"the new emerging Black middle-class is cold and heartless" Lionel ai
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WALTER WASHINGTON
The opening session of the 68th Anniversary Convention (60th General Convention) was highlighted by the Annual Report of the General President, Dr. Walter Washington. After enlightening the delegates on the "State of the Fraternity,'' Brotner Washington issued a mandate for action, subject to implementation by every local chapter of the fraternity, on the vital issues facing Alpha Phi Alpha and the total Black community. Addressing the theme "Elimination of the Ghetto," which was adopted in 1969 under the leadership of Past Genera] President Ernest Morial, Brother Washington noted that despite the fact that Alpha's housing program is the most successful of it's kind "we cannot eliminate the ghetto until we eliminate the ghetto mind." On this basis he maintained that adult or continuing education is vital in our everchanging society. For instance, if one should "build a house for a person in the ghetto and not change his value system, the house will become a ghetto. We must have an education program to complement housing or our efforts are all in vain." Further, Brother Washington reminded the brothers that "Adult or continuing education is not limited to the uneducated, but it lends itself to the continuous enrichment of the educated, as well." He urged each local chapter of Alpha to work for the establishment of a continuing education program its area and, upon establishment of these programs, to encourage the poor and uneducated to attend adult education classes. Dr. Washington also listed a number of alternative projects which might be suited to the environs of various local chapters, including work with the American Heart Association (hypertension — the killer of Black males), local civil rights projects and community education on the effects of "revenue sharing." He decried the lack of morality that seems prevalent in our culture and exhorted Alpha men to take the lead in rectifying this situation. Turning his attention to the new middle-class Blacks, Brother Washington delivered a bold indictment — "While more and more blacks are oriented toward middle-class values, the new emerging Black middle-class is cold and heartless." He stated that the basic values of the new Black middle-class must include compassion and a mission that will involve them (and their talents) in the upward mobility of the poor in America. It must not embrace all of the limitations that are found in the general American middle-class, such as migration to the suburbs and a lessening of contact with the poor and uneducated. They must stay with their less fortunate brothers and serve as a catalyst that will set them on their way upward toward attaining the "good life" in America. One possible means of implementing this objective was raised as the General President suggested a conference designed to formulate a Black middle-class manifesto for America. 8
There is a wholesale shortage of Blacks in both the professions and industry today and the plans of the Alpha Phi Alpha Education Foundation, Inc., as articulated by its chairman — Brother Herman B. Smith, are designed to play an important part in bringing about much needed change. Brother Smith, who is also Chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (formerly Arkansas AM & N), was the Keynote Speaker at the convention's Educational Luncheon and challenged the brothers in attendance with the following statistics: "Of the some 130,000 practicing pharmacists in the US today, only about 3,000 are Black; of some 300,000 doctors, only 6,000 are Black — with the worst situations found in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, while there are no more than 100 Black doctors in most states. Although minorities make up about 15% o fthe U.S. population, only an estimated 1 % of Americans holding Ph.D.'s and fewer than 3,000 Blacks are among the nation's 300,000 doctoral degree holders." "And in the profession of law," he continued, "there was reported only some 420 Black lawyers in the South; only 2% of practicing engineers are Black; according to a recent report of Governor Andrew Brimmer of the Federal Reserve Board, more than 25% of all business firms with 15 or more employees in 1973 had no Black employees and the business with the poorest record of Black employment were securities and commodities brokers, more than half of which did not employ a single Black." "The Alpha Phi Alpha Education Foundation has a commitment to work to effect change in these statistics subsequently in our daily lives," said this prominent Alpha educator as he presented to the convention the plans for the first phase of a Million-Dollar funding campaign. In the true spirit of our fraternity the foundation has determined the initial funds in this drive should come from within the brotherhood. Dr. Smith stated "After the $1-million from Alpha men has been realized, gifts will be secured from non-Alpha sources to increase our endowment — we, Alpha Phi Alpha, must take leadership . . ." During his address, Brother Smith revealed to the audience that upon his arrival at the convention he found a check in excess of $1,500, to be used in the campaign (which had been mailed to the site by a brother who was unable to attend). He then announced that each of the fraternity's five regional vice presidents had made commitments to raise varying amounts within their respective regions. This very successful luncheon closed in a flurry of activity as many brothers made personal donations and/or signed pledge cards in support of the foundation's worthy project.
"We, Alpha Phi Alpha, must take the leadership" Brother Herman B. Smith The Sphinx / October 1974