The Mu Lambda Torch - June 2000

Message from the Presh)ent

Brother LeRoy Loyvery, III

j "It itm the best of times, it was the worst of times. ”-Charles Dickens. Tliose of you IthatattendedtheMuLambdaGalacanattesttothegrandtimehadbyall.Thegood news is that there were over 240 tickets sold and over S5000 in scholarships awarded to the seven Beaus. The bad news is 240 tickets were sold and $5000 in scholarships were given out We can do more, we must do more! Alocal sorority chap¬ ter member told me that there were 14 debutantes in their Cotillion that netted $70,000 for their charitable foundation. This summer we wilt have achapter retreat to discuss, among other things, how to make the Gala bigger, how to increase fratemalism, how we can improve community service, and what are attainable goals for agroup of 150 college-trained men. Kudos to the Gala Committee, chaired by Brother Keith Kubweza Johnson! And ashout out to the Callis Fund for bestowing $4000 in scholarships. There were two donations to the Mu Lambda Foundation that impressed me a great deal —the Brothers of Beta Chapter gave $100 to the worthy cause, and Mrs. Cynthia Belton, the mother of aformer Beau, gave $100. She happened to be at UDC during one of the rehearsals, dropped by to watch, and wrote the check in fond remem¬ brance of the work done with her son, Larr>' Harris, who was aBeau in 1996. Lany graduated from Tufts in May, having served the past year as the student body presi¬ dent. Tfind it extremely gratifying when positive influences are made by the Brotliers of Mu Lambda! Ifind it equally disappointing when Iknow there was more that could have been done with an expenditure of the same amount of energy,

leadership of the chapter, the Corporation, and the Foundation at the last meeting. Congratulations to each Brother elected to aposition with either entity. You are obvi¬ ously thought well of by at least amajority of Brothers in the chapter, and you are summarily charged to live up to those expectations by holding the light of Alpha high. On apersonal note, Ithank you for to allowing me to serve you one more year. To those who have served so graciously in the past, thank you for your energy, your spirit, and your sacrifices. You have left an indelible mark in the annals of Mu Lambda. It is almost frightening to think that 10 months have gone by since the current Chapter leadership was sworn in last September. Time truly flies when one is having fun! We have reached some of our goals and had fun along the way. There have been disagreements, sure, but none that will cause irreparable harm. As aBrotherhood the 150 financial members of Mu Lambda are aformidable force indeed. Thave had dis¬ cussions with associates that cannot understand why the continuation of fraternal in¬ volvement after college days are completed. They cannot be expected to understand that the irue meaning of Brotherhood cannot be confined to the four years of school. Once developed, it does not fade, not if it was truly present in the first place. We’ve only just begun, the journey is never over -onward and upward toward the light! “06

Committee Reports

EducationCommittee-BrotherLeeBurge,Chairman,

Montgomery ElementaiyTrip to Six Flags (TBA) 421 PStreet, NW

Montgomery Elementary Kickoff GTHSGTC 2000

Project Alpha 2000

Community Service event

BrotherWilliamThomasisrecuperatingfromastrokeinSibleyHospital.Keephim iIBrodierAbrahamWiliiams,aBetaEpsiloninitiateandformerMuLambdamember lama on Aprii z9th.

in your prayers was flineralized in At-

Leadership Development Institute 2000

TheLeadershipDevelopmentInstitute(LDI) is uponusagain.Whilethis is aprojectoftheEasternRegionof fnce Brm£ since its incipicommitteehavebeenworkinghardtomakethisLDIthebestthatwehave everhad_ITiedatesareJune21-24,2000.andagain,mostoftheworkshopswillbeheldonthecampusof HowardUniversity in theBlackburnCenter.Wearelookingforward to yoursupport in makingthis ^ Details will be presented at the June chapter meeting.^ asuccess.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

1st

June M Congratulations to the Spring 2000 Beta Chapter Initiates Langston Emerson Thomas

MonthlyMuLambdameeting,7.06p.m. BlackburnStudentCenter,HowardUniversity AlphaWives50thAnniversaryCelebration,J.W. Marriott Hotel, 14th St &Penn. Ave, NW, 6PM For tickets -Mrs. Maiy Kelly, 202-726-5906

MuLambdaFoundation,1717DeSalesNW,7PM

Leadership Development Institute, Howard Univ.

