NIC Blog
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Celebrates Their 100th Anniversary
Reposted from the Herald Times:
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first African-American fraternity founded at Indiana University, Mayor Mark Kruzan deemed Thursday Kappa Alpha Psi Day in Bloomington. And during the opening ceremony of the fraternity's Centennial Pilgrimage at Dunn Meadow, Kruzan presented the organization with a commemorative plaque and commended the fraternity on its dedication to achievement and community service.
Thousands of members of the organization from across the country, along with their families, returned to IU to celebrate the organization's 80th Grand Chapter conclave and the centennial of the founding. The fraternity, begun Jan. 5, 1911, by 10 African-American college students, now has more than 150,000 members with 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state of the United States, as well as chapters internationally.
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"It is with immense pride that I represent this city as it celebrates 100 years of the fraternity bringing positive change to the community and inspiring young men," Kruzan said. "Today is a historic day (and) we look forward to the next 100 years."
Also during the ceremony, the first African-American drafted by the NFL as well as the first to play in the Big Ten, Indiana University alumnus George Taliaferro, was awarded Kappa Alpha Psi's Creating Inspiration Award. Taliaferro is also credited with inspiring the racial desegregation of the swimming facilities at IU.
"It is the effort (of the founders of Kappa Alpha Psi) that has been transformed into what you see and observe here today," Taliaferro said. "We are all better off for having had them in our lives."
Following the opening presentation, attendees visited various locations around Bloomington and on the IU campus that are significant to the history of the fraternity, such as the last fraternity house owned by Kappa Alpha Psi through IU, which now serves as the university police station at the intersection of 17th Street and Jordan Avenue.
Dr. Aubry Jones, Korean War veteran and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. since 1952, said he joined the fraternity because the members exemplified success and achievement and he wanted to be a part of an organization that upheld those values. He said he is also proud of how well the organization is represented by young members.
"I think the younger members are doing well. They are doing things in a different way and in a bigger and better way," he said. "All of us who are older members have inspired the younger members to achieve."
Jashaun Roebuck, a spring 2011 initiate into the fraternity, said the organization pushes him to be the best and also gives him a lifelong support system that will always motivate him to achieve in every aspect of his life.
"Joining the fraternity during the centennial year is the hugest thing," he said. "Being in the place where the fraternity was founded is so special and is everything I could ever ask for."
George Taliaferro chats with other attendees during the Kappa Alpha Psi celebration in Dunn Meadow Thursday. Taliaferro received the Creating Inspiration Award from the fraternity for his desegregation efforts on the IU campus. David Snodgress | Herald-Times
Thousands of members of Kappa Alpha Psi gather in Dunn Meadow Thursday for a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the predominantly African-American fraternity, which was founded at Indiana University.
Christopher Martin and James Griffin, Kappa Alpha Psi members from North Carolina, perform a song Thursday after the ceremony in Dunn Meadow. Thousands of members of Kappa Alpha Psi gathered for a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the fraternity founded at Indiana University.
