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PULTENEY STREET SURVEY - FALL 2018

Alpha Phi Alpha Honors MLK

Alpha Phi Alpha

Members of the Rochester alumni chapter (Eta Rho
Lambda) and the Hobart chapter (Upsilon Pi) of Alpha
Phi Alpha fraternity gather at Mount Olive Baptist Church
in Geneva to honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of King's death in April.

Hobart’s chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first fraternity established for African American men, led a citywide celebration of the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, the 50th anniversary of his death.

“A lot of the issues for which Dr. King lived and died are still relevant 50 years later, and we must ask where we go from here,” says Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Dean of Students Montrose Streeter, a member of the fraternity who helped organize the forum. “Hopefully we are compelled to take up the torch and continue to work together as a community toward a more equitable and just world.”

The forum included a keynote address from Assistant Professor of Political Science and Chair of Africana Studies Justin Rose, as well as remarks from local NAACP president Lucile Mallard L.H.D. ’15 and brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha.

“The 50th anniversary makes me understand that our heroes only become more important and relevant with time,” says then Alpha Phi Alpha President Sadeek Walker ’18, who now works for the law firm Sidley Austin LLP in New York City. “In my early college years, I came to realize that Dr. King is arguably the most important American leader of the 20th century. Growing up, I understood Dr. King as a civil rights hero, but within the past few years, I’ve come to understand his role as a global leader.”

Alpha Phi Alpha was formed at HWS in 2014 and officially inducted its inaugural chapter of 14 students last fall. Founded at Cornell University in 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha has since supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world. The fraternity has been interracial since 1945.

In addition to leading the MLK 50 event, Alpha Phi Alpha is developing three initiatives to increase voter turnout and graduation rates in the Geneva community. The chapter also joins its national organization in supporting Project Alpha, an initiative dedicated to providing social support to young men between the ages of 12 and 15.

“In the short amount of time since I’ve become an Alpha man, I have been extremely impressed with the growth each of our members has experienced,” says Almamy Conde ’18, who graduated with a major in economics and is now a sales and marketing associate at Bozzuto Group. “We began as 14 individuals and ended up becoming brothers throughout the process.”