A Look Back: Kappa History Albert R. Lee Revolutionary Black Student Advocate and Early KA Y Honorary Member
By Kevin Scott Grand Historian
by providing support, encouragement, counsel and sustenance at the univer- sity. Specifically, Lee directed Black students through the admissions process and aided them to obtain housing and employment. He shared his network of connections throughout the local Black community with these students, thereby expanding the support system for other Black students who would come behind them. This method of sustenance al- lowed them to be marginally sufficient in stark contrast to their counterparts, but provided them enough support to succeed academically. While assisting the U of I Black students, Lee became acquainted with members of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Beta Chapter. The Beta of Kappa Alpha Psi was chartered in 1913 and the young fraternity was avidly seeking to expand beyond the Bloomington, Indiana campus. Additionally, the fraternity sought to increase the prestige of the organization by augmenting its member- ship rolls with prominent individuals who epitomized its fundamental purpose of achievement. In 1913, Kappa Alpha Psi introduced Honorary Membership to accomplish this effort. It was aimed at professional individuals who did not have the opportunity to pledge the fraternity in their younger years, as Kappa did not yet exist or was not on the campus of their undergradu- wouldn’t have enough money to register, and Dad helped them get their fees deferred until they could pay. When they came here, they seemed to know about Dad; so many of them seemed to know about him.” — Bernice Brightwell, Albert Lee’s daughter. “A lot of them came here not knowing what to do. Some of them
P rior to the Reconstruction the notion of educated Blacks a threat to their perceived authority and secu- rity. In spite of the obstacles placed in front of them, some Blacks were able to persevere and not only obtain basic tutelage, but managed to attend and graduate college. The first Black to accomplish this feat was Alexander Twilight, who earned a bachelor degree from Middlebury College in 1823. Twilight was followed by Mary Jane Pat- terson, the first Black woman to obtain a college degree in 1862 from Oberlin College. Following the Civil War, his- torically white colleges continued their resistance to admit non-white students and many initiated quota systems to limit the amount of Blacks who could attend. Undaunted by the opposition in their pursuit for an education, Marcel- lus Neal and Frances Marshall became the first Blacks to graduate from Indiana University in 1895 and 1919 respec- tively. During this era, tuition was not the main impediment for some of the Black stu- dents to attend college; but rather some of the basic accommodations which to- day’s students have as a natural expecta- tion. Tuition at many state universities was free, while tuition at private institu- tions could cost a student $150 annual- ly. Several tactics were used to obstruct Blacks from attending college, including but not limited to being restricted from admittance, lack of student housing (on or off campus), deficient employ- ment, and being restrained from student resources and services. Era (1863-1877), it was rare for Blacks to receive a formal education. Many whites found
Albert R. Lee was the son of a former slave who personally witnessed the aforementioned racial discriminatory practices against Blacks at the Univer- sity of Illinois (U of I) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Ku Klux Klan being permitted to exist on campus as a registered student organization illus- trates the pervasive culture of prejudice existing on the campus at that time. In 1895, Lee became the second Black to be employed at the U of I, initially as a messenger for the university president. Two years later, Lee enrolled at the U of I and was only one of two Black students on campus. The first Black student en- rolled at the school 10 years prior to his admission. Lee worked as a student-em- ployee and ceased his studies after one year. He subsequently began working as a Clerk and was eventually elevated to the position of Chief Clerk to the university president. In this position, Lee handled the president’s correspon- dences, screened his calls and visitors, as well as various other tasks. While employed as Clerk to the univer- sity president, he played a pivotal role in helping Black students to matriculate
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