NU OMEGA CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF SERVICE

Nu Omega Chapter is the second oldest chapter in the State of Michigan. It was chartered in Detroit on January 24, 1923, less than two years after Phi Chapter at the University of Michigan in 1921. The graduate chapter was chartered by Bros. Dr. DeWitt Talmadge Burton; Francis Morse Dent, Esq.; David Smith; Odie T. Davis; Livingston Jeffries; and Charles Washington. From its inception, it has been called The Doctor’s Chapter. However, its roster has been graced by many professional men from physicians, educators, corporate executives, to religious leaders, government officials, lawyers, and judges. In 1931, the Chapter hosted the 19th Grand Conclave at a time of the nation’s Great Depression era.

wards the down payment for the purchase of the three-story, 14-room, Romanesque mansion located at 235 E. Ferry, (in the Cultural Center area). The Chapter purchased the facility from the YMCA in 1942.

As the organizational structure for the Fraternity was developing, Francis Morse Dent, Esq., was appointed by the 14th Grand Basileus, Lawrence A. Oxley, as the 1st Tenth District Representative. He served from 1933 to 1934. He was succeeded by another Nu Omega member, Bro. George A. Isabell, who served from 1934 to 1936. Bro. Isabell would go on to be elected as the 10th Grand Keeper of Records and Seal in 1947, making him the only Grand Officer to date to have hailed from Nu Omega Chapter.

Nu Omega Chapter members Bros. Chester Smith and George Reed, through extraordinary foresight, spearheaded the movement to purchase a permanent meeting place. It

Submitted By: Bro. Samuel Bill

The property is referenced in the Gill history book, and it is listed on the State of Michigan’s historic register. This historical purchase was especially significant as it was made during WWII and several years before the Fraternity purchased the building for the first National Headquarters located in Washington, DC in 1949. Just a few years after acquiring “the frat house” the Chapter hosted the 33rd Grand Conclave in 1947. The mortgage was retired in 1965, the very same year that the Chapter hosted the 50th Grand Conclave again in Detroit. The Brotherhood has always seen the need to give back and nurture youth in the community, and it was through the true Omega Spirit that the chapter helped to establish both Nu Sigma Chapter and Chi Gamma Chapter respectively at Wayne University in 1938 and the University of Detroit in 1969, the latter being the first Black Greek letter organization on its campus.

Men of Nu Omega Chapter have always distinguished themselves as leaders in the community. In 1961, Bro. Otis Smith served as the 1st Black American on the Michigan Supreme Court and the 1st Black American to serve as the legal counsel for General Motors in 1967. In 1963, Bro. Nicholas Hood II, Pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church of Christ, supervised a 2.3-million-dollar housing development in the City of Detroit. At that time, it was the single largest development by a Black American in Detroit. That same year Bro. Hood, as Secretary of the SCLC, assisted in organizing Dr. Martin Luther King’s March in Detroit, which was the forerunner to the March on Washington later that year. Bro. Hood also served as a member of Detroit’s Common Council for 28 years.

In 1964, Bro. Robert Millender, attorney, assisted as campaign manager in the election of John Conyers to the US House of Representatives and in the same capacity, assisted in the election of Coleman Young, the 1st African American Mayor of the City of Detroit, in 1973. In 1965, Bro. Dr. Charles H. Wright solicited and received from the brothers of the Nu Omega Chapter, the first public funding for the establishment of the Museum of African-American History in Detroit. It was the largest museum of its kind in the United States only recently surpassed by the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History in Washington DC. Bro. Charles Allen became President of 1st Independence Bank in 1982, one of the largest Black-owned banks in the United States.

It was in 1982 that members again showed extraordinary vision in founding the Detroit Omega Foundation, Inc., (DOFI) as its social action charitable arm. As the fraternity’s mandated programs grew, a number of the programs were delegated to DOFI to carry out. Such programs included the Talent Hunt for musically inclined high school students, the awarding of four-year college Scholarships annually, and providing Holiday Food Baskets for families in need to name a few. The old Boblo Boat Ride on the Detroit River and the Monte Carlo Casino Mardi Gras events served as both a fundraiser opportunity for the Chapter’s various programs and for entertaining the many friends and supporters throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. It was again in 1990 when the chapter would once again host the 66th Grand Conclave.

In 1998, Bro. Walter Watkins became president of Banc One Michigan. He was the 1st Black American to serve in this capacity. In 1998, the Chapter celebrated its 75th Anniversary in grand style as Omega has always been known; having a great time fellowshipping and enjoying the brotherhood to the fullest. Throughout the new millennium, the Chapter has played host to its many programs and social functions. A few include the 1000 Que Rally; and the holiday favorite, the Hanging of the Green for members’ families; along with its staple of hosting First Friday events every month for members and guests to fellowship and network. Following in the footsteps of Bro. Nicholas Hood, Bro. Andre Spivey, Pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church was elected to the Detroit City Council in 2009.

The Chapter received the Tenth District Social Action Award for its outstanding community service efforts from 2005 to 2011, consecutively. Additionally, it earned consecutive Tenth District Reclamation Award for Large Chapters. The Chapter’s roster, at present, has more than 200 members. It is one of the largest chapters in the Tenth District and the Fraternity worldwide. It also boasts some 67 brothers (over 25% of the roster) as members of the Omega Life Membership Foundation, Inc. Today members continue to be proud of all their individual endeavors and successes as professional Omega men. The Brothers have contributed to the Chapter and the community’s overall success through many noble causes and deeds for officially 100 years now.