100 YEARS
THE XI CHAPTER CENTENNIAL
The Howard Uni ver s i ty Chapter, the Xi of Kappa Alpha Ps i , Ce l ebrates i t s Centenni a l
Founders Diggs and Armstrong Meet at Howard University T he genesis for the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity dates to 1910 with the arrival of Elder Watson Diggs and Byron Ken- neth Armstrong at Indiana University. Diggs and Armstrong were students together at Howard University during the 1909–1910 school years where they were exposed to fraternity life. While at Howard, both Diggs and Armstrong were approached by a fraternity, and both declined pledgeship because they disapproved of individual members’ attitudes and actions. At the close of the spring semester, Byron Armstrong visited with his cousin Irven Armstrong, a student at Indiana University. Byron Armstrong was so impressed that he persuaded Diggs to enroll with him at Indiana University that Fall.
the Pythian Temple at 12 th & U Streets, NW. At long last, the Fraternity arrived at the nation’s largest and perhaps best known Black university. Here was the site of the Alpha Chapters of all other Black Greek-letter organizations at the time except Kappa Alpha Psi and Alpha Phi Alpha. Charter initiate Keller, an adjutant with the rank of Captain in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, became the first Polemarch. Other charter initiates were Hilbert L. Rozier , Keeper of the Records and with Keller a member of the varsity track team; Leo S. Butler , Keeper of the Exchequer and president of the German Club; Lemuel D. Bolton , corresponding secretary and a member of the Stylus Literary Club; Charles S. Hall , Strategus; and Jona- than L. Young , Lieutenant Strategus. Other charter initiate members were Hiram U. Moore, Joseph E. Moore, Ernest T. Hemby, Alden B. Thompson, Samuel Lassiter, Julian J. Evans, Len S. Williams, Ernest E. Miller, Webster Sewell, Harry B. Thornton, and Clar- ence B. Friday .
sity, but due to our laxness and blocking tactics of another fraternity, which had a controlling clique on the faculty, we had been unsuccessful. In spite of these difficulties, I resolved to get a charter at Howard. Such an opportunity came in the summer of 1920 when I chanced to meet my old student J. Wycliffe Keller at the frat house on Bryant Street in Chicago and asked him to organize a group at Howard when he returned there in the fall. He later organized an informal group and petitioned the faculty to grant permission to establish a chapter on the campus. At a later faculty meeting, the request for permission to establish a chapter was brought up and after in- quiries as to what organization this was, a statement of former Dean Woodard of Wilberforce, who was now a faculty member of Howard, that the was a member and that it was a meritorious organization, the request was granted.” Wilbur J. Pinkard (Mu 1920) and James E. Scott (Delta 1915), a future Grand Polemarch, held the interest group together until the administration agreed to a chapter. The Fraternity chartered Xi Chapter on December 27, 1920, with the charter ceremony held in
The Establishment of Xi Chapter
The Fraternity experienced diffi- culty establishing a chapter at Howard University (HU) due to some faculty members’ objection that Howard could not support another fraternity. Fur- thermore, Kappa Alpha Psi had well- established rivalries with the Fraterni- ties at HU. Byron Armstrong had a hand in starting the Xi Chapter through his influence upon a former student, J. Wycliffe Keller, whom he urged to work on his behalf. By the time Keller made a formal application to the adminis- tration, the Fraternity had a strong advocate in D. W. Woodard, Dean of the Liberal Arts College. Woodard was a former member of the Delta Chapter at Wilberforce University. According to Armstrong, “Prior to 1920, there had been efforts on our part to secure a chapter at Howard Univer-
The Xi Chapter Centennial Celebration
In ongoing preparation for celebrat- ing the 100 th anniversary of Xi Chapter’s chartering, Xi Chapter initiates from available decades assembled in Novem- ber of 2019. The Brothers selected Xi Chapter Advisor, Christopher Lemmie (Xi 1982) , as the Steering Committee Chairman. Brother Lemmie requested two representatives from each available decade to form a comprehensive and diverse steering committee. The com- mittee consisted of James Pittman (Xi 1952), Donald Humphries (Xi 1952), Fred Black (Xi 1966), Porter Myrick Jr. (Xi 1968), Darryl Dennis (Xi 1976),
22 | FALL-WINTER 2020 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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