A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
ate school. Lee was selected as an Honorary Member of the Beta of Kappa Alpha Psi, initiated February 15, 1916. Current records indicate the practice of Honorary Membership was discontinued in 1924. Lee had several fraternal affiliations, in addition to Kappa Alpha Psi. He was a past master of Lone Star Lodge No. 18, F&A.M.; past grand patron high priest, Royal Arch Masons; past grand com- mander of Prince Grand Commandery, Knights Templar; and past grand master of North American Encampment of Knights Templar and the Scottish Rite and Shriner orders. He was a member of the Twin City branch of the NAACP, the Champaign Township Republican Committee and served as secretary of an interracial commission. Lee collected data on Black students who had attended the university, includ- ing their achievements and housing, graduations and their career paths. A 1924 letter from W.E.B. DuBois requested information on U of I Black students, as he was conducting a project for the NAACP regarding Black students attending various colleges across the country. His conscientious efforts were later realized as a vital component of U of I history which may have been lost to time, had it not been for Lee’s diligence. A few examples of U of I students who benefitted from his assistance include the first Black woman to complete her undergraduate degree (1906) and the first Ph.D. earned by a Black woman (1939). For his personal and selfless interest he took in caring for countless Black U of I students while caring for his own responsibilities, Lee was dubbed, the unofficial ‘Dean of Black Students’. The impact of Lee’s actions subsequent- ly resulted in interracial student and civic groups suing local businesses for discrimination and helped to desegregate some of the local establishments during his tenure. The university followed suit with a change in its policy and university residence halls were opened to Blacks in 1946.
When Lee reached retirement age of 68 in 1942, he was recalled to work in the president’s office during WWII from March 1943 until he finally retired in the summer of 1947. By July 1, 1947, Lee was the eldest university employee, at 73 years of age as well in tenure, 52 years of service when he retired. Over the course of years, Lee worked under five university presidents and one acting president, performing virtually every task in the office, in addition to han- dling the obligation of training others who were elevated before him with larger salaries and responsibilities. In Lee’s manuscript, UI Presidents I Have Known, he recorded how the different presidents described him:
“…It also must be consid- ered that I served each at a different age of my life, with varying degrees of experience, so that some regarded me as a mere boy; others as a young man, the later ones as a man of experience and maturity.”
Knights of Templar circa 1936
Clarence Shelley also followed in Albert Lee’s footsteps. He was the first Direc- tor of the Special Equal Opportunity Program that ushered over 500 new students of color to the U of I in 1968. Later came Larine Y. Cowan, for whom the Make a Difference diversity awards are named. Dr. Menah Pratt Clarke, who oversaw the increase in African American tenure track faculty to higher percentages than can be found among our peer universities. Finally, Robert J. Jones, the first African American Chancellor at the U of I, is the current visionary leader who follows in the path forged by Lee. Although Lee’s altruistic efforts were not formally acknowledged or appreciated by the university while he was employed there, the university officially recognized him August 31, 2018. This date marked the 70 th anniversary of his death and the 50 th anniversary of Project 500 (a venture aimed at increasing the number of Black students on campus). There was an unveiling and dedication of a new headstone for Lee, his wife and son at nearby Mount Hope Cemetery. The funding for the monument was provided by the U of I, Lee’s family, biographer and archivist, in addition to several oth-
Upon Lee’s retirement, the U of I Board of Trustees endorsed a policy “to create a community atmosphere in which ra- cial prejudice cannot thrive.” After Lee entered the Chapter Invisible on August 24, 1948, others continued the struggle to create a more diverse and inclusive campus. The Student Committee on Interracial Cooperation (SCIC) helped to desegregate restrooms for Illini Union employees. Another who followed Lee’s example was U of I professor Jack Pelta- son, who in 1961 stated: What is happening in the
United States is one facet of the world-wide “revolution of rising expectations.” White su- premacy is dying. Governmen- tally imposed segregation will be abolished in the United States eventually. [Blacks] will demand and secure the same rights as other citizens. No other Americans have asked for more than this, or settled long for less.
Publishing achievement for 105 years
THE JOURNAL | 135
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online