89R14879 DSH-D
By: Miles, et al. S.R. No. 199
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Proud members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity are
gathering at the State Capitol on March 4, 2025, providing a fitting
opportunity to celebrate the fraternity's exceptional legacy of
civic engagement; and
WHEREAS, Launched at Cornell University on December 4, 1906,
Alpha Phi Alpha was the first intercollegiate Greek-letter
fraternity established by African Americans; founded by seven men
who came to be known as the "Jewels" of the organization, Alpha Phi
Alpha initially served as a study and support group for minority
students who were struggling against racial prejudice; these early
leaders laid the foundation for the fraternity's principles of
scholarship, fellowship, character, and the uplifting of humanity;
and
WHEREAS, In the years that followed, Alpha Phi Alpha chapters
were formed at other colleges across the nation; while the
fraternity placed a strong emphasis on the academic excellence of
its members, it also expanded its focus to address the educational,
economic, political, and social injustices faced by African
Americans and people of color around the world; over the decades,
many former Alpha Phi Alpha members have stood at the forefront of
the fight for civil rights, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul
Robeson, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Adam
Clayton Powell Jr., Edward Brooke, Andrew Young, and William Gray;
and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has been an interracial group since
1945 and now encompasses chapters across the United States; the
fraternity has an especially rich history in the Lone Star State,
which has been home to three of the organization's general
presidents, and a number of prominent Texas leaders are Alpha Phi
Alpha alumni; and
WHEREAS, For more than a century, Alpha Phi Alpha has worked
to foster a brotherhood of concerned citizens who devote themselves
to the greater good, and its members may indeed reflect with pride
on their organization's noteworthy tradition of activism and
achievement; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature
hereby recognize March 4, 2025, as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Day at
the State Capitol and extend to all those associated with the
organization sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the fraternity as an expression of high regard by the
Texas Senate.