Arm in arm

None praised his unceasing effort

None Knew of his wondrous plan

for the temple the builder builded

Was unseen by the eye of man.

-Barton

In the book H.A.C. Life and Legacy, Wesley wrote "The vision of Henry Arthur Callis and of the founders was being achieved as each convention came and passed into history, for continuously there were foward steps being undertaken." More then a week has passed since our last convention, do we still feel the continuous foward steps of our past? Have we settled into our programs to the point that they have lost purpose? Do we still think as Bro. Wesley wrote that we are meeting for others and not for ourselves? Our past tells us how we should be thinking and not what we should be thinking. As "mature" brothers do we come out of our areas of personal contentment and devote our time and effort to the creation and development of purposeful goals.....in our communities and on our campus are we still using the ideals of Alpha or have we settled with the ideas of Alpha men.

We are not looking to reinvent the wheel, nor are we a Poindexter. The leaven is made up of people that want to do more or expand on the ideas of Alpha men. We must lead by example, wear your pins and tee-shirts in public and not just at our events. If you had a process and you are proud of your chapter show it off, now is the time.

The title of this post is taken directly from Bro. Wesley "Arm in arm the graduates and the undergraduates faced the future undivided in purpose and action, united by the bonds of brotherhood under words and slogans through Alpha Phi Alpha." If you notice what we notice in this very profound quote you are on the right path. We don't think it was done on purpose by brother Wesley, but our problems today stem from a need to be spoon feed the knowledge. We are stuck on bringing the ideas to life and not living the ideals. What we took from this passage was what was not said, the INC. was not included when speaking of brotherhood. Brotherhood is the only thing that unites, membership is what keeps the ideas alive, brotherhood is the ideal way to achieve better ideas.

Until next time.....Why shoot the breeze about it, when you can be about it. Peace -Beoutyo

Reclamation Now!

If we never take another Brother in, we have enough Brothers in our community...
- Bro. Herman “Skip” Mason, General President

I don’t know if Brother Mason intended on saying it how I took it, but I see that statement as a clarion call...

Reclamation Now!

In the third Business Session, Brother Mason indicated that there was a little under 18,000 active members of Alpha. He also indicated that there was more than 47,000 inactive members. There are roughly 2.6 times as many inactive brothers than those who are active. Or, to put it another way, for every two active brothers there are at least five inactive ones out there.

Now, I can clearly see how they acquire the number of active brothers. It’s clearly indicated by the membership rosters. What isn’t too clear is how they determined the number of inactives. I’m willing to bet that number is hyper-deflated.

Moreover, there is an average of 1425.4 initiates per year. Considering that number, it would take over 33 years to initiate enough new brothers to equal the 47K+ brothers who are inactive. Surely, it would be quicker and more advantageous for us to spend efforts reclaiming those Brothers already made.

Reclamation Now!

Brothers, behold the window of opportunity. Many of us have become disgruntled with our Dear A Phi A because of the direction in which it is heading. It’s drifted so far away from it’s legacy as “A Development in College Life.” Its emphasis seems to be on maintaining money and partnerships, rather than maintaining the bonds of brotherhood and the purposes for which we were founded. It has abandoned the “better making of men,” in favor of any kind of member (man or not) who is willing to pay Grand Taxes.

I remember my Dad always feared the affects microwaving had on food. He still only uses it for popcorn. And, I know fear is a mind-killer and a little death that brings total obliteration. But, we must asses what microwaving men has done to our brotherhood, don’t you think?

Reclamation Now!

It’s time to reclaim our fallen Brothers; it’s time to reclaim our Fraternity! Things have gotten truly out of hand.

As Redman said, it’s “Time 4 Sum Aksion!” If we are willing to do the work of reclamation, we can reclaim our Fraternity. If those of us who care about the Aims & Ideals of Alpha, commit ourselves to the work of Alpha, we can awaken the sleeping giant - Ethiopia.

If we are truly to save our young Black boys, they must see and interact with positive role models. The brothers we need our out there, waiting to be reinvigorated in their love for Alpha. We can acquire the votes necessary to chart a new course. We can redirect Alpha to it’s proper purposes, and uphold authentic manhood.

The numbers don’t lie. There are more of us, than there are of them. As Marcus Garvey would say, “We are not outnumbered, only out-organized.” So - let’s get organized...

Reclamation Now!

Always onward...ever upward...I dedicated this to you!

A Development in College Life

When we read the title of our history, it is clear that the legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha is inextricably tied to the development of brothers in college life. Can we still claim this as our focus? Are our college chapters and college brothers as valued and important to us as they should be? Or, are we saying that college life has been developed to it's fullest extent?

We must again commit to a development in college life.

This is not a new problem, but one faced by our brotherhood for decades. Yet, seemingly we have neither the will nor desire to tackle this problem. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful. With Brother Mason's admonition to "remember the Seven," maybe we might find the muster to recommit ourselves and our Fraternity to the cause of developing our brothers in college.

While at General Convention, I hope that brothers will strive not to simply protect the facade of "the House." Rather, we ought protect its foundations - college men.

We must again commit to a development in college life.

Always onward...ever upward...I dedicated this to you!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Role of Alpha Phi Alpha in the Obama Era

“The election of the first black president does not mean we can all now close up shop and go home. Instead, it’s more important than ever that...organizations and individuals committed to positive change work even harder to lift up our communities and move this country forward.”

- Brother Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President and CEO

When on our journey through the three stages of development, it was said that after we arrive into the House of Alpha the real work begins. Many of us are delighted that Barack Obama has been elected as the first (undeniably) Black man to ascend the ranks of the US Presidency. Many of us have acquired a sense of “arrival.” Well if what was taught to us as we journeyed toward the light is right, then we know the real work is about to begin.

Once initiated, there are those of us who acquire a false sense of “arrival.” We commence to rest on our Fraternal laurels, preferring to be “couch potatoes” within the House as opposed to builders: renovating, expanding and otherwise improving the property bequeathed us by the Beloved Jewels. May we not see the Obama Presidency in the same light!

With this “arrival,” we must realize that now the real work begins. Where does Alpha Phi Alpha stand in this work? Where should we stand?

In the Obama era, we cannot become complacent. Nor, can we become so caught up in the rapture that we flat out ignore the work before us. Certainly, we cannot expect - much less allow - President Obama (on behalf of the US Government) to do the work that will truly “lift up our communities and move this country forward.”

Alpha Phi Alpha must be the new leaven that calls the Talented Tenth to account and spurs it on to higher achievement. We who march onward and upward toward the light must heed St. Paul’s directive in Ephesians:

Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called (4:1). For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (5:8). See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (5:15&16).

It is time for a “new leaven.”

When a definite program was decided upon, in the early days of our Dear Fraternity, it was urged that, “through the organized fraternity a dynamic instrument could be forged that would be of incalculable power in advancing the interests of the Negro group along all lines of endeavor.”

Certainly, we have in our possession a dynamic instrument of incalculable power. Shall we not use it to advance the interests of the Black Community? Shall we not pick up the mantra espoused by Brother Morial and work to “Close racial disparities?”

President Obama is not an arrival at “the place for which our fathers died.” Rather the Obama Presidency is an opportunity. And, Alpha Phi Alpha must lead the way. We must seize the day. What would you choose?

Always onward...ever upward...I dedicated this to you!

The New Leaven: A Manifesto

A small group insisted that the fraternity was not measuring arms with its possibilities. They would have the fraternity examine itself...Some goal must be established or Alpha Phi Alpha would end only in making pleasure the summum bonum of fraternity life. This small group of thinkers became the leaven that ultimately leavened the whole.

- The History of Alpha Phi Alpha, pg. 101

It is time for a "new leaven."

Alpha Phi Alpha was founded "in order to promote a more perfect union among College men," yet we see far more activity amongst the graduate brothers than those on the undergraduate level. Our very history is subtitled: "A Development in College Life," yet we are largely disconnected from college campuses, college aged men and those who are college-bound. What is our Supreme Aim?

It is time for a "new leaven." And as defined, leaven is “an influence that produces a gradual change.” The goal of this blog is to promote that gradual change.

So many are disgruntled. So many are inactive. Did anyone of us pursue initiation in order to become inactive? Did any of us go through the process not hoping to make contributions that express our love for all mankind? Why then should any of us allow our Dear Fraternity to become a place where those who gave themselves to a worthy cause no longer feel as though they have anything in common with the organization?

It is time for a “new leaven.”

Brother General President Dickson told us to “Think Alpha Phi Alpha, talk Alpha Phi Alpha, promote Alpha Phi Alpha, and labor for the broad principles of idealism for which Alpha Phi Alpha was created, so that humanity shall look on us as a body worthwhile.”

Does humanity look on us as a body worthwhile? Do the communities within our local Chapter jurisdictions consider us to be a body worthwhile? Do the non-Alphas within the Collegiate communities of our Nation view Alpha Phi Alpha as a body worthwhile? With any of them, is Alpha Phi Alpha the first of all organizations to come to mind as being a source of upliftment for our communities? In a time when the NAACP is honored as the “oldest Civil Rights organization,” can we as men of Alpha Phi Alpha be satisfied?

It is time for a “new leaven.”

Truly, our beloved A Phi A has contributed much to society. I cannot begin to imagine where the United States of America would be as a country had it not been for the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha and the Brothers called to serve amongst her ranks. Yet as Jewel Brother Callis said, “Still we await and must be mindful of the past only as an inspiration, not as a sufficiency in itself.”

Yes, we have been blessed to have “100 Years of Leadership and Service.” But, what are we as a Fraternity doing to put our mark on this present age and inspire subsequent generations of college men to answer the call to “Manly Deeds, Scholarship and Love for All Mankind?”

It is time for a “new leaven.”

With racial disparity run amuck, should we of the Talented Tenth become bogged down throwing parties and events? Should we relish in our own personal sense of arrival? Should we be satisfied that we were able to remain unbowed by the bludgeoning of chance when others are forced to watch the things they gave their life to broken, lacking the ability to build them up with their worn out tools?

Truly, as Brother Roscoe C. Giles stated, “We must arouse the slumbering giant, Ethiopia.” When focused, our Fraternity was able to provide leadership for many facets of the Civil Rights Movement. Don’t you agree that if we urge each other to adhere “to the ideals of the fraternity” and emphasize a commitment to combatting racial disparity that Alpha Phi Alpha would have dramatic impact?

As the Obama Campaign would say, “Yes we can!”

It’s is time for a “new leaven,” and the true Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha will answer the clarion call.

Always onward...ever upward...I dedicated this to you!