NATIONAL FOUNDERS' DAY OCCASION
W hy are we gathered in the historic City of Las Vegas this weekend, to celebrate our 15 th National Founders’ Day? One might think that we’re here in the State of Nevada and the City of Las Vegas, because one of our beloved Founders was born here. However, we know that Las Vegas was not the birthplace of any of our 10 Founders. In fact, eight of our Founders were born in Indiana, the state where our fraternity was founded. There were two Founders born in Kentucky, which makes Indiana and Kentucky the only places in the nation where our Founders were born. So since we’re not here because of it being the birthplace of one or more of our Founders, there must be another reason. We’re gathered in Las Vegas, because the brothers in the Western Prov- ince, under the leadership of Province Polemarch Timothy C. Woods, have invited us here, and proclaimed that “We will rise up together.” And, because brothers throughout the Fraternity have vowed to be “ONE KAPPA” as we continue to thrive in this second century of our birth...we will continue to go throughout the land, in a spirit of togetherness, as our revered Founders intended for us to do. We’re in Las Vegas, because our Founders intended for chapters to be chartered throughout the land, and the Fraternity has chartered 67 chapters in the Western Province, and Las Vegas is a key location in the Western Province. As we celebrate our Founders, let us all reflect on the days in 1909, when Brothers Elder Watson Diggs and Byron K. Armstrong were students at Howard University. Let us remember that they left Howard and enrolled in Indiana University at Bloomington. Let us remember, that it was there they met eight Black students of like mind, and began the process of organizing a fraternity. Let us not forget the obstacles they had to overcome, because of blatant racism and segregation. Let us remember, that they were unselfish in their desires for students across America, to have the opportunity to learn and to have a social environment conducive to achieving in every field of human endeavor. Let us be mindful of the oaths we took, while kneeling at the Delphic Shrine, remembering that we were founded on Christian principles, and to do nothing that breaches our faith, or alters our priorities in life, regarding God, family and vocation. Let us join with our brothers, who have gone from labor to reward, and look down upon us from Chapter Invisible, smiling with great joy at our bountiful achievements while on our earthly so- journ. Let us remember the 34 men, who across the years, have chosen to sit in the place where our First Grand Polemarch, Elder Watson Diggs sat, and led the mighty vessel called “Kappa Alpha Psi” for more than a century. It is indisputable, that men of outstanding character and notable achievements have made a vast difference in the lives of the people, who live in the communities where Kappa men have served. It is with thanksgiving that each of us go to that place in our hearts, where the voices of our 10 founders ring out to say, “The journey is not yet over, dear brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi, for the tenets of our great fraternity demand that we serve humanity for as long as we have breath. For as long as we can open our mouths and utter the words of our Kappa Hymn; let us still sing; We’ll live for thee, we’ll strive for thee, We’ll all thy ways adore; We’ll long for thee and toil until we reach that Golden Shore.” All of this is why we gather in Las Vegas on this 15 th National Founders’ Day, and why broth- ers wherever dispersed celebrate where they are, and for all who can hear my voice, this is the Occasion!
THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2019 | 27
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