STANDING FOUR SQUARE FOR CHURCH, FRATERNITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE By Brother Joseph T.Durham ormer Fraternity General President the Rev. Dr. Simeon S. Booker, Sr. was an Alpha Phi Alpha man of rare hue. He was a life member of the Fraternity and personified the organization's highest ideals. "I stand four square for my church, for my Fraternity and for my country—and in that order," Brother Booker is remembered to have once said. He also stood for the uplifting of the community, as demonstrated through his pioneering work and leadership with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). Brother Booker was born in Farmville, Virginia in 1882, and was a graduate of Virginia Union University, where he was initiated as an undergraduate student at Gamma Chapter. He represented Virginia Union at the first General Convention of Brother S.S. Booker the Fraternity in 1908. Later, Virginia Union confirmed an honorary degree on him for meritorious service to society. He had the distinction of being a charter member of two of the Fraternity's chapters. He was a charter member of Delta Lambda Chapter in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1919, and of Beta Rho Lambda Chapter in Youngstown, Ohio, which was chartered in 1938. Brother S.S. Booker achieved a singular mark of distinction in the Fraternity by virtue of the offices he held. He was elected General Secretary for the years 1909, 1910, and 1918; General Treasurer for the years 1917, 1918, and 1919, and was a member of the Commission on Graduate Work and Public Affairs, 1920. He also was a member of the Commission on Equalization, which dealt with railroad fares for Fraternity travel. In 1921, he became Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.'s 11th General President. At the 14th Annual Convention, held in Baltimore, Maryland
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in 1921 and hosted by Delta Lambda Chapter, Brother Booker spoke on the subject, "Our Pilgrimage." It was a fitting subject because a highlight of the convention was a pilgrimage to the home of Frederick Douglass in Anacostia, District of Columbia. Douglass was made an honorary member of Omega Chapter. In 1933, Brother Booker was Executive Secretary of the YMCA in Youngstown, Ohio. He addressed the General Convention in that year and again in 1940. His last recorded speech before the Fraternity came in 1955. By 1923, it was noted that he had attended 14 of the 15 General Conventions that had been held to that time. Another Alpha activity in which he played an important part was the Go-to-High School, Go-to-College program. One of his Delta Lambda Brothers noted, "Our chapter is saying from the housetops with Brother Booker at the megaphone, 'Go-to-High School, Go-to-College'."' In addition to his service to the Fraternity, Brother Booker also contributed to civic and community betterment. He left an enviable record of community service in two cities: Baltimore, Maryland and Youngstown, Ohio.
The Baltimore Years (1915-1926) After serving in YMCA work in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the early 1900s, Simeon S. Booker was persuaded by Brother Dr. Jesse E. Moorland, general secretary of the YMCA, to come to Baltimore as the secretary of the Druid Hill Avenue YMCA.2 Booker, at age 33, assumed the Baltimore position in 1915. In one year, he increased membership there from 92 to 596, an increase of more than 600 percent. At that time, the Druid Hill Avenue "Y," the Negro (sic) branch, did not have a permanent building. However, Julius Rosenwald, the philanthropist, had promised any city $25,000 toward the erection of a YMCA "for colored men and boys." The white citizens throughout the central "Y" pledged $60,000, and the African-American citizens of Baltimore were asked to raise $25,000 for a new building.3 With Brother Booker at the helm, a seven-year campaign was launched. This was the largest fund-raising effort ever undertaken by the black community up to that time. The challenge was met, and in 1918, a $122,400 new edifice was dedicated and the cornerTHE SPHINX™ SPRING 1999