Step in time

First black fraternity celebrates 100th anniversary

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Tweet They step in rhythm. They practice until they can step together making one sound with each movement — with the sounds of their feet and clapping. Their chanting is so quick, the untrained ear is unable to decipher what they say.

These were the sights and sounds of seven members from Alpha Phi Alpha, as they chanted and stepped in rhythm during a show to commemorate the 100th birthday of their fraternity.

"We're the first black fraternity to turn 100," said Rahsaan Lewis, the chapter's vice president. "That's 100 years of struggle and progression. More than anything, it's a celebration of excellence."

About 50 students stopped by the Administration Building on Tuesday to observe the fraternity, which held a step show to honor its legacy, said Bryan Cotton, president of the MSU chapter.

On Dec. 4, 1906, seven men founded the fraternity at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. It was originally founded as a study group for black men who faced racism and prejudice, said Dominic Adams, historian of the fraternity and civil engineering junior.

"When it first started, people thought it was a joke," Adams said. "In 1906, there weren't many black college students at all. It just shows that we have what it takes to make a dynasty."

The step show featured the performance of seven brothers — but even though the number seven has significance for the fraternity, the group size was just a coincidence, Cotton, a jazz studies senior, said.

"It's kind of eerie that there will be seven people stepping, especially because my fraternity was founded by seven men," he said.

In a time when racism was alive in everyday activities, the founders created an all-black organization, Lewis, a communication senior, said.

"They paved the way, not only for our organization, but for all African Americans," he said.

The MSU chapter, Zeta Delta, was founded in 1948 and continues to uphold the values the organization was founded upon, which include scholarship and the love for all mankind, Lewis said.

"Alpha doesn't make good men — it makes better men," he said. Alpha Phi Alpha has had many notable brothers over time, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and music legend Lionel Richie.

"To me, being in Alpha Phi Alpha means to be in a real brotherhood, and it means that I am charged to carry on a legacy that was set upon me by the founders of my organization," Cotton said.

Today, the fraternity participates in community projects, including their program, "A Voteless People is a Hopeless People."

The initiative was created to promote black voting rights when blacks didn't have much of a voice in America, Cotton said.

Eventually, it turned into a program to register voters.

"With the campaign, if you don't vote, you can't complain about what's going on," he said. "The program has to deal with conveying the message of how important voting is."

In addition to registering voters, the fraternity started a program called Project Alpha. The project educates young men about sex and the ramifications of teenage sexual intercourse and pregnancy.

"More students are becoming sexually active younger and younger," Cotton said.

"But the kinds of conversations that need to happen with these students are happening less and less."

The fraternity values helping the community because the seven men who founded the fraternity left a legacy of excellence that should be maintained today, Lewis said.

"We've paved the way for organizations for the last 100 years for humanity, and I look forward to us doing it for the next 100 years," he said.

Lindsay Machak can be reached at machakli@msu.edu.

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