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Why Alpha? II
OMG, I TOTALLY forgot to write the rest of my Alpha Story. Unless I already did and mis-categorized it. (Part I is here.)
Well, here it is....
So I became crazy active with Alpha Phi Omega as an undergrad. Became Vice-President of Communications (Second in Command) and then Pledgemaster. I LOVED my Alpha Phi Omega experience at Georgetown. It is one of the best things I did. (Along with living in the Black House and founding the GU Step Team.)
Speaking of the Black House.... it was there that I lived with Justin McLaughlin-Williams, who was an Alpha and very close friend of Maya Buseman-Williams. At first I was like "OH LAWD I'MA HATE THIS NEGRO." But it wasn't like that AT ALL. This was one of the coolest, funniest, smartest dudes I had ever met at Georgetown. And the BEST part was that he FULLY accepted me. I had this notion that he might be this ultra macho homophobic man's man -- well, he was everything but homophobic.
Justin, to me, IS Alpha Phi Alpha. Not because he's all super active in the fraternity, but because he was the very first person in Alpha that I looked up to. He was my friend first. Then, through his life, he showed me what Alpha was all about. He never once recruited me...nor do I think he thought I was remotely interested.
And truthfully, I wasn't! I was so wrapped up in APO that I wasn't even thinking about my NPHC quest.
When Justin graduated, I wrote an article for The Georgetown Academy, which was a conservative, traditionalist, Catholic, pro-freedom of association magazine/newspaper. I was not into the conservative aspects of the rag, but I loved the fact that all of the articles were well-written. Hell, I like anything that opposes the norm, whether it is on my side of the argument or not. Well argued debates.
At any rate, this article I wrote was titled "Shuttered Legacy" and it was about how Georgetown's non-recognition of black greek orgs was hurting the university. My "hook" was how much of a shame it was that Georgetown's ONE Alpha had graduated without leaving behind a legacy. How Georgetown itself had a role in killing that legacy.
Damn that was a great article. And to think, I wasn't even interested in Alpha when I wrote it! (I don't think most people believe that, but I really wasn't.)
But this is what happened....as I was researching and editing the article, I had a conversation with myself. It went something like this:
"Hmmm...W.E.B. DuBois is an Alpha. That's hot."
"Wow....Thurgood Marshall, MLK, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Cornel West, Kelley Miller, Hubert Humphrey...."
"Hmmmmm...... 'Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind'......those are some tight cardinal principles."
"Justin is really cool. So are his chapter brothers."
"You know....those Alpha teachers I had in high school weren't THAT bad."
Then I started to internalize the history.... seven men at Cornell University, a school not unlike Georgetown...racial isolation...daring to start something that had never been done before.... those men sounded like me, kinda.
So, I had decided that the history resonated with me, and the prominent members were people I aspired to be like....but what about the programs?
Go-to-High School, Go to College. Hmmm. I believe in that.
A Voteless People is a Hopeless People. You damn right!
Project Alpha. Yeah...that's a right program.
So, the national programs were projects that reflected my personal values.
But what about the BROTHERHOOD? Could I stand in a room full of Alphas and feel comfortable? Could I feel PROUD? Are these men in line with what I believe in socially, politically, morally? And if we differ, can I respect those differences.
The answer was yes.
So during my senior year in college, I chose Alpha.
Two years later, in Spring 2003, through the oldest alumni chapter in Washington, DC, Alpha chose me.
Posted by Rashid on October 3, 2005 8:23 PM
Comments
That was a tight story. I was waiting for part II for a while. It's always nice to hear NPHC members "before we cross over" stories.
Unfortunately, You went the wrong way, LOL! Its all about, "Achievement in every field of human endeavore!"
Much luv!
Commented by Dwayne Wayne on October 4, 2005 10:10 AM
Great story! I also know Justin pretty well and your right when you say he embodies the modern Alpha man.
Peace!
Commented by Hagos Hoard on October 26, 2006 8:48 PM