CHAPTER NEWS CENTENNIAL
The Atlanta (GA) Alumni Chapter assembled at their centennial gala. “ THE ATLANTA (GA) ALUMNI CHAPTER WAS ESTABLISHED ON FEBRUARY 22, 1924, UNDER DISTRICT 5 DIRECTOR B.F. TINSLEY, MAKING IT THE FIRST ALUMNI CHAPTER IN THE DEEP SOUTH.”
A mere sixty years before the Atlanta (GA) Alumni Chap- ter (AAC) was chartered, in 1864, Union troops laid siege to the city against the Confederacy during the Civil War. That action signaled the collapse of the Confederacy, which resulted in their surrender in April 1865 and changed the trajec- tory for Black people in the city, who were encumbered with harsh and prejudiced laws that restricted their daily lives. The Union Army burned the city of Atlanta to erase all rebel military defense and economic sustenance. A new city rose from the ashes. Black citizens, who were previously prohibited from owning businesses, establishing churches and schools, and forming social organizations, were now able to establish these essential social and civic institutions. Atlanta’s rebirth was epitomized by the rise of professional Black leadership in the 1920s. It became a draw for national meetings of several Black organiza- tions, such as the NAACP, the National
Medical Association, Omega Psi Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Phi Beta Sigma. It also opened the door for chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi to be formed, beginning with Morehouse College’s charter, the Pi of Kappa Alpha Psi, in 1921. The advancement of the Black Atlanta community attracted others to come to the area. Among those progressive Black men were members of Kappa Alpha Psi, who petitioned for and were granted an alumni chapter in Atlanta. On the evening of December 17, 1923, an informal meeting of a few Pi Chapter members was held at
the home of John R. Pinkett, Sr. The purpose of the gathering was to establish an alumni chapter in Atlanta. After some discussion, it was decided to petition for the chapter from the floor of the 13th Grand Chapter Meeting at Louisville, KY (December 26-29, 1923). The Atlanta (GA) Alumni Chapter was established on February 22, 1924, under District 5 Director B.F. Tinsley, making it the first alumni chapter in the deep South. The Atlanta Alumni Chapter Charter Members epitomized the accomplished Black professionals of that time in Atlanta. They include Dr.
66 THE JOURNAL ♦ SPRING 2025
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