A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
Vernon AME Today.
“Real fraternity men seek the forefront of the battle-line. Unmindful of sufferings, evading no hardships, they are willing to PAY, PAY, PAY if humanity may be made happy. Brothers, KA Ψ yields to none when duty calls.” William T. Vernon, December 1924 Kappa Alpha Psi Journal
nity. White mobs looted, bombed, and burned homes, schools, and businesses, including Vernon AME, where several residents took cover in the basement. In the aftermath, only the basement and portions of the lower level of Vernon AME remained intact. It is the only structure in Greenwood that pre-dates the 1921 Massacre and the only struc- ture from the Historic Black Wall Street era. Surviving residents donated funds to ensure Vernon AME was rebuilt rapidly after the Massacre upon its original edifice. It is also the oldest continu- ously operating church in Oklahoma. It became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2018. In 1911, another all-Black town, locat- ed in southwestern McIntosh County, Oklahoma, was also named for Vernon. It is one of the thirteen existing all-Black towns in Oklahoma. In 1926, Vernon Temple AME Church, Southampton, Bermuda, was dedicated to Vernon fol- lowing his election and consecration as Bishop.
In 1936, the Colored School of Quind- aro was renamed the Vernon School, with Vernon delivering the keynote speech at the dedication ceremony. The original school was established to edu- cate Black children in the abolitionist Quindaro community. By the time the school was renamed, the building was in disrepair, overcrowded, and condemned as a fire hazard. Perhaps as an additional honor to Vernon, it was rebuilt adjacent to Western University. This school oper- ated until 1972 and was later sold to the AME Church for use as a community center, designated as the Vernon Multi- purpose Center. On August 21, 2004, the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review for the Register of Historic Kansas Places ap- proved this property to be listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places. It now houses the Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum. The museum tells the story of Quindaro as a major desti- nation on the Underground Railroad. Exhibits illustrate the route slaves took across the river, seeking freedom in the
Kansas Territory. The museum also con- tains photographs, clothing, maps, and a biography of Vernon. In addition to Kappa Alpha Psi, Vernon was a member of several civic and social organizations, including the Scottish Rite Masons, Odd Fellows, and the General Counselling Commission of Churches for the YMCA, representing the AME Church. Vernon spent his remaining years in Kansas City, Kansas, residing in his home across the street from the West- ern campus, and he died there on July 25, 1944. His wife, Emily, survived him for only two days. Joint funeral services were held for Vernon and Emily, and they were buried together in unmarked graves at Woodlawn Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1999, the President of the AME's Kansas-Nebraska Confer- ence Lay Organization, organized volun- teers to raise funds and later erected a headstone to mark the adjacent graves of Vernon and his wife.
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