COVER STORY Edward W. Brooke (1919 Political Leader
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Former United States Senator Brother Edward W. Brooke was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1962, the only Republican in the state to win a state-wide election that year. He was elected by Massachusetts voters to the U.S. Senate in 1966, making him the first AfricanAmerican in the Senate since Reconstruction. The first African-American elected by popular vote to the Senate, Brother Brooke won in districts where African-Americans composed only two percent of the population. Born in Washington, D.C., Brother Brooke is a graduate of Howard University and the Boston School of Law. He served as a trustee of Boston and Northwestern universities, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, board member of the Washington Performing Arts Society, the Eisenhower Foundation for the Prevention of Violence, the Opera Company of Boston and the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Brother Brooke is a former Eastern Regional Vice President for the Fraternity. He also served as the first chairman of the Alpha Phi Alpha World Policy Council—an African-American think-tank formed to address issues of concern to the Fraternity, the community, the nation and the world. Brother Brooke was initiated into the Alpha Phi Alpha in 1937 through Beta Chapter at Howard University.
Thurgood Marshall (1908 - 1993) U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Everyday, the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Brother Thurgood Marshall impacts the lives of Americans in ways too numerous to cite. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Brother Marshall stood as a stalwart force for justice on a Supreme Court tilted by those who would sanction injustice. Prior to his appointment to the high court in 1967, he was a heralded leader of the civil rights AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDITION
movement, winning landmark court decisions that would forever re-shape the socio-economic landscape of America. Brother Marshall received his undergraduate education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He went on to law school at Howard University. Brother Marshall was initiated into the Fraternity in 1926 through Nu Chapter at Lincoln University. While serving as Special Counsel to the NAACP, Brother Marshall argued the infamous Brown vs. the Board of Education case before the Supreme Court. Although this desegregation case may be the best-known victory credited to Thurgood Marshall, several other decisions preceded the 1954 landmark case. In 1938, Brother Marshall fought for the rights of African-Americans to be admitted to the University of Missouri Law School. In 1944, his Smith vs. Alwright victory won the right for African-Americans to participate in primary elections in Texas. Morgan vs. Virginia, in 1946, signaled the end of interstate passenger carriers in Virginia. The 1950 triumph of Sweatt vs. Painter allowed the first AfricanAmericans to be admitted to the University of Texas Law School. An exceptional litigator, Justice Marshall will remain as one of Alpha Phi Alpha's shining examples of leadership, ethics and excellence.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908 - 1972) Political Leader Born in New York City, Brother Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was another prolific soldier of the civil rights movement. His impact was felt initially as the pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York and later as an 11-term Representative in the U.S. Congress. Prior to his election to Congress, Brother Powell published a weekly newspaper, The People's Voice. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. attended Colgate University in Hamilton, New York where he received his undergraduate degree in 1930. He later earned a Master's degree from Columbia University and a Doctor of Divinity degree from Shaw College in North Carolina. Brother Powell was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha in 1933 at Columbia University's Eta Chapter [now the Metropolitan New York City Chapter].