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On Friday
evening, November 17, 1911, three
Howard University
undergraduate students, with the assistance of their faculty
adviser, gave birth to the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
This event occurred in the office of biology
Professor Ernest E. Just,
the faculty adviser, in the Science Hall (now known as
Thirkield Hall).
The three liberal arts students were
Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper and Frank
Coleman.
From the initials of the Greek phrase meaning "friendship is
essential to the soul," the name Omega Psi Phi was derived.
The phrase was selected as the motto. Manhood, scholarship,
perseverance and uplift were adopted as cardinal principles.
A decision was made regarding the design for the pin and
emblem, and thus ended the first meeting of the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
.
The next meeting was conducted
on November 23, 1911. Edgar Love became the first Grand
Basileus (National President). Cooper and Coleman were
selected Grandkeeper of the Records (National Secretary) and
Grandkeeper of Seals (National Treasurer), respectively.
Eleven Howard University undergraduate men were selected as
charter members.
Alpha
Chapter
was organized with fourteen charter members on December 15,
1911. Love,
Cooper and Coleman
were elected the chapter's first Basileus, Keeper of
Records, and Keeper of Seals, respectively. On March 8,
1912, the previously submitted fraternity constitution was
rejected by the Howard University Faculty Council. The
Faculty Council proposed to accept the fraternity as a local
but not a national organization. The fraternity refused
acceptance as a strictly local organization.
Oscar
Cooper
became the fraternity's second Grand Basileus in 1912.
Cooper
authorized the investigation of a proposed second chapter at
Lincoln University,
Pennsylvania.
Edgar Love
was elected as the third Grand Basileus in 1912 and served
until 1915. In 1914,
Howard University
withdrew its opposition, and the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
was incorporated under the laws of the
District of Columbia
on October 28, 1914. Beta Chapter at
Lincoln University
was chartered in February, 1914. George E. Hall, the fourth
Grand Basileus, had been initiated at Alpha Chapter in 1914.
Grand Basileus Hall authorized the establishment of
Gamma Chapter
in Boston, Massachusetts. However, the chapter was
eventually established during the administration of the
fifth Grand Basileus, James C. McMorries. During the
administration of the sixth Grand Basileus, Clarence F.
Holmes, the fraternity's first official hymn, "Omega Men
Draw Nigh", was written by Otto Bohannon. Raymond G.
Robinson, the seventh Grand Basileus, established
Delta Chapter
in Nashville, Tennessee in 1919. Robinson left office in
1920 with a total of ten chapters in operation. Stanley
Douglas served as Editor of the first Oracle
published in the spring of 1919. Harold K. Thomas, the
eighth Grand Basileus, was elected at the 1920 Nashville
Grand Conclave. It was at this Conclave that Carter G.
Woodson inspired the establishment of National Achievement
Week to promote the study of Negro life and history. The
1921 Atlanta Grand Conclave brought to an end the first
decade of the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
INTERNAL GROWTH
In 1922, Grand Basileus J. Alston Atkins appointed the first
District Representatives. Today, there are eleven such
officers who are elected annually by the district
conferences/meetings. In 1922, the office of Vice Grand
Basileus was created. The Grand Keeper of Records became the
Grand Keeper of the Records and Seal. The first Omega
Bulletin was published in 1928. Campbell C. Johnson was the
Editor. "Omega Dear" was adopted as the official hymn in
1931. Two faculty from Howard University,
Charles R. Drew,
Professor of Surgery, and Mercer Cook, Professor of
Languages, were the composers. Cook wrote the music and
first stanza; Drew wrote the last two stanzas.
THE FORTIES
The Omega "Sweetheart Song", with words and music by Don Q.
Pullen, was adopted as the official sweetheart song by the
1940 Nashville Grand Conclave. Founder Ernest E. Just
entered Omega Chapter in 1941. In 1941, Dr. Charles Drew
perfected the use of blood plasma as a life saving tool.
William Hastie resigned as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of
War in protest against discrimination in the Armed Forces.
He was later appointed Governor of the Virgin Islands by
President Truman. In 1949, the first National Headquarters
Building at 107 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
was purchased.
H. Carl Moultrie,
I was selected to serve as the first National Executive
Secretary. In 1949, the scholarship fund was renamed the
Charles R. Drew Memorial Scholarship Fund.
THE FIFTIES
During this era, the thrust was social change. Thousands of
Omega men in every area of the country were actively
involved in the fight to eliminate racial discrimination. An
entire book could be written about this phase of Omega
activities. The 1955 Los Angeles Grand Conclave initiated a
program whereby each graduate chapter would purchase a Life
Membership from the NAACP. Between 1955 and 1959, chapters
contributed nearly $40,000 to the NAACP. In the fifties,
Omega Psi Phi took an official position against hazing as a
fraternity activity. This anti-hazing position remains in
effect today, and the policy banning hazing has been
strengthened.
THE SIXTIES
The struggle for social justice shifted into high gear.
