Harris is featured. This issue of SHM is somewhat longer than the regular since it it combined. Just print it and read it at your leisure. I am nn my way to Columbia, South Carolina for the weekend. By the way my birthday is next Wednesday. A purchase of a copy of the "Talented Tenth" would be a great gift. SMILE. Have a great weekend and until next Tuesday, let us always be remindful
that our fraternal thoughts, actions, words and activities should always
take us back to our foundation, our roots and back to the master plan of
the phenomenal Jewels. Skip 8th General President-
"At the Ninth General Convention in 1916, Pollard was elected General President in Richmond, Virginia. It was during his administration that World War One was declared between the United States and Germany. Many brothers were called into active service. General President Pollard and the brothers of Beta Chapter at Howard University met and established an Officers Training Camp and convinced the government of the advisability of training "Negro" troops. The establishment of the Training Camp at Fort Des Moines, Iowa resulted from this action." 9th General President
"Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1892, Brother Daniel David Fowler attended
East High School where he graduated as Valedictorian of his class. He entered
Case School of Applied Science and graduated with a degree of Bachelor
of Science in Metallurgy in 1914. It was during his senior years at Case
that Brother Fowler became imbued with the idea of establishing a chapter
of Alpha Phi
10th General President-
"In 1918, at the convention in Cleveland, Lucius McGee was elected General First Vice President. He assisted General President Daniel Fowler with overcoming the loss of fraternity membership and interest during the World War 1 years. He personally installed Upsilon Chapter at Kansas University in 1917 and Chi Chapter at Meharry Medical College in 1919. At the General Convention in Chicago in 1920, Vice President McGee told the fraternity that college men were trying by combined effort to change its perception…" FROM THE LIPS OF A JEWEL
>From "Opportunity", Feb. 1935 Skip's Note-Jewel Jones back in the 1930s recognized the power
of African-American spending. He cited that the Negro purchasing power
was being ignored by advertising agencies. As a result advertising in "Negro"
periodicals magazines suffer and manufacturers of goods and products lose
FROM THE LIPS OF A GENERAL PRESIDENT "We plan to show this generation, that the day of the hat-in-hand, yes sir boss Negro has come to a close..." 10th General President, Lucius L. McGee, 1920 SKIP'S SCRIPTURAL MOMENT. (Meditate and receive the word) "People know what you are by what they see, not by what they hear." Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. SKIP'S QUOTE OF TODAY (BORROWED)
Larry Johnson/ Forward, New York Knicks/NBA Finals Pregame Interview
(We can replace NBA with APHIA, and still create the same reasoning. Jewel Murray's plea of "Service before Self" cries out to us today!) A FEW SHM FACTS ON THE SPHINX CLUBS
FROM THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWSPAPER, Nov. 30, 1922
Lincoln University will be represented by....Thurgood Marshall, a member of the Lincoln University team that debated Pennsylvania State College last year." 44 YEARS AGO AT THE 41ST GENERAL CONVENTION IN 1955: -Jewel Murray gave the fraternal address. He was introduced by
the 12th
Skip's Note- Our history is so rich!! LETTERS FROM THE BROTHERS: Read the latest on the M.L.King Memorial Project Hey Bro. Mason, Here's a link to a very interesting article in today's Washington Post on the major setback suffered yesterday for the proposed Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in DC I'm sure shm readers will find the article of interest, albeit disappointing. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/july99/memorial2.htm
RECLAMATION 2000 IN 2000 IS FOR REAL! READ THIS July 1, 1999 Dear Brother Mason:
Well, I'm closing for now. Just wanted to introduce myself and say thank you for "shining your light." May the peace of God be with you. Eric
"ALL OF MY LOVE.... Dear Skip: Is it true that this song/hymn I've heard sung by all Greeks... All
of my love, peace and happiness, I will give to (Alpha, Sigma, Delta, etc.)
was originally an Alpha song. Many brothers have pointed out the words
spelling of Alpha <(A)ll of my (L)ove, (P)eace and (H)appiness, I will
give to
Alvin Blanco /11-IB-S99 /Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
Dear Brother Mason: I wanted to share a site I created at http://akapa.hypermart.net
entitled '06-'08 Talk. This site is devoted to congregating the relationship
between the first family. It is welcome to all of the sisters of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and my brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc. Please
Fraternally and Spiritually,
Dear Brother Mason: I thoroughly enjoy your historical emails. I noticed in my most recent email, you talked about Bro. Raymond Pace Alexander (Psi '20) and his wife, Delta, Mrs. Saddie Mossell Tanner Alexander. Well, I just wanted to let you know that Bro. Alexander was the founding father and first President of Psi Chapter (my chapter) at the University of Pennsylvania. He also helped found Rho Chapter. So if you would like additional information on him and his legacy...please let me know. SKIP'S NOTE; I have asked this good brother to write an article on Brother Alexander. ON THE INITIATION DINNER:
I was interested to reading one of your "historical moments" about the fraternity initiation dinners. In my undergraduate chapter, Beta Sigma at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La, it has become a recent tradition to have initiation dinners the night after the initiation. The initiation usually takes place on a Saturday night and the dinner is usually on that next Sunday night. The dinner is held at our graduate chapter's "Alpha Center," and all brothers from the Beta Iota Lambda chapter, most of whom are from Beta Sigma, are invited to attend and fellowship with their new brethren. I think that this is a useful tool to help break down the graduate-undergraduate gap in the fraternity provided the spirit of this fellowship continues after. No matter what this is a good start. The dinner is always well decorated and one of the best things about
it is that each new initiate and each member of the prophytes are seated
in front of a place card which contains their name, chapter initiated into,
date of initiation, and, for recent initiates, the exact time they crossed
the
The dinner is usually attended by some of our most distinguished brothers in the fraternity. Most recently, Brother Dr. Emmit Bashful was the guest speaker. Brother Bashful a long time "Southernite" and Alpha loyalist pledged Beta Sigma in 1939, three after we were founded. He shared with us historical perspectives on the ten founders of our august chapter, only one of whom who is still alive, and the growth of Beta Sigma. An interesting note is that the last living founder of Beta Sigma is now a member of Beta Sigma Lambda in Connecticut. I thought that was an interesting thing to share. Finally, I would like to share something that has been on my mind lately.
I have recently graduated from Southern University and less than one year
after graduation joined Beta Iota Lambda. This transition is the
kind that I believe is so vital to the fraternity. It is a necessity for
the continued
The only way for young brothers to have a voice in the fraternity is that brothers who believe strongly in the undergraduate mission and purpose are in the mainstream of the fraternity to guide them and give them an avenue to have a voice. I know that it is very easy to blame the graduate brothers and say that they don't care about undergrads and they don't want young brothers joining their chapters to have a part in it. But I also know that nothing is going to change until young brothers start demanding their rightful place "beside" the rest of the brothers. The relationship between graduate and undergraduate brothers should be horizontal and not vertical. No one brother, regardless of profession, age, wealth, or fraternity position, is more important than another. I think its time that all brothers realize this. Maybe then we'll be on our way to fixing the true "brotherhood" that a fraternity needs to have. After all, what does "fraternity" mean? I realize this a long e-mail, but their are things that I feel I need
to share. Since my birth in the fraternity on 3-10-96, I have had
to overlook many of the things that I know to be true in the fraternity
just so I can keep my love for this organization in tact. When I
was brought in I was taught that above all else, the brotherhood, the sense
of fraternalism, must reign supreme in our hearts and
When I bring in a new line, one of the first things that I teach them is that you always give a brother the benefit of the doubt, because he's a brother. I teach them that you always have to extend your hand to a brother out of a true sense of fraternalism. If he doesn't reach back, he's the problem and you may have to handle him with kid gloves. But no matter what, you have to extend your hand. That is our duty as members of this fraternity. We are not supposed to be like those other fraternities, we're Alphas. Just as we have shown the world so much already, we must also show them what it means to be fraternal. Finally, I would just like to say that all of the national projects
and distinguished members and grand conventions and national recognition
mean nothing if we lose sight of the most important aspect of a fraternity,
the brotherhood. Without brotherhood, nothing else matters.
If all we wanted to do was community service or attend conventions or fill
resumes, we could have all joined the National Urban
This is our greatest fight for the next millennium -- a fight for a
renewed sense of purpose, a fight for the lifeline of any fraternity, a
fight for the return of brotherhood. I would appreciate your reply to some
or all of the things that I have expressed in this message and would ask
that you request
Fraternally, Bro. Jason Raphael Brown /"Brother President"
SKIP'S NOTE- Brothers may respond to SHM and I will forward the responses A DELTA GIRL SENDS SHM A 'SHOUT OUT'
"Many are called, but few are chosen." This has been a phrase associated with Delta Sigma Theta for as long as I can remember, and now that I too bear the torch I have found them to be profoundly true. Greetings from Little Rock! I truly appreciate the information that you gathered establishing the connections between the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the distinguished women of the most glorious sisterhood ever known: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. BRAVO! May the bond grow strong and the roots grow deep that hold us to each other in the betterment of the community and humanity. Alicia Roshell
Black Issues Book Review is looking for a Ph.D.
in African American Literature or a graduate
student with all but dissertation and a strong background in African
American Literature to edit a ground breaking article on the Century's
Most Notable Black Books and Literary Events. Please fax credentials to
BlBR (212) 947-5674.
Dear Brother Mason,
Thanks, Cory Thornton
TO OBTAIN BACK ISSUES OF SKIP'S HISTORICAL MOMENTS, GO TO
No 1- Callis's First Wife
Published by Four G's Press, c. 1999
$25.00 (Soft back)
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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. ALLCOMMENTS ARE THOSE OF THE EDITOR. SOURCES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE FOR ANY SPELLING ERRORS.
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