LOOK BACK KAPPA HISTORY
BY KEVIN SCOTT, Grand Historian
E ducation is the bedrock of human under- standing and enlightenment. Those called to serve as teachers are charged with a tremendous responsibility. They shape humanity with the lessons of our basic norms, foster curiosity, and cultivate ideas. Skills are built through a teacher’s instructions, and we become more informed about our world. We can only imagine why our revered Founder Elder Watson Diggs, chose to become an educator. He may have been drawn to this vocation due to a natural inclination towards teaching. He may have been enticed to educa- tion based on his impactful relationship with one of his teachers. Diggs could have been motivated to provide a better experience than what he was given. He was one generation removed from the end of slavery. He received a one-room school education, where he later taught children in Louisville, Kentucky. Like many other post-Reconstruction Black Amer- icans who had been denied educational access, Diggs prioritized learning. Certainly, he found that educating himself and others was far more enriching than remaining in the labor industry. It is assumed he felt a remarkable sense of gratification in improving his mind and that of others. By 1900, nearly 60% of Black Americans, including his mother, were
IU Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav and Grand Polemarch Jimmy McMikle set to reveal the Diggs portrait.
SUMMER 2023 ♦ THE JOURNAL 77
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