Black and Gold Transcends
January 27, 2019 by Las Vegas Black Image Magazine
Filed under Community
Black and Gold Transcends
BY CAPUCINE HOLMES
Bonds between men are strong — and the strength of unity can truly make a difference in the community in which that bond is initiated. The brotherhood of the Black and Gold radiates in service and leadership in the communities of Las Vegas. It all began when the Alpha Phi Alpha Las Vegas Chapter was established on October 31, 1964, when William “Bob” Bailey played an instrumental role in bringing together eleven men who attended colleges across the nation. This was at a time when segregation was a strong part of the Las Vegas community social and economic structure.
Established on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was the first African-American college Greek-lettered fraternity. It was founded by seven men known as the Jewels of the Fraternity: Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle and Vertner Woodson Tandy.
Alpha Phi Alpha focuses on service and provides leadership dealing with issues such as AIDS, urban housing, and other economic, cultural, and political issues that affect African-Americans.
Alpha Phi Alpha boasts a wealth of prominent members, including great thinkers, leaders, and achievers like Martin Luther King Jr., NAACP Founder W.E.B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, political activist Cornel West, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, and musicians Duke Ellington and Lionel Richie. The Alpha Phi Alpha Las Vegas Chapter has strong leadership today with such members as Rep. Steven Horsford, Councilman Cedric Crear, Keith Rogers, Travis F. Buchanan and many others. These men incorporate the fraternity’s motto of “First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All.” and focus on Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind.
Let the the Great Sphinx of Giza, the symbol of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, stand strong in making a difference that transcends throughout the world.