Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

The History of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded on December 4, 1906 on the campus of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. The Fraternity was founded by seven young men who dared to be pioneers in an untried field of "Negro" student life. The seven men (known as Jewels by Fraternity members), Henry A. Callis, Charles H. Chapman, Eugene K. Jones, George B. Kelley, Nathaniel A. Murray, Robert H. Ogle, and Vertner W. Tandy led the way for the existence of the first African-American Fraternity. From the early beginning, the founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, though unknowingly, set the scope which the Fraternity enjoys today. It should be noted that the personality, versatility, and the outlook of the founders set the pace for the present state of the Fraternity. The Fraternity serves not only as a form of guidance for college men, but exists and operates on undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels. National operations, as well as international operations of the Fraternity, allow members to serve and support our communities, charitable institutions, and a host of organizations and activities. It is in respect to these characteristics that Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity today stands strong in the hearts of the men in its Zeta Omicron Chapter whose history is also uniquely important.