History of the University of Chicago Chapter, The Iota of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Charter Line Members
Dr. Albert C. Johnston, Jr. Physician D r. Johnson’s story is well chronicled in the Story of Kappa Alpha Psi ® and on the silver screen. He graduated with honors
Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which led to joining and heading the United Government Employee Union. He founded the National Negro Council (NCC), a civil rights advocacy organization. As head of NCC, he joined other heads of civil rights groups and academics as members of a presidential advisory board nicknamed FDR’s “Black Cabinet.” In 1951, Brown ran and lost as a Republican candidate against longtime incumbent William L. Dawson (D-IL) to represent for the first congressional district of Illinois. A charter member of the St. Louis (MO) Alumni Chapter and was also affiliated with the Chicago (IL) Alumni, Indianapolis (IN) Alumni, and Washington (DC) Alumni Chapters. Brother Brown entered the Chapter Invisible in 1954. He was inducted posthumously into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014. The Edgar G. Brown Papers are held at the Amistad Research Center located on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, LA.
William Jennings Beatty Educator A native of Jonesville, SC, Beatty gradu- ated from Universi- ty of Chicago with
from University of Chicago’s Rush College of Medicine in 1924. He practiced radiology in New Hampshire and later in life in Hawaii. He and his wife were mixed race but avoided disclosing their ethnicity – a fact both initially hid so Johnston could secure a medical internship – and for years, they did not disclose their ethnicity to neighbors nor to the Johnston children. Dr. Johnston essentially revealed his “secret” when the U.S. Navy requested him to serve in the medical corps during World War II. Initially accepted for a lieutenant commander commission, he was summarily rejected due to his racial background, and word of his mixed-race roots spread. The Navy while conducting their background check of Dr. Johnston discovered his membership in a “colored fraternity” during his years at UChicago. Dr. Johnston and his family were the basis of the ground breaking 1949 movie Lost Boundaries starring Mel Ferrer as a character based on Dr. Johnston. The film won Best Screenplay at 1949 Cannes Film Festival while some southern cities banned showing the film. Approximately 3:30 minutes into in the film, a fraternity house is shown with the letters KA Ψ displayed prominently on the front facade of the building. Dr. Johnston entered the Chapter Invisible in 1988.
an A.B. degree in 1920. He was a history teacher at the Sumner High School in St. Louis, MO for over 35 years. He was an early member of the St. Louis (MO) Alumni Chapter. Prior to his transition to the Chapter Invisible in 1955, Brother Beatty endowed the William J. Beatty Scholarship which “awarded to students or graduates of Sumner High School for the purpose of pursuing college or university work…. it being my wish that the scholarship go to a dif- ferent person…of African descent… each year.” The Beat- ty Scholarship has benefited worthy Sumner High School graduates over six decades since its inception in 1952.
Hon. Wendell E. Green Attorney, Judge A 1908 graduate of the University of Kansas, Green received his L.L.B. degree from the University of Chicago in 1920. Green briefly shared office space with his
Edgar G. Brown Civil Rights Activist, Presidential Advisor, Tennis Pioneer B rown graduated from University of Chicago in 1921. He was a four-time
University of Chicago Law School classmate, the fifth Grand Polemarch Earl Burris Dickerson, when both were starting their respective legal careers. Green earned a reputation as brilliant defense attorney and later served as assistant Public Defender for Cook County (IL) starting in 1930. In 1942, he was elected to the Cook County Municipal Court bench. In 1950, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson (D) appointed Judge Green to the Cook County Circuit Court becoming the first African American to sit on the circuit court. He was one of the founding members of the National Bar Association (NBA) serving as its first National Secretary. In 1937-38, he led the Chicago (IL) Alumni Chapter as its 14 th Polemarch. His wife and silhouette, the late Loraine Richardson Green, was the second international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ® (1919-1921). He served on the board of directors of Chicago’s historic Provident Hospital. In 1958, the University of Chicago Alumni Association honored Judge Green as its outstanding alumnus. The Judge Green Apartments, a 154-unit high rise senior living residence, and the Wendell E. Green Elementary School located in south Chicago are named in Judge Green’s honor. Judge Green entered the Chapter Invisible in 1959.
national Men’s Singles Champion in segregated men’s tennis circuit: American Tennis Association (ATA). Activism characterized Brown throughout his life starting with his tennis career where he was considered an outspoken tennis activist of his era. According to his biography, Brown “…felt strongly that black players should not be content with winning ATA championships. He openly expressed his belief that there should be a strong societal push to allow black players to enter white only tournaments like the US Nationals at Forest Hills (now called the US Open) and Wimbledon.” Professionally, he worked in the newspaper industry in St. Louis, MO and as advertising executive for Madame C.J. Walker & Co. He briefly contributed to The Kappa Alpha Psi ® Journal as advertising manager in 1920s. He transitioned to the political activist arena in the late 1930s as an advisor to President Franklin D.
54 | WINTER ISSUE THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
THE JOURNAL WINTER ISSUE | 55
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker