As I sit and reflect on this historic day, which consequently is the anniversary of the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. , I ponder the question posed, last night by an esteemed member of that distinguished group of black men. The question was, " Are great men made by fraternal organizations, or is it the case that great men choose organizations?" I will go further and extend that to our sisters of various sororal organizations and also those brothers belonging to fraternal or masonic orders outside of the so called, "Divine Nine."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote, "Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potenial. Social action without education is weak expression of pure energy." My question and thought is, that as our black organizations dedicated to social/racialized uplift grow older and we celebrate grand histories of engagement in the struggle for equality and community, how do they make themselves relevant for a new century that suffers from the cancer of "anti-intellectualism", as Dr. Cornel West has aptly diagnosed (along with several other sobering characteristics, i.e. a conspicous consumption...don't know what that phrase means check out MTV "Cribs" or BET...Black Exploitation Television).
Letting that thought marinate...I take another pause to reflect, rededicate, and move to continued action. Happy Centennial to the Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
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