Welcome to the Divine Nine News column, a space in the AmNews that was created to announce events, spotlight programs, and profile members of Black Greek letter organizations, along with showcasing their accomplishments. This is a dedicated resource for sharing news about chapters worldwide and member organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc.
We look forward to hearing about your chapter’s upcoming events or ideas for profiles of your organization or members who are doing great things in the communities you serve. Connect with us. Tell us about your in-person, virtual, or hybrid events at amsterdamnews.com/d9news and d9@amsterdamnews.com.
In the meantime, we are honored to have Willis L. Lonzer, III, general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. serve as a Divine Nine guest columnist, especially during this week as his organization celebrates their Founders’ Day.
A message from Willis L. Lonzer, III, Ph.D.
General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.®
The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded on Dec. 4, 1906, by seven college men at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. The founders, eventually designated as “Jewels,” were Henry A. Callis, Charles H. Chapman, George B. Kelly, Nathaniel A. Murray, Robert H. Ogle, Vertner W. Tandy, and Eugene K. Jones.
The concept of a fraternity for African American men was well received by the broader African American community at universities in the United States and Canada. This resulted in rapid linear growth of the fraternity through the establishment of Alpha Phi Alpha collegiate chapters at multiple universities around the United States, and even the establishment of the first alumni chapter in 1911 in Louisville, Ky. As a result, Alpha Phi Alpha became the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity in the world established for men of African American descent. Today, Alpha Phi Alpha has 850 chapters for college/university and alumni members on the continents of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has continued to promote its foundational aims of manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind, as well as its motto: First of all, servants of all, we shall transcend all. These tenets are echoed by the mission statement of the fraternity: “Alpha Phi Alpha develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities.”
The mission statement of the fraternity is reflected through its wide-reaching programs. These programs, originally designated as “national programs” because the fraternity’s community advocacy was primarily in the United States, are now global due to the placement of its chapters internationally. They are “Go to High School, Go to College (University)” — Education; “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People” — Civic Engagement; Project Alpha — Mentoring; and “Brother’s Keeper — Respect for Our Elders and Family is impactful in the communities that we serve.
The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity also conducts philanthropic programming initiatives with the March of Dimes, Good Health Wins, the Boy Scouts of America, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.
Alpha Phi Alpha historic and prominent members include civil rights activists Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John H. Johnson, NAACP founder W.E.B. DuBois, John Mack, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Cornell West, and Dick Gregory; government leaders U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, President of the Republic of Liberia H.E. Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., Jamaican Prime Minister Norman Manley, Justice Thurgood Marshall, United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, New York City Mayor David Dinkins; musicians Duke Ellington, Donny Hathaway, Lionel Ritchie, Gerald Albright; actors Hill Harper, Omari Hardwick, Darryl Bell, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Tim Reid, Joseph C. Phillips, Will Packer, Christian Keyes, Kevin Powell, Barry Jenkins, Rusty Cundieff, Benny Boom, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; media figures Roland Martin, Stuart Scott, Stan Verrett; businessman Robert Smith; athletes and sports figures Leonard “Lenny” Wilkins, Jesse Owens, Mike Powell, Quinn Buckner, Wes Chandler, Eddie Robinson, Fritz Pollard, Art Shell, Charles Haley, Gene Upshaw, Wes Unseld, Carnell Lake, and Eric Davis; and many others.
General President Willis L. Lonzer, III, Ph.D. is a leader in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, business, and his community with more than 30 years of experience as a trained biomedical scientist, including more than 24 years of global pharmaceutical research and development and global medical affairs experience. A native of Richmond, Va., he matriculated to Delaware State University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry with a minor in German. While at Delaware State, he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. through the Gamma Sigma Chapter on Nov. 15, 1986. After college, he attended graduate school, pursuing an interest in biomedicine. He holds a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of Akron. Lonzer was a postdoctoral fellow and researcher in physiology and biophysics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.