Vear 75, Issue 9 October 1998
H'OM/Hu ByBrotherLarryV.Norton,MemberAtLarge,MuLambdaChapt
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The following article is abrief history of Hu lambda published in honor of our 75th Anniversary. For some of you, this may be old hat while the younger brothers maynd quite it new. Whatever your position, we can all be reminded of the uniquely impressive historyofourchapter.Hopefully,itwillinspireallofustoslay"attheready”andmake light.
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historyforourbrothersyettoseethe
Mu I.aml)da Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha I'ratemity, Incorporated, was founded October
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1,1923,intheoldBetaChapterhouseof2447GeorgiaAvenue,NW-thepresentsiteof
the1lowardiuigiticeringSchool,l-oundcdastheeleventhgraduatealumnichapter,Mn
Lambda was established in
response to the desires of the graduate brothers in Washing¬ ton, many of them Iloward University alumni, who wished to set up agraduate unit for thccnselves, and to eventually give aid to the undergraduate brothers. ■ D
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1heCJiaptefcameintoexistenceina"taintedatmosphereandprejudicedsurroundings
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and "its members wanted to join themselves together in order to seek to make use of
theirunusedcitizenshipparticipation,deniedtothembyforcesstrongerthanthey w e r e ,
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when alone and working as individuals. It was in this spirit that Mu Lambda was £
launched nearly seventy- ve years ago, iuid has remained in the forefront of African American social and economic advancement ;uid equality,
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Nineteen brothers signed the initial application to establish Mu Lambda and delivered the
document to the of ce of General Secretary Norman 1-. McGhee, then employed in the of ce (jf tile Secrerary-’i'reasurer of Howard university, rother tunmett J, Scott. Mu Lambda's charter, dated October 1, 1923, was signed by the following, many of whom
hadbeenmembersofBetaChapter;(1)AuthurCurtis,(2)MerrillCurtis,(3)VictorDaly, (4) luigcnc L. C:. Davidson, (5) Walter CTarvin, (6) William ],. Ilansbcny, (7) lUlward W. Howard, (8) Joseph R. Jones, (9) R. I-'rank Jones, (10) John IMward Diweiy, (11)
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AswepreparetodedicateournewChapterHouseonSaturday,October3,1996, behooves it ustolookbackatatimewhenourpre¬ viousChapterHouseswereahubofcommunityactivity. ThefollowingarticleisexcerptedfromanarticlewrittenbyBrother].Leon Langhornandpublishedin TheSphinx, Summer1979edition.
After World War Iended and many brothers had nished college, there was astrong feeling tliar the way to demonstrate their fraternity loyalty was to organize agraduate chapter which would cooperate with the under-graduate body. Achapter-owned home would he ;m effective means of giving all members aconcrete sense o oyalty. In 1919, abond issue was oated and alor was purchased on (Teorgia Avenue. Then, in 1923, tJie graduate chapter of Mu Lambda was established with twenty-four members, and the hrorliers bought bricks for buying of the new house. In 1925, Beta-Mu Lambda (anporation, the body responsible for Alpha housing in D.(l, was formed. Brother C. (L
Ilouse served on its hoard for forty-one years, l.ater the Alpha lot was sold and this iTKjney provided the means for purchasing the rst Alpha-owned house, in 1928, located at 19171 bird Street, N.W. lliis event marked the beginning of the second episode of the Washington Alpha stc^ry.
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By Brother Melvin White, President, Mu Lambda Chapter
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