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former Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya. Hence Wilson developed a competitive profile for PVAMU and the University was recently ranked fifth in producing African American Peace Corps Volun- teers (PCVs)—trailing Howard Univer- sity, Morehouse College, and Spelman College. Nonetheless, Wilson has former Honors students serving as PCVs in Lesotho, Liberia, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda, Costa Rica, and Rwanda. As result of these students, more PVAMU students have considered serving as Peace Corps Volunteers as a what to start their international careers.
don’t give way to hating. And yet, don’t look too good, nor talk too wise.” “Of course, the Brothers of Iota Delta were speechless when we read the poem. They had not heard of Rudyard Kipling. Yet, my mother taught me this poem when I was in the seventh grade. She taught it to her students and thought it would help build my character. She was correct, I still think this poem “If” is a critical part of my personal philosophy.” Brother Wilson served as Polemarch of the University of Texas at Austin Chapter, the Iota Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi for the 1983-84 academic year. “I learned many valuable skills about lead- ership as President of the University of Texas at Austin Chapter, the Iota Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi that I still use today.” Wilson shared, “my father pledged at the Tennessee State University Chapter, the Alpha Theta of Kappa Alpha Psi in 1952, and he was overjoyed when I be- came his fraternity brother.” “Without question, my father and mother were my first mentors—they established such excellent guidelines for me to follow, and I received all the support possible to become a successful.” “During my undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Austin, I had one advisor and mentor who completely changed my world and that was Dr. George C. Wright. He taught essen- tially all of the 850 Black students of the 50,000 and he encouraged me to consid- er an academic career as a historian over my desire to study Law. Dr. Wright was the only African American professor I had in four years, and he was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in History from Duke University. And I listened carefully to his assessments of my talents. Interestingly, he taught all of the Kappa Brothers of Iota Delta, he taught my sister who also studied and graduated from UT, and he often agreed to speak at our Kappa Founders' Day programs.”
and recruited me from the University of Texas at Austin to come to PVAMU to start the Honors Program. “After speak- ing with Dr. Wright about the type of contribution I would be able to make at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) I listened to him explain why it is critical to have accomplished scholars ensure the next generation of African American students. Dr. Wright said and I will never forget it, “We must produce the very best minds from our institutions because if we do not, these institutions will no longer exist.” I thought about it and decided he was right. Moreover, my grandfather Walter K. Ball graduated from PVAMU in the Class of 1932, as did my mother who received her first de- gree from PVAMU in the Class of 1957, and my Aunt’s first degree in the Class of 1963, and uncles who received their degrees from PVAMU. Just last year, my nephew Zachary James Hamilton graduated with a Mechanical Engineer- ing degree and was the Captain of the PVAMU Basketball team—continuing a long family tradition. Dr. Wright also taught my nephew the required U.S. history at PVAMU, and I co-teach this course with my mentor. Whenever Pres- ident Wright was away on University business, I delivered the history lectures for all 300 students. “Indeed, it was an incredible experience to teach alongside my former professor and mentor—one of the truly high points of working at PVAMU.
On Kappa Alpha Psi “I was very fortunate to pledge
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. dur- ing the spring of 1982 at one of the premier undergraduate chapters in the United States, the University of Texas at Austin Chapter, the Iota Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi and it was indeed a wonder- ful experience. This chapter is known for producing outstanding brothers, who truly understand the significance of achievement in every field of human endeavor.” Brother Dr. Wilson remarked that “my line name was “If” and my line brothers and I surely caught a lot of grief for a name that appeared so meaning- less, until we explained the name during our probate show.” “We divided the poem “If” by Rud- yard Kipling into four parts since there were four of us on this line. We then read each section individually as we unraveled the poem on Scrolled paper.” “Since we were “Scrollers”—it was only fitting. You see the expectation of our line was to send a clear message that we were clever, creative, and charming.” “There has never been another line like “If.” The poem shocked everyone as we read it. The only lines of the poem—“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies. Or being hated,
The Bond and Higher Education
“For many years, I enjoyed teaching and the development of young minds. After receiving my Ph.D. from Princeton University, my first academic appoint- ment was at Wake Forest University and I really enjoyed teaching the students there. Of course, there were not many African American students at Wake Forest, but the ones that I taught were extremely excited about my courses. As a colonial historian of African history, I taught students how to re-position their understandings of Africa from the dis- torted myths they were taught in junior
Dr. Wright later became the Presi- dent of Prairie View A&M University
THE JOURNAL ♦ SPRING 2021 | 51
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