A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
Tom Ship and Abe Smith Lynching at Marion, IN, August 7,1930.
Honors for an Empathetic Servant Leader During his career, Brokenburr’s ac- complishments not only advanced the black community's livelihoods but of all Indiana Hoosiers. Brokenburr was a servant leader who lived by the motto “live to serve,” as he devoted his entire life to the fight for equality in Indiana. He received numerous awards to recog- nize his successful career and enduring, altruistic civic rights efforts. Some of these honors include an alumni award from his alma mater in 1949, a citation from the American Jewish Congress in 1955, and an honorary doctorate from Howard University in 1956. In 1968, the city of Indianapolis opened Brokenburr Trails, a public housing community for low-income families, named in his honor. Brokenburr passed away March 24, 1974, at the age of 87 and is laid to rest in the company of Kappa notables, such as Elder W. Diggs, Guy L. Grant, and Ezra D. Alexander at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapo- lis, Indiana. In 1975, Brokenburr was posthumously elected to the Indiana Academy, which recognizes citizens for
ment for the first time.
their contributions to cultural, scientific, literary, civic, religious, and educational development within the state. Freemont Powers of the Indianapolis News reflected on Brokenburr when he stated, “He managed what few men ever achieved, to serve both communities, both black and white, and to do it with invariable courtesy and courage.”
While in office, he authored more than 50 bills that focused on issues of racial equity in housing opportunities and increased representation of black of- ficers in Indiana police departments and an act that instituted the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. In 1947, the Indiana governor appointed Brokenburr as a member of the Legisla- tive Advisory Board to assist and advise the Commissioner of Labor in admin- istering Fair Employment Practice in Indiana. The governor subsequently appointed him to the board in 1953. Due to his success in the Indiana Sen- ate, President Eisenhower appointed Brokenburr as the only citizen of Indiana to serve the United States as an alter- nate delegate for the United Nations General Assembly in 1955. He climaxed his legislative career by authoring civil rights regulations that were passed in 1961 and 1963. He retired from the Indiana State Senate in 1964. In 1971, he made his final departure from his sixty-two years of practicing law.
The Articles of Incorporation for Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., were witnessed by Brokenburr.
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