MAACpicnicatAcredalePark,CollegePark,MD;12 noon until 5p.m.

(202) 291-3129

/. modroy(^erols.com

Vice-President ^ EdadnJEJtowiedrIII (703) 241-0313

norwoode^gwu. edu

(202)832-4203

Director of Education »/*vv''

(703) 960-8034) V blegaitd@scs. Howard, edit Sergeant at Recording Earl'Vi P.oQj^_ (202) 544-5596

Kenneth F. Holbert (301)907-8179

Kenneih_F.JJolberi(^Jiud.gov

Curtis A. Hunigan (301) 868-5716

Julius H, Brice f^(202) 526-7368

Riehard £, WilsoaJJ 9*^703)313-0186 C Richard_Wilson(^ed.gov

^sHtial?Editor Sphinx Julius Hall (301)399-7106

jayray59(^iotmail. com ■tameaX-Speigbt? iii (202) 582-4814 202251}253@mobile.ait.net

Kuipiiii^j. I'JuilUll (703) 684-2978 kl9c06n'dnoI.com

James T. Robinson,

A. Gilbert Douglass (202) 667-3390

■Kennett^ Higgin^-,, (703) 683-4993 kennhig@aol. com

(301) 292-2921 pretjiiceU(ajiol cm_

Damion A. Rowe

(301) 559-5685 damro22@aol. com

Melvin White (202) 462-3635 mwhile(@mwe.com.

George

Larry

Richard

The above amounts include the late fees assessed after November

Send payment to Brother Julius H. Brice, Finan¬ cial Secretary, PO Box 29509, Washington, DC 20017

Chapter Of fi cers

President

Vice-President

Recording Secretary

Treasurer

Financial Secretary

Corresponding Secretary

Associate Editor to the Sphinx

Director of intake

Chaplain

Historian

Director of Education

Sergeant-at-Arms

Parliamentarian

'Archivist

Member-at-Large

1999 Intake Class President

Immediate Past President

Chapter Election Results

LeRoy Lowery, HI

Edwin F, Norton, III

Kenneth F. Holbert

Curtis A. Hunigan

Julius H. Brice

Richard E. Wilson, II

Julius Hall

James T. Speight, III

Albert Carr

Brian Haliburton

Eric Mitchell

Cornell Kinard

A. Gilbert Douglass

Kenneth Higgins

Isaac Prentice

Arthur Fields

Melvin Wliite

Beta Mu Lambda Corporation Board of Directors*

Three-year term to end in 2003

1. Morris Hawkins, Jr.

2. Louis Ford.

.3. jonn D. Koper.

4. Kenneth Caudle

5. Dorsey Evans

Henry Arthur Callis Scholarship Fund

Three-year term to end in 2003

1Paul A. Cotton

2Elmer D. Geathers

3William A. Hawkins, Jr.

4Curtis A. Hunigan -

5Frederick J. Laney

Two year term to end in 2002

1Anthony Metoyer

2Brian J. Moore

3John D. Roper

4Troy Barbour

5William D. Thomas

One-year term to end in 2001

1Nathaniel Williams

2Cornell Kinard

3John Goins

Board of Governors, Mu Lambda Foundation

Three-year term to end in 2003

1Douglas'Sands

2Paul Hoggard

3Torn ac

4Arthur Fields

5Edwin F. Norwood, HI

Guest Speaker for June Meeting

*Thanks to the efforts of Brothers Morris Hawkins and Keno Caudle, Brother Ronald V. Dellums, retired U.S. Representative from California, has agreed to be our “Thurgood Marshall Lecturer” for the June 1st nieeting.Hismessagewillbeopentothepublicbeginningat7:30PM.Youwillnotwanttomissthisop¬ portunity to see and hear this living legacy. The business portion of the meeting will begin at 7:06 PM.

Henry Arthur Calus Fund

Brother W. “Tony” Hawkins and the Callis Fund Committee bestowed scholarships of $1000.00 each to the following high school students —Tirra Crossland, Michael Knowlon, n, Nolan Parker, and Brian Jones (a Beau). Congratulations and best wishes to each of the recipients.

If you failed to receive vour ballot for the General President's election, fax the following letter to (410^554-0054 bv June 1: YourName,Address,SocialSecurityNumber,and/orLifeMemberNumber,MuLambdaChapter,KeyNumber111

TO: Bro. Seaton White, Interim Executive Director, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., ,2313 St. Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218 Dear Bro. White:

Iam aBrother in Good Standing with the Mu Lambda Chapter ofAlpht PhiAlpha Fraternity, Inc. This letter is to hereby attest thatasofthedateofthisletter,IhavenotreceivedmyballotfortheOflh-eof31stGeneralPresident.Pleasesendmeareplace¬ ment ballot to the following address, at the earliest possible convenience, io that Imight participate in this historic electoral proc¬ ess: Thank you for your time and consideration in this most important matter. Fraternally, (Your Signature Must be Affixed)

rAn American Legacy —Mu Lambda’s Wesley Speller

BrotherWesleyBernardSpeller’slifehasspannedthreecenturies.Hewasbomin1899andrecentlycele¬ brated his 101®‘ birthday on February 18,2000. Brother Speller’s father, Turner Roscoe Speller, and his mother, GeorgiaSpeller,werebothteachersinNorthCarolinainthelate1800s.TurnerSpelleralsodistinguishedhimselfand theSpellerfamilybyservingtwoterms(1883-1887)intheNorthCarolinaLegislatureduringtheReconstmctionera. This was ararified era for blacks who had for the first time obtained the right to vote throughout the South. Turner SpellermovedhiswifeandthirteenchildrentoWashington,DC,whereheacceptedagovernmentappointmentinthe U.S.ForestiyDepartment,nowtheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.Thevalueofeducationandself-worthwerethus firmly embedded in the Speller clan and is evident even today.

The Speller family owned afarm and lived in the sparsely populated northeast quadrant of Washington, near Gallaudet University. Even during tough economic times for blacks, die family always had ample food and Brother Speller believes that his longevity is owed to alifelong healthy diet.

Brother Speller worked firom the age of nine as ashoeshine boy. He enrolled in Dunbar High School, then perhapsthepremiersecondaryinstitutionforblacksinthenation.TherehewastaughtbyCarterG.Woodson,thefa¬ ther of black history, and many other great teachers.

Any chronicle of Brother Speller’s life without an acknowledgment of the incredible role of his wife Lucy would be woefully inadequate. The couple has been married for 67 years. It was obvious that their lasting bond is what matters most in their lives. Mrs. Speller added that the marriage never would have lasted if either one of them had not been fiercely independent with their own interests and hobbies. “I was agolf widow”, she joked. Brother Speller,shenoted,spentmanyanafternoononthegolfcoursewithhislifelongfiiend,nowdeceasedMuLambda member. Brother Charles Baltimore.

Brother Speller was initiated into the ftatemitj' at Howard University’s Beta Chapter in the Depression. He recalled that he had to borrow apair of trousers firom Brother Charlie Baltimore, who had already become aBeta member, for his induction ceremony.

“I would have been aJewel if Icould have joined at the age of seven,” Speller joked. Fraternal life in the timeofSpeller’searlymembershipwassuchthatheknewalloftheJewelsandeventaughtschoolwithoneofthem, Jewel Brother Murray, at the oldArmstrong High School in Washington. It is reported by his vrife that even today he be heard to sing the fraternal hymn to himself in their upstairs den. Mrs. Speller proudly recalled the recent visit by“theBetasandtheMuLambdas”atthe10birthdaycelebrationforBrotherSpellerandfondlyspeaksofbrothers such as Mu Lambda member John Roper who maintains contact and offers ahelping hand when needed.

The most enduring legacy of Brother Speller has to be his willingness to help those less fortunate throughout his life. The Spellers took in and supported many less fortunate children and paid the tuition for many of their adopted family members. Brother Speller also spent four years in theAfiican country of Liberia on apublic health team spearheaded by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1940s.

Near the conclusion of my visit with Brother Speller, Iasked him to share some of his wisdom with the broth¬ ers of Mu Lambda. Brother Speller looked down as if to contemplate then bleakly added: “Tell the brothers that growingoldishell”,thendroppedhishead.IturnedtoMrs.Spellerwhovigorouslyprotestedhiscasualresponse. Shethenquipped,“well,don’taskmetohelp,Inevergetanywisdomoutofhim;allhegivesmeisthedevil”.As1 preparedtodepart—sanswisdom—BrotherSpellersmiledshylyandsaid:“Tellthebrothersthatlifeisablessing.” After along Alpha grip Ireluctantly departed. Iwas overtaken with asense and afeeling that Ihad just been graced with awonderful and rare fraternal experience and aglimpse of the richness of our storied past.

~Written by Brother Julius Hall

Alpha Accolades

Congratulations to the following Brothers for their acr demic accomplishments: Brother Robert M. Brown, III and Brother Paul A. Cotton, received Ph.Ds. from How; ird University Brother Shawn Calloway, received his Masters decree from Catholic University

AtFirstandBryantStreets,NW,nearHowardUniversityandtheLeDroitParkHistoricDistrict,the Beta-MuLambdaCorporationhaspurchasedanimposingresidence,andisintheprocessofrenovatingit forafraternityhouse.Thisdistinguishedsemi-detacheddwelling,formallyknownastheNewberryHouse, was heavily booked for ele¬ gant wedding receptions and other memorable events. Later it was the headquarters of Howard University’s Wesley Foundation.

This attractive three story Colonial, brick structure is located on an 8,000 square foot plot with alarge side yard, suitable for off-street parking. The gracious spaces inside the house include a large center foyer with grand staircase, large living and din¬ ing rooms, library, Florida room, five bedrooms, three and one-half baths, kitchen, andfullbasement.Highceilings,woodpaneling,woodfloors,leadedglasswindows,andfireplaceswith mantels,addtothecharmofthislovelydwelling.Plansfortherenovationandexpansion,designedby Baker Cooper &Associates, will restore the elegant residence to its original quality. The design also takes intoaccountthegreatpotentialforexpansionofthisimpressivebuilding-amajorvirtueoftheproperty.

Renovation of the structure is the first priority of the organization. The basement will provide a meetingroomlargeenoughtoaccommodatethenormalturnoutforMuLambdaChaptermeetings.Atoi¬ let, storage room, and space for mechanical-electrical equipment are also located on the lowest level. Ma¬ jorroomsinthehouseareonthefirstfloor,whichgivethehouseitscharmingimage.Twolargereception rooms, alibrary, foyer, and kitchen make up the main level. On the second floor, offices and conference rooms are provided, along with coat rooms and additional toilets. The third floor will contain acaretaker’s apartment, archival storage, and general storage.

In the initial phase, ramps will be provided to enable persons who are physically challenged to enter the first floor and basement. Off-street parking will be provided on the east side of the property, and there are considerable numbers of parking spaces on First Street along the McMillan Reservoir.

Expansion of the house will make it an outstanding location for conferences, dinners and other cial events. One of the important elements in the expansion program is an elevator that will provide to all levels of the structure. The primary addition to the building will be alarge meeting room. By the use cf afolding partition, this room will open into one of the existing reception rooms to create aspace for gatherings of 100 persons banquet style. Additional toilet rooms will be located beneath this meeting room. When finished, this Alpha House will not only contn ue the warm tradition of its predecessors, but also facilitate the creation of ahigher level of service to the cv^mmunity.