JOURNAL NOTES
Senior Kappas: Forged in the Fires of Life, Stand as Beacons of Achievement
flags, we pay respects to the system and process that is patterned from an excel- lent model that allows us to administer the fraternity from the perspective of Kappa's highest elected leader, the Grand Polemarch. Grand Polemarch Thomas L. Battles, Jr. also uses this issue to celebrate those who have lived through those early conflicts and strife—yet still achieved, we honor Senior Kappas in general— those who are at 60 years old. And, we celebrate those brothers who are at least 75 years of age as of April 26, 2019. See the Senior Kappas Roll Call beginning on page 49. Not every headshot submit- ted was able to be printed due to not meeting minium standards, however, we printed when possible. The stories of our brothers show us that like life, Kappa is not perfect, yet we can still achieve for ourselves, our families and our communities. We don't let the unachievable perfect be the enemy of the achievable good. The success in our journeys stand as beacons of hope, through incredible times. Our bonds of fidelity have gotten us through so much. While we live for thee, we are also ex- horted to strive for thee and toil until we reach that Golden Shore. This issue celebrates the toil and achievement of the Senior Kappas of the Philadelphia (PA) Alumni Chapter, led by Senior Kappa L. Douglas Harrell (see page 24). We feature 70-year member Tarleton D. Williams, a mathematician and supercomputer systems developer (see page 26). He and his three broth- ers found Kappa and made it stronger by their achievements. We also feature the 95 th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia and fellow Senior Kappa, The Honorable Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode (see page 30). Both were part of the IHQ dedication program in 1991 (see page 40).
The National Senior Kappa Affairs Committee is featured (see page 12) with a reminder of how we can all sup- port those who have “served Kappa the longest.” See page 17. This issue also spotlights Senior Kap- pas such as “Hidden Figure” Hildreth “Hal” Walker. He led the manufactur- ing, testing and operation of the KO- RAD K-1500 ruby laser used during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (see page 18). We then traverse to the Middle Eastern Province to survey 555 Years of Leader- ship among Polemarchs of the Memphis (TN) Alumni Chapter (see page 46). We have some wonderful opportunities to capture the history of our Fraternity from the “Greatest Generation” through to our youngest members. We do not yet possess the appropriate infrastruc- ture to easily do so however. Grand Historian Scott has laid out a robust path for archive recovery. When I served as Grand Historian, I encouraged the fraternity to collect oral histories and make them a part of the Smithsonian Memory Project archives. Many of you took advantage of the Smithsonian op- portunity and are responding to Brother Scott's call. We are making progress, as we cannot wait to capture the essence of those who have served Kappa and their communi- ties the longest. And, no one particular medium is a fool-proof way to do so. And so, we must preserve them in every way. Please encourage your chapters to do all they can to preserve and protect the memories and the wisdom of those who have served the longest. The juxta- position of their sacrifices in the context of the history of our struggles help set a strong foundation for brothers to build on. And, we owe it to future genera- tions to make their wisdom available for generations to come.
Cleveland Ferguson III, Esq.
W ith all of the discourse about imperfection in Kappa Alpha Psi ® , we can take comfort in many successes, often resulting from working through adversity together. Through your efforts, Kappa has persevered through agnostics, barriers, cynics, doubters, evil, falsehoods, goaders, haters, ignorance, Jim Crow, killjoys, leeches, mendacious- ness, naysayers, oath-breakers, perpe- trators, questioners, racists, skeptics, thieves, unbelievers, vacillators, World Wars, xysters of the soul, yammerers and zetetics of every kind. Collectively, we represent the alphabet of Achieve- ment from architects to soldiers, from theologians to zoologists and every noble profession in between. The Journal , celebrating 105 years this year, has chronicled this perserverance and achievement. As a part of those 105 years, the administration of the fraternity transitioned from a governing structure of districts to regions to provinces (see page 34). This history is commemorated through the Province Flag Dedication Ceremony that occurred in May 2019 (see page 42). So, as we dedicate our
2 | SPRING ISSUE THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for 105 years
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker