CAC History Speech for centennial

 Kappa Alpha Psi is the second oldest existing collegiate historically Black Greek letter organization and the first intercollegiate fraternity incorporated as a national body.

The Founders were God-fearing and serious-minded young men with the vision, imagination, ambition, courage, and determination to defy custom in pursuit of a college education and career. These men of vision decided the Fraternity would be more than another social organization. Reliance would be placed upon high ideals and the purpose of ACHIEVEMENT.    Our fraternity has a long history of advocating for civil rights and has been at the forefront of many social movements.

The Cincinnati Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi was chartered approximately twelve years after Kappa Alpha Psi was incorporated as a National Greek Letter College Fraternity in Indiana. It was chartered by District 3 Director George F. David II, who was accompanied by Ennis Warrick, Arnold H. Maloney, and Amos J. White, all of the Delta chapter. Other Charter Members were Medical Doctors R. Eugene Clarke, Lenin R. Breedlove, Norman E. Dunham, H.L. Hunter, and James E. J. Ross. The doctors were all recent graduates of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, where they were initiated into the Kappa Chapter. Clarke served as Polemarch; Hugh Watson (Delta 1918) served as Vice Polemarch, Breedlove was Keeper of Records and Exchequer; and Rev. Grant, Ross, and Dunham served as members of the Board of Directors. A.E. Gamblee, Dr. C.C. Smith, and Dr. H.M. Hunter were members. Following the establishment and initiation ceremonies, Dr. E.J. Ross served as host of a luncheon for the new chapter.

The year was 1923, 100 years ago, almost to the day.  The chapter came into being during an intense racial and social climate in the city of Cincinnati in the 1920s. At this time, the Cincinnati Real Estate Board issued a mandate to real estate agents: "No agent shall rent or sell property to colored people in an established white section or neighborhood, and this inhibition shall be particularly applicable to the hilltops and suburban community." The goal was to prevent Black residents in the city's urban core from following whites to other neighborhoods.

A look at the first chapter roster exposes the addresses of each member at the time. Here are a few.

608 Mound St

719 West 5th Street

623 Cutter St

621 Cutter St

708 West 8th St

Map these on Google Maps; what you see is only a highway. The initial members of this illustrious chapter predominantly lived in the West End of this great city, and their homes are no more. 

Black mortality rates were double those of the city overall. Upon visiting Cincinnati's West End, public health pioneer Dr. Haven Emerson declares, "You could not produce a prize hog to show at the fair under conditions that you allow Negroes to live in this city."

CAC has not only survived but thrived in the face of adversity like this.  The legacy of high Achievers is long, and it is impressive.

The very first chapter's polemarch was Dr. Raymond E. Clark. Brother Clark graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1920. He moved to Cincinnati in 1922 and started his medical practice at a time when black doctors could not admit their patients to white hospitals. In 1925, he was one of the founders of a black hospital in the West End called Mercy Hospital. He became the first black doctor to perform surgery at a white hospital in Cincinnati. He was a surgical clinician at the old Cincinnati General Hospital (now UC Medical Center), assistant professor of surgery at the UC Medical Center, a Jewish and Deaconess Hospital staff member, and chief of staff at the Catherine Boone home.

The Laurel Wreath is the highest honor bestowed for extra meritorious achievement by Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. There have only been 81 awarded in the history of the fraternity; a small fraction of Kappa chapters have ever had a winner. At the CAC, we have been the home of two.

The first was the late Honorable Judge Nathaniel Jones. It was conferred for his outstanding and exemplary accomplishments in the field of law, together with his contributions to humanity. Brother Jones was a federal judge, civil rights attorney, law school professor, NAACP attorney, presidential appointee, and mentor to hundreds of attorneys who clerked for him. In 1969, Brother Jones joined the NAACP as its General Counsel.

Brother Jones was the recipient of many honors, including the Award of Excellence from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Ohio Bar Medal Award from the Ohio State Bar Association. The National Bar Association Hall of Fame in 2002 inducted Jones as a member. In February 2003, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution naming the courthouse in Youngstown, Ohio, the Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building, and the United States Courthouse. 

The second Laurel Wreath winner from the chapter is Dr. Alvin Crawford. He was bestowed the 70th Laurel Wreath Award for his significant contributions to society. Dr. Crawford is widely regarded internationally as a leading authority on video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and neurofibromatosis. He served as the co-director of the Crawford Spine Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He also co-authored a handbook of Pediatric Orthopedics for pediatric house officers and primary care physicians and assisted in the development and publication of an atlas on Pediatric Orthopedic radiology. Also, he authored a monograph on neurofibromatosis in children. His publications include more than 200 articles and abstracts, 6 books, and 52 chapters. Cited as one of the leading professionals in his field internationally, Crawford received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine for his contribution to Orthopedic care in children.

The Cincinnati Alumni Chapter is home to the first African-American Millionaire in Cincinnati, DonaldCA. Spencer. An educator and then real estate agent, Brother Spencer was a charter member of the Beta Eta chapter. Back in the day, many chapters sang different variations of the Sweetheart Song. A cash prize was offered to the member who would compose the best sweetheart song at the 26th Grand Chapter Meeting to create uniformity. Brother Spencer of the Cincinnati (OH) Alumni accepted the challenge and won the contest with his composition, The Sweetheart of Kappa Alpha Psi. It was presented during the Closed Dance during the 1938 Grand Chapter Meeting. Brother Spencer’s sweetheart was none other than Marion Spencer, a civil rights pioneer in Cincinnati and the first African-American woman elected to the city council.

In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower named Jesse D. Locker, a 1945 Cincinnati (OH) Alumni, to initiate as the second Black appointed to serve as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia. Brother Locker practiced law in Cincinnati for about 35 years. In 1941, he became only the third Black candidate elected to the Cincinnati City Council, going on to serve six terms (1942-1953). He was elected President of the Council in 1951. He was planning to retire from the Council and return to his law practice when, in 1953, President Eisenhower appointed Locker to the US Ambassadorship to Liberia.

The Cincinnati Alumni is also honored to call Rev. Donald Jordan as a brother.  Rev. Jordan was educated in the Middletown Public Schools, and he later graduated from Miami University in Oxford in 1954, receiving a bachelor's degree in public administration. 

After graduating from Miami, Rev. Jordan served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956 in the Panama Canal Zone. He later opened his first funeral home in Middletown in May 1953 in the living room of his parents' home.

Rev. Jordan expanded his business to Hamilton, Cincinnati, Covington, and Indianapolis by purchasing other funeral homes and enhancing those businesses. And as a pastor, he did the same thing.  For example, at Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Forest Park, Rev. Jordan led the church to buy six acres of land to build a $2.5 million structure. Over time, the membership grew from 50 to more than 800. He left Quinn Chapel for Allen Temple AME Church in 1996, where he served until 2006.

These are just a few examples of the amazing legacy of CAC. The torch carries on today. Look at our roster, which approaches 100 members, and you will see lawyers, doctors, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, first responders, accountants, and so on. Every field of human endeavor is covered by these achievers. When we say Achievement is the fundamental purpose of Kappa Alpha Psi, the CAC means and embodies it. The strong tradition and history of the chapter will continue to grow into the 21st century.

And now, to give the current state of the chapter, is Polemarch Adrian Cunningham.