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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 SR 32 3
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By: Senator J. Scott 5
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SENATE RESOLUTION 8
TO RECOGNIZE KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC., FOR 9
ITS POSITIVE IMPACT UPON ITS COMMUNITIES, THE STATE 10
OF ARKANSAS, THE NATION, AND THE WORLD. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO RECOGNIZE KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, 15
INC., FOR ITS POSITIVE IMPACT UPON ITS 16
COMMUNITIES, THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE 17
NATION, AND THE WORLD. 18
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WHEREAS, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., is a collegiate Greek -letter 20
fraternity founded on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University in Bloomington; 21
and 22
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WHEREAS, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., has over one hundred fifty 24
thousand (150,000) members in seven hundred (700) undergraduate and alumni 25
chapters in every state of the United States and around the world; and 26
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WHEREAS, the members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., are risk 28
takers, trailblazers, and changemakers with a passion for achievement in 29
every field of human endeavor, uplifting their communities, and developing 30
the current and next generation of leaders; and 31
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WHEREAS, at the time of the founding of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 33
Inc., in Bloomington, Indiana, Indiana was a stronghold for the Ku Klux Klan, 34
but despite the hostility toward Blacks in Indiana, some Black students 35
sought a college education at Indiana University as it was a tuition -free 36 SR32
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university of the highest quality; and 1
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WHEREAS, during the 1910 -1911 school year, a small group of Black 3
students at Indiana University, realizing that they had no part in the 4
university's social life, decided that a Greek -letter fraternity would do 5
much to fill the missing link in their college existence, particularly as two 6
(2) members of this group had previously attended Howard University in 7
Washington, D.C., home of the only national historically Black Greek -letter 8
fraternity then in existence; and 9
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WHEREAS, the founding members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., were 11
God-fearing and serious-minded young men with the imagination, ambition, 12
courage, and determination to defy custom in pursuit of a college education 13
and career, and they decided that their fraternity would be more than a 14
social organization, and would instead be founded upon the concept of 15
achievement; and 16
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WHEREAS, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., is the second -oldest 18
existing collegiate historically Black Greek -letter fraternity, and its 19
members are proud that its Constitution has never contained any clause that 20
excludes a man from membership because of his color, creed, or national 21
origin; and 22
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WHEREAS, local chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., 24
participate in community outreach activities to feed the homeless, provide 25
scholarships to young people matriculating to college, serve as mentors to 26
young men, participate in blood drives, and serve as hosts of seminars for 27
public health awareness, and the fraternity has also provided summer 28
enrichment camps and over one million dollars ($1,000,000) in funds for St. 29
Jude Children's Research Hospital; and 30
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WHEREAS, members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., have also 32
answered the call to service by proudly serving in the United States Armed 33
Forces since World War I and raising funds to assist those in need following 34
natural disasters worldwide; and 35
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WHEREAS, famed members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., include 1
Wilt Chamberlain, Cedric the Entertainer, Arthur Ashe, Johnnie Cochran, John 2
Conyers, Kwame Jackson, Bill Russell, Tavis Smiley, and Colin Kaepernick, 3
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NOW THEREFORE, 5
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 6
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 7
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THAT the Senate recognize Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., for its 9
positive impact upon its communities, the State of Arkansas, the nation, and 10
the world. 11
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, a copy of this resolution be 13
presented to the leadership of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., by the 14
Secretary of the Senate. 15
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