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Omega Psi Phi 100th Anniversary Reception at Carver Museum
It gave me chills. The men, from their twenties to their seventies, stood in a circle. As they sang a fraternal hymn, their deep voices rose up the cylindrical atrium, resounding through the galleries and hallways like a messenger from history.
Cletus Wilkins and Bernie Little
The men had gathered at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Omega Psi Phi, the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. On Nov. 17, 1911, three Howard University students and their faculty advisor launched group that was to include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Benjamin Hooks, Gov. Douglas Wilder, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.
Greg Warren and Jimmy Earl
I spoke about the fraternity’s structure and history with Jimmy Earl, associate director of the Frank Erwin Center, and Greg Warren, a Dell Inc. marketer who serves as the local graduate chapter’s Basileus, or president (the title is derived from a Greek word for king). I met some members who had studied at the University of Texas and others from far-flung schools (Omega Psi Phi counts more than 700 chapters).
Derek Spears and Eric Willis
I was not able to attend the subsequent banquet on Saturday, but I examined the artifacts in a Carver Museum historical exhibit dedicated to the 100th anniversary, which displayed photographs, pennants and other mementos. I also revisited the museum’s “Jumping the Broom” series on old Austin families. Gave me plenty of ideas for future ancestral stories.
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