THE
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SPHINX
February, 1946
ANNUAL FRATERNAL ADDRESS By RAYMOND W. CANNON, Past General President To the Thirty first General Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Chicago, Illinois. Greetings: N accepting the invitation of Brother President Rayford W. Logan to de liver the Annual Fraternal Address I do so with a deep sense of responsibil ity. I am mindful of the fact that some of our most illustrious members have been assigned to this duty. Just now I recall Brother Moses Alvin Morrison, our First General President, performing this duty in the Fifth General Conven tion in Columbus, Ohio in 1912: Brother E. P. Roberts at the 17th Convention in New York City, Brother U. G. Mason in the 18th Convention in Detroit. Brother John M. Gandy in the 19th Convention in Richmond, Brother S. S. Booker in St. Louis, Brother Raymond Pace Alex ander in Kansas City, 1940, and Brother Charles H. Garvin in our 30th Conven tion in Louisville in 1941; and last, though not by any means the least, our most highly esteemed, effervescent, alltime unofficial President, Brother Wal ter F. Jerrick, who has officiated in this capacity at many conventions. I am mindful of the lofty sentiments they have expressed on these occasions and the inspiration they gave to our fraternity. It is fitting that we come to Chicago for this convention. Here we always seem to obtain renewed inspiration and direction. It is recalled that the seventh and the twelfth conventions met here in this city, and also the special conven tion in the summer of 1934. Our gen eral convention following the last World War was held in the city of Chicago at which time postwar plans were made for the future of our youth all of which gradually resulted in the Department of Educational Activities we have today. Perhaps the 12th convention is the greatest in the history of our fraternity because it was in this meeting that the fraternity decided to depart somewhat from the accepted usages and traditions of Greek Letter College Fraternities and to launch on a public program devoted to the uplift and betterment of our youth. In so doing it created an institution within itself which has come to be looked upon in many quarters as even greater than the fraternity. If the 12th convention can be looked upon as a criterion, this convention should be even greater because of the multiplicity of postwar problems confronting us and our greater ability and equipment we now have to cope with them. The first Annual Fraternal Address of which T am able to find any record was delivered by Brother M. A. Morrison, our first General President in the 5th convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1912. I was present at that convention and made notes of his address. In substances, he urged the preservation of the bond be love for the fraternity; he spoke of his struggle to keep back tears of joy over
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ATTY. RAYMOND W. CANNON Past General Pres., First Sphinx Editor, and First Director oi Education, charter member of Mu. the progress Alpha Phi Alpha had made up to that time; he congratulated the administration on its success and prog ress; he warned the chapter not to allow the Alumnus to forget his chapter and that the chapter should keep him in formed of needed help or hardships the chapter might be experiencing. He urged the preservation of the bond between the chapter and the alumnus; he advocated a chapter house fund; he sug gested a complete general history of the Fraternity; he suggested an Alumni Register containing the names and ad dresses of all Alpha Phi Alpha men who had obtained their degrees and he indi cated by means of this register our graduates could be aided to lucrative fields of endeavor and employment. "Take Alpha Phi Alpha into the world with you" said Brother Morrison "prac tice i<s principles of brotherly love, help and all its virtues." "We are the pick of our race. Why should we not be leaders in all movements? We should be contin ually in all movements for uplift of our fellow men." These are extraordinary times. Our country having only recently concluded its part in the great world conflictâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; World War IIâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and contributed so great ly to the victory of the United Nations and to the peace we hope will follow, we now stand on the threshhold of a new era which we refer to now as the Postwar Era. Our victory has been read Iv bought wi'h the blood and the lives of our youth some of whom were members of Alpha Phi Alpha, and some of whom by reason of their heroic service are now members of Omega Chapter ot our Fraternity. As members of this Fra-
ternity we must do our utmost, especial ly in the immediate future to see that these men did not sacrifice in vain. I understand that the theme of this convention is postwar planning, and I note from the December 8 issue of the Pittsburgh Courier that in addition to postwar planning we are to discuss prob lems obtaining in West Africa with special and particular reference to those in Liberia. I believe that other speak ers in their addresses will cover these matters. I want to discuss with you our fraternity and do so in the language of our Founders and early stalwarts who laid the foundation for what wc have today. Now, my conception of the Annual Fraternal Address is that it should be one of guidance and direction to the members; it should treat of the fratern ity's problems and the duties of Alpha Phi Alpha men. I shall talk to you in the language and in the spirit of the Jewels and of the early General Pres i dents. I am pleased to note the tendency in recent years of assigning to past general presidents the duty 61 delivering the Annual Fraternal Address. It seems now to be an established precedent. This is exactly as it should be. Only four of our Founders are now living. In another decade all of these may be gathered to their fathers. In a very few years, then, it will fall to the lot of the past general presidents to take up where the Jewels leave off. In view of their wide experience in this Fraternity, who better can give direction and guidance to the membership than our Past General Presidents? It is well, then that they function in this capacity from now on. It has been my pleasure to know six of the Founders, five of them quite intimately. From all of them I learned many facts and circumstances about the beginning of Alpha Phi Alpha which were to help me immensely when it be came my duty to guide our fraternity through the period of its most rapid growth and expansion. B e f o r e proceeding further, and just to refresh our memories, we learn that the natural foundations of society are built upon the wants and fears of a people. At the birth of the secret society, we find Solomon leading his Masonic brethren apart from the great masses satisfying their wants. Today we see the reflection of this light, the ac tion of the college man leading aside his brethren for close relationship. And so, college fraternities came into existence duri.ig the latter part of the 18th century with the establishment of Phi Beta Kappa, December 5, 1776 at the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Election to this society was based on scholarship. Formation of sev eral other fraternities followed in its wake. All were devoted principally to study and research. They were com(Turn to Page 19)