A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
Louie F. Orr, Esq.
Civil Rights Advocate, Grand Chapter Officer and Lauded Member of Several Civic Organizations
By Kevin Scott, Grand Historian
He was elected to the office of Polemarch for the Indianapolis (IN) Alumni Chap- ter and was one of few who served as Junior Grand Vice Polemarch and served as an Alumni Grand Board member (1937, 1938) and as Senior Grand Vice Polemarch (1939, 1940).
D uring the 1920s, less than five percent of Black males and females who attended Indiana University became graduates. Their efforts to attain higher education was met with opposition beyond the typical strives a collegiate of that time faced. The Black Indiana University student of this era was con- fronted with very similar circumstances which our Found- ers endured. They were prohibited from living in student dormitories, were restricted from acquiring employment at a variety of businesses and confined to limited places which they could congregate and engage in acts of social enjoy- ment. In spite of these circumstances, one of these Indiana University Black students who successfully persevered and achieved well beyond the norm was Louie Franklin Orr. Orr was a native of Edneyville, North Carolina and was reared in Indianapolis, Indiana. After graduation from Arsenal Technical High School, Orr matriculated to Indiana University, where he majored in History and met the chal- lenges head on. While a student, Orr was initiated into the Alpha Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., October 10, 1925 and served as its Polemarch. In 1928, he continued to be trained for leadership, as was elected to serve as Junior Grand Vice Polemarch. During his time as
an undergraduate, he and other Alpha Chapter members achieved academic excellence. By the fall of 1928, the Alpha Chapter ranked first in scholarship. The following is an excerpt from the Indianapolis Recorder, November 10, 1928: The Indianapolis Times for Monday of this week car- ried the report that first place in scholastic standings at Indiana University (during the second semester of the 1927-1928 school year) was won by Kappa Alpha Psi . . . Our boys turned in an average of 2.0278, which is better than a “B” average. Their closest competitor made 1.9677… On June 10, 1929, Orr became the first Black to gradu- ate with honors from Indiana University. His exceptional academic prowess, and that of his fellow Alpha Chapter brothers, was recognized by the Indianapolis Recorder when they appealed for the chapter stating, The various clubs and societies and lodges among our people would do well to make one grand effort to help the Kappa boys buy a fraternity house at Bloomington. It would render our students better fit to hold their own
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