Brothers were active participants in the "sit-ins" and other
demonstrations designed to call attention to the plight of
black Americans. Undergraduate brothers especially were
involved in the demonstrative aspect of the civil rights
struggle. In 1961, the Washington, D.C. Grand Conclave did
an excellent job of highlighting the fifty years of
accomplishments by Omega. Brothers attended the 1961 Golden
Anniversary Conclave in record numbers. Founders Love,
Cooper, and Coleman were present. Thirteen of twenty-three
former Grand Basilei were in attendance. Young brothers had
the once-in-a-life-time opportunity to mingle with some of
the greatest black men that America had produced. The Golden
Anniversary Conclave authorized $140,000-$150,000 for the
construction of a new National Headquarters Building in
Washington, D.C. In 1964, the new National Headquarters
Building was dedicated. The building was a dream come true
and was the first building of its type to be built by a
black fraternity. Founders Love, Cooper and Coleman
participated in the ceremonies. The name was later changed
to the International Headquarters. It was located at 2714
Georgia Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. Robert H.
Lawrence (in 1966) was selected as the first Black to serve
in the Astronaut Program. Lawrence had earned a Ph.D. Degree
in chemistry at Ohio State University. Founder Frank Coleman
entered Omega Chapter in 1967. The 1968 Charlotte Grand
Conclave mandated a Constitutional Convention for the
revision of the Constitution and By-Laws as well as the
Ritual. The Convention was held in Atlanta in 1969.
THE SEVENTIES
The newly revised Constitution and By-Laws and the Ritual
became effective at the close of the 1970 Pittsburgh Grand
Conclave. H. Carl Moultrie I, Omega's only National
Executive Secretary to this point, was appointed as a judge
to the Superior Court of Washington, D.C., in 1972.
Moultrie's resignation was accepted with regrets. Omega
conferred upon Moultrie the title of National Executive
Secretary Emeritus which was later changed to Executive
Secretary Emeritus. The Seventies brought more unpleasant
news. Founder Oscar J. Cooper entered Omega Chapter in 1972.
In 1974, Edgar A. Love, the only surviving founder, entered
Omega Chapter. On November 16, 1975, an impressive granite
monument was dedicated to the memory of the four founders.
The monument is just a few feet away from Thirkield Hall,
the site of Omega's birth place on the Howard University
Campus. A revived Life Membership Program resulted in a very
large number of new Life Members. The 1976 Atlanta Grand
Conclave was the largest in the history of the fraternity up
to that point in time. Many new undergraduate chapters were
chartered, because of the increased enrollment of black
students at previously all-white colleges and universities.
"Operation Big Vote" was successful in getting thousands of
black people to vote in the 1976 election. Many Omegas were
active participants. The 1979 Denver Grand Conclave made a
commitment to contribute a minimum of 250,000 dollars to the
United Negro College Fund over the next five years.
THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES
In 1981,
the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity endowed its first Omega Faculty
Chair. Rust College, Holly Springs, Mississippi, was the
recipient. President W.A. McMillan stated that the Chair
would be used to promote the humanities. The fraternity
completed its 250,000 dollars contribution to the United
Negro College Fund, an organization under the direction of
Christopher Edley, and approved a plan to continue the
annual gift of 50,000 dollars to that organization in
perpetuity. The fraternity accelerated its financial support
to the National Urban League. Mr. John Jacobs, Executive
Director of the Urban League, participated in Grand
Conclaves on a regular basis. Jesse Jackson, former
president of Operation PUSH and founder of the Rainbow
Coalition, attended Grand Conclaves on a regular basis and
received support for these organizations as well as for his
1984 and 1988 campaigns for the presidency of the United
States.
The
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Grand Conclave celebration was
deemed the single most significant event on Omega's horizon.
The dates selected were July 25-August 1, 1986 in
Washington, D.C., the city of Omega's birth. It was the
largest Conclave ever. Grand Basileus Moses C. Norman, Sr.,
elected at the 1984 Louisville Grand Conclave, appointed a
committee to review the structure and operations of the
fraternity as a means of future focus. In 1984, John S. Epps
was selected as only the fifth Omega Man to wear the title
of Executive Secretary. In 1990, the title was changed to
Executive Director. Two revised methods of bringing members
into the fraternity were approved by the organization.
Pledging was abolished and the new Membership Selection and
Education Program came into being on August 1, 1985. In
April, 1991, the new Membership Intake Program was
implemented. Initial plans were begun for the writing of an
updated history of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. H.
Carl Moultrie, I, Executive Secretary Emeritus and Ronald E.
McNair, noted Astronaut, entered Omega Chapter. Don Q.
Pullen and W. Mercer Cook also entered Omega Chapter.
Omega
continued to flourish, largely because Founders Love,
Cooper, Coleman and Just were men of the very highest ideals
and intellect. The Founders selected and attracted men of
similar ideals and characteristics. It is not by accident
that many of America's great black men are/were Omega Men.
To this date, there are very few Americans whose lives have
not been touched by a member of the Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity.
Omega
has a rich heritage to be protected, celebrated and
enhanced!
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Winslow
Township